Sure, celebrities have it easy in certain respects—they’ve got money, lavish houses, and the ability to travel to the glitziest locations around the world—but even famous people get screwed over by their partners sometimes. And the thing is, when you’re caught in the crosshairs of a cheating scandal *and* you’re a Hollywood star, it tends to get ugly (and, er, public) fast. Here, some of the worst stories of famous infidelities that we’ve ever heard.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner
The nanny strikes again, this time splitting up Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s marriage. Jennifer opened up about the ordeal in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying that they had been “separated for months” before the scandal and that [the nanny] had “nothing to with our decision to divorce.” Hmm. Okay.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston
Everyone knows about the onscreen chemistry between Brangelina in Mr. and Mrs. Smith that quickly became IRL chemistry and that the tabloids had a field day treating poor Jennifer Aniston like a woman scorned. Can’t people just let her live?
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake
Okay, so it’s never been confirmed that Britney cheated on Justin when they were dating, but Justin’s “Cry Me a River” music video—which features a Britney looka-like—certainly suggests as much. In Justin’s memoir, Hindsight & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me, he talks about writing the song, saying, “I’ve been scorned. I’ve been pissed off. The feelings I had were so strong I had to write it. I translated my feelings into a form where people could listen and hopefully relate to it. People heard me and they understood it because we’ve all been there.”
Furthermore, when Britney was asked if she’d be unfaithful to Justin in an interview, she told ABC, “I’m not technically saying he’s wrong but I’m not technically saying he’s right either.” Sooo
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were a power couple back in the good ol’ days (you know, the 2000s), but Scott Eastwood dropped a major bombshell in 2015 when he revealed that Ashton had cheated on Demi with Scott’s girlfriend at the time—yep, while Ashton was still married to Demi. Woof.
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale
After Gwen Stefani found out that Gavin Rossdale, her husband of 13 years, was cheating on her with their nanny, she dumped him, got together with The Voice costar Blake Shelton, penned “Misery,” and never looked back.
Halsey and G-Eazy
Halsey teased that her longtime boyfriend cheated on her when she tweeted and deleted a scissor emoji (which fans theorize was a reference to a lyric from their joint song “Him & I” about what she’d do to G-Eazy’s junk if he ever cheated) in July 2018. Months later, Halsey confirmed the fan theory by putting G on blast during her SNL performance, when she sang in front of a backdrop that read “I’m so sorry Ashley [Halsey’s real name] I cheated,” and then listed at least a dozen places where the infidelity happened. Yikes!
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Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley
In 1995, Hugh Grant rocked Hollywood when he got arrested for “lewd conduct” with a sex worker in a public space—this went down, mind you, while he was dating Elizabeth Hurley. During an apology interview with Jay Leno, Hugh reflected, “I’ve done an abominable thing, and she’s [Elizabeth] been amazing about it, and contrary to what I read in the paper today, she’s been very supportive, and we’re going to try to work it out.” The couple stayed together for five more years before splitting up and are good friends to this day.
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Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Queen B doesn’t really give interviews anymore, but her 2016 album Lemonade told us everything we need to know about Jay-Z cheating on her, including (a) that it happened at all and (b) Beyoncé was PISSED and (c) they worked through it and came out stronger on the other side.
Jesse James and Sandra Bullock
First we learned that Jesse James had cheated on Sandra Bullock with a stripper who had the words “Pray for us sinners” tattooed on her forehead—and the reveals only got worse from there.
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Josh Duhamel and Fergie
To this day, Fergie and ex-husband Josh Duhamel deny that he cheated on her with an exotic dancer, but that didn’t stop tabloids from having a field day when the woman came forward and even passed a lie detector test about it. (Also, Josh’s rep very rudely released a statement saying, “This is not the first nor will it be the last time that a stripper was paid a large amount of money to sell a false story about a celebrity.”)
Fergie later opened up about the experience to Oprah, saying, “When you go through difficult times, it really makes you stronger as a unit, as a partnership. It does for us anyways. Our love today is a deeper love.”
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Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (or as I like to call ’em, KStew and RPatz) were teen royalty when they hit Hollywood together in the Twilight Saga, and their chemistry was palpable (if not completely awkward) in interviews and red-carpet appearances. But Kristen later burst the true-love-with-a-vampire-fantasy when she was spotted kissing director Rupert Sanders while filming Snow White and the Huntsman in 2012.
Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger
I certainly remember where I was standing when the bombshell news of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s extramarital affair with his housekeeper Mildred Baena first dropped. Soon after, Arnold and Maria divorced. They had been married for more than 25 years.
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Princess Diana and Prince Charles
Prince Charles famously cheated on Princess Diana with Camilla Parker Bowles throughout their marriage. He allegedly even gave Camilla a personalized bracelet just two weeks before he wed Diana in 1981. Diana has famously said of his adultery, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” Charles admitted to the affair in 1994, and he and Diana got divorced two years later.
Sienna Miller and Jude Law
Jude Law sent gossip columnists into a frenzy when he admitted to sleeping with his nanny while he was engaged to Sienna Miller in 2005. He released a statement about the affair, saying, “following the reports, I just want to say I am deeply ashamed and upset that I’ve hurt Sienna and the people most close to us. I want to publicly apologize to Sienna and our respective families for the pain that I have caused. There is no defense for my actions, which I deeply regret.”
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Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray
Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray were first castmates on One Tree Hill, and then husband and wife, but their marriage ended after five short months in 2006, reportedly due to the fact that he strayed with none other than Paris Hilton. How awkward must that have been for the cast and crew on-set?
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke
After Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke divorced in 2005, Uma told her side of the story to Oprah. At the time, there were rumors (which Ethan denied) that he had had an affair with a 22-year-old model. When Oprah asked if there was betrayal in their marriage, Uma replied, “There was some stuff like that at the end. We were having a difficult time, and you know how the axe comes down and how people behave and how people express their unhappiness. Our marriage failed.”
Years later in 2013, Ethan opened up about his feelings on sexual monogamy, telling Mr. Porter, “People have such a childish view of monogamy and fidelity. ‘He’s cheated so he’s bad, she’s cheated so she’s bad,’ as opposed to a recognition that our species is not monogamous. To act all indignant, that your world has been rocked because your lover wasn’t faithful to you, is a little bit like acting rocked that your hair went gray.”
From Cosmpolitan US
