What Happened To Stephen Collins From 7th Heaven After His Disturbing Scandal?
In his heyday, actor Stephen Collins was perhaps best known for his role as Eric Camden, the beloved reverend, husband, and father of seven children, on the family drama television series "7th Heaven." Alas, Collins' reputation as a squeaky-clean television dad came crashing down in 2014 when TMZ obtained a leaked recording of Collins admitting to engaging in sexual misconduct with minors during a marital counseling session with his then-wife.
Collins later addressed the disturbing scandal during an interview with global anchor Katie Couric on ABC News' "20/20." According to Collins, although he was guilty of inappropriately touching a female minor in 1973 and exposing himself to two separate underage girls in 1982 and 1984, he was adamant that he was "absolutely not" a pedophile. "I'm absolutely not attracted, physically or sexually attracted to children," he told Couric. As one can imagine, however, following the alarming admission, Collin's acting career never recovered. But whatever came of Collins post-scandal? Here's what we know.
Stephen Collins moved to Iowa and remarried
The story goes that following his deeply disturbing scandal, Stephen Collins hightailed it out of Los Angeles and retreated to Iowa. As reported by the Daily Mail, Collins plunked down $557,000 for an unassuming three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the Hawkeye State, complete with an in-home office and a meditation room, and situated on 1.77 acres of property. Not too shabby, eh? In photos obtained by the online publication, it appears the fallen actor has seemingly acclimated to his new surroundings and his slower pace of life as he has been spotted doing various ordinary and mundane tasks like basic household tasks, running errands, and even tapping into his spiritual side with transcendental meditation sessions at a private meditation facility.
But that's not all. It's reported that Collins also remarried in July 2019 to Jenny Nagel, a woman 40 years his junior. As it turns out, Nagel was a longtime fan of Collins and "7th Heaven." She even gushed about him on social media way back in 2010. "Have been watching this show since 1999... and those 2 r the best!! I wanna have this kind of relationship (when I grow up)," Nagel posted along with a clip of Collins and Catherine Hicks, portraying the roles of longtime husband and wife Eric and Annie Camden. An interesting turn of events, indeed!
Stephen Collins probably won't be starring in any 7th Heaven reboots
Given his current residence and tendency for lying low in the aftermath of his scandal, it's probably safe to say that Stephen Collins won't be starring in any possible "7th Heaven" reboots.
In August 2019, actor Beverley Mitchell who played Lucy Camden in the series floated the idea of a reboot. "Now if only we could get a reboot!" she wrote in a sentimental Instagram post. "Would you be down to watch?" she asked her many followers.
It appears, however, that not everyone was totally on board with the idea of a "7th Heaven" reboot, especially considering how Stephen Collins' career took a turn after the show's final season wrapped. Back in 2016, when Catherine Hicks, who played the role of matriarch Annie Camden, was asked by TMZ whether or not there would ever be a reunion for the show, Hicks quipped, "I don't know. I mean, we'd have to open with Stephen's coffin." Yikes. Then in 2017, she appeared to have a change of heart, telling TMZ that if the powers that be did greenlight a reunion, she would be happy to see everyone, including her former television hubby, Stephen Collins. Alas, in 2023, Hicks provided an update. "No, no. 'Cause the kids grew up and Stephen's gone," Hicks told TMZ when they once again asked her about the possibility of a "7th Heaven" reboot. We think the keyword there is "gone."