Hollywood's Messiest Love Triangles
Unfortunately, cheating scandals are nothing new in Hollywood, and the gossip mills tend to run on overdrive when a celebrity gets ousted for their sordid affairs.
For example, there are, sadly, way too many celebrities who have been caught cheating on their partner with their children's nanny. Gwen Stefani ended her 13-year marriage to Gavin Rossdale when she discovered his alleged affair with the couple's nanny to their three sons. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Stefani shared that learning his wrongdoings "was the beginning of hell." There was also the time Jude Law publicly apologized to his fiancée, Sienna Miller, for sleeping with the nanny (their relationship didn't work out in the end), and the rumored affair between Ben Affleck and his three children's nanny that ended his marriage to Jennifer Garner.
However, it hits differently when the affair is with one of your peers. We've seen several high-profile relationships end because one partner gets caught up in a very messy love triangle with another big-name star. Love triangles always end up hurting at least one person involved, and it's happened to plenty of celebs. From years-long marriages ending to teen stars getting caught up in romance drama, here is a list of Hollywood's messiest and most scandalous love triangles.
Did Elizabeth Taylor steal Eddie Fisher from her best friend?
Actors Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor became good friends after meeting at MGM Studios in the 1950s. At the time, Reynolds was married to singer Eddie Fisher, and the couple had two children, Todd and Carrie Fisher. As for Taylor, she was going into her third marriage with producer Mike Todd. Reynolds was Taylor's matron of honor, while Fisher was Todd's best man at their wedding in 1957.
In 1958, Todd died in a plane crash, and Reynolds and Fisher comforted Taylor after the horrible tragedy. However, Taylor began an affair with Fisher, who left Reynolds to marry "The Father of the Bride" actor. In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2010, Reynolds addressed the scandalous love triangle, saying, "I was the last to find out about the affair ... Although I didn't want to find out the truth, I had to face up to it. Even so, it was a great shock to find them together. It left me shattered."
Taylor and Fisher wed in 1959, but it wouldn't last long. Taylor left him for her "Cleopatra" co-star Richard Burton in 1964. It would take years before Taylor and Reynolds would mend their friendship. During an interview with People after Taylor died in 2011, Reynolds was able to joke about the affair. "We were friends for years and years, but we had a lapse of time when she took Eddie to live with her because she liked him, too. She liked him well enough to take him without an invitation!"
Kurt Cobain wasn't the first rocker Courtney Love was attached to
Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain will forever be linked as one of the most iconic couples of the rock grunge era. However, before the Nirvana frontman came into the picture, Love was in a relationship with The Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan, whom she met while on tour with her band Hole in the early 1990s.
In the Cobain documentary "Montage of Heck," Love revealed that her brief relationship with Corgan ended after he refused to pay for her flight back home. At the time, The Smashing Pumpkins were playing a show with Nirvana, so Love was stuck on a ferry with the punk rock group, which is when her feelings for Cobain became evident. "I had a crush on Kurt; he was gorgeous; I mean, he was beautiful and enigmatic and evasive," she shared in the documentary. "I still was dating and sleeping with Billy Corgan, but he kind of lost me at this moment."
In an excerpt from the book "I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution" (via New York Magazine), Love revealed that she and Cobain had conceived their daughter, Frances, while she was still in a relationship with Corgan. "I'd flown down to f*** Billy Corgan ... Kurt and I wound up at the Northstar [Hotel], and our daughter, Frances was basically made that night." Love dumped Corgan and married Cobain in February 1992. After Cobain died in 1994, it's alleged that Love and Corgan had an on-again, off-again romance.
Jack Nicholson got another woman pregnant while he was dating Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston and Jack Nicholson had a lengthy, on-again, off-again relationship that began in the early 1970s. In her memoir "Watch Me" (via Vanity Fair), Huston recalled how their relationship was impacted because of Nicholson's reputation as a ladies' man. "I hadn't really been aware of Jack's reputation at first," she shared. "Occasionally, I'd find a piece of female apparel — once a jacket of mine turned up on a girl in the street — or I'd find some hand cream, or a trinket might get left behind in the soap dish. Sometimes I'd take to wearing the jewelry to see if anybody would come up and claim it, but that never happened."
In 1990, Huston learned of Nicholson's bad boy behavior when he admitted that he would father a child with much younger model Rebecca Broussard. Huston did not take the news lightly. Plus, Playboy released a story about Nicholson being too friendly with another woman. She recalled lashing out at Nicholson while he was on the Paramount Pictures set. "He was coming out of the bathroom when I attacked him. I don't think I kicked him, but I beat him savagely about the head and shoulders," she wrote.
Nicholson and Broussard entered a relationship and welcomed a daughter in 1990, as well as a son in 1992. However, the couple split soon after, with "The Shining" actor telling Vanity Fair in 1994, "We have a relationship. Because of the children, but we have no other relationship."
Billy Bob Thornton left Laura Dern for a much younger Angelina Jolie
Actors Laura Dern and Billy Bob Thronton met on the set of "Ellen" in 1997, and they would shortly become an A-list couple. They attended multiple red carpet events together, including the 1998 movie premiere of "Armageddon" and the 1999 Oscars, where Dern looked stunning in a black dress. Thornton, who was nominated, coordinated with a black suit. Sadly, it all ended abruptly when Thornton ditched Dern for Angelina Jolie.
Thornton met Jolie while filming "Pushing Tin" in 1999. The pair had a whirlwind romance, and despite their 20-year age difference, wed in May 2000, just a few months after Dern and Thornton were seen holding hands on the red carpet at the 57th Annual Golden Globes. Jolie became Thornton's fifth wife. It was all a tremendous shock to Dern, who told Talk magazine (via ABC News) the same year her ex married Jolie, "I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I've never heard from him again. It's like a sudden death. For no one has there been any closure or clarity." Thornton and Jolie separated two years later, and their divorce was finalized in 2003.
In a very odd revelation, Dern's father, actor Bruce Dern, shared with Yahoo! Movies that because of his friendship with Jon Voight (Jolie's father), his daughter once babysat the star when she was 2. Yikes!
Shania Twain's triangle was especially messy after her husband cheated with her best friend
Shania Twain's love story is unlike anything we've ever heard of in Hollywood. The songstress has been married to her husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, since 2011, and although that's quite a milestone in the entertainment industry, it was how they connected and fell in love that's most talked about.
Twain and Thiébaud were married to other people when they first met in the '90s. The singer was married to music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, while Thiébaud was married to Twain's good friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud. However, Twain separated from Lange when she discovered that he had allegedly had an affair with Thiébaud's wife. At the time of their separation, she recalled in her memoir "From This Moment On" (via Entertainment Weekly), "I'll be honest: when your husband leaves you, and falls into the arms of your close friend, your self-esteem can really suffer."
Frédéric would also leave Marie-Anne, and Twain would find herself emotionally connecting to her ex-best friend's former husband as they were both going through separations. "I got to observe Fred going through the same thing I was, and I admired how he handled it," she told Redbook. She added, "That is where I fell in love with him because he was so exemplary in every way." The couple wed on New Year's Day in 2011 and have been together ever since.
Billy Crudup left a pregnant Mary-Louise Parker for Claire Danes
Mary-Louise Parker and Billy Crudup were an item for eight years until he left the actor for his "Stage Beauty" co-star Claire Danes in 2003. Although we've seen plenty of celebs fall for their co-stars on set, Parker was seven months pregnant with Crudup's son when all this went down.
Crudup continued his relationship with Danes after Parker gave birth to her and Crudup's son, William Atticus Parker, whom she named after Billy (whose real name is William) in January 2004. According to People, the former couple did not go to court to fight over their son and found a way to co-parent him over the years. Parker has never publicly spoken about Crudup abruptly leaving her for Danes, having once told More magazine (via People) in 2009, "I've never commented on the situation, and I won't because it's not fair to my son." Speaking about her relationship with Crudup after the scandal, she vaguely shared, "Your love for your child should eclipse any other feelings you have for another person."
Crudup and Danes eventually split in early 2007. Unlike Parker, the "Homeland" star did speak out about the backlash she received for dating Crudup. During an interview with Howard Stern in 2015 (via Us Weekly), the actor defended her romance with the actor, stating, "I was just in love with him. And needed to explore that, and I was 24 ... I didn't quite know what those consequences would be."
Remember when Kevin Federline ditched his pregnant fiancée for Britney Spears?
Britney Spears' bombshell memoir "The Woman in Me" sheds a new light on her relationships, including her 2004 marriage to backup dancer Kevin Federline, with whom she shares two children. However, not everyone agreed with the singer's recollection of events.
Before Spears and Federline wed in September 2004, he had previously been engaged to "Moesha" actor Shar Jackson, with whom he shared one child. As reported by ET, in her memoir, Spears stated that when she first met the dancer, she was unaware he was engaged or a father. On top of that, Jackson was pregnant with the couple's second child when he left her for Spears, which the singer claimed she, too, had no idea about.
In an interview with Daily Mail, Jackson contested Spears' version of events. The actor not only claimed that Spears knew she was pregnant but also that the "Toxic" singer was sitting in a vehicle outside of the hospital as Jackson was giving birth to her and Federline's child, who was born in July 2004. Federline and Spears married in September 2004 and welcomed two children but separated in 2006. Despite Federline leaving Jackson, they remain on good terms today. She also does not harbor any anger toward Spears. "I think her relationship with Kevin was a fantasy for both of them. To me, anything built on a rocky foundation isn't going to last, and they started rocky because he was in a relationship," Jackson shared.
Tony Parker's affair ended two marriages
In 2004, "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria attended an NBA game where she met San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker. It appeared to be a match made in heaven because the pair were engaged two years later. In 2007, Longoria and Parker wed in a stunning ceremony in Paris, France, in front of 250 guests. Unfortunately, the game that brought these two together would also be why they divorced.
In November 2010, Longoria announced her separation from Parker on Twitter, now known as X, writing, "It is with great sadness that after 7 years together, Tony and I have decided to divorce. We love each other deeply and pray for each other's happiness." The same day of her announcement, Sports Illustrated reporter Bryan Armen Graham revealed on Twitter that Parker had cheated on Longoria with his Spurs teammates' wife, Erin Barry. "Have it on good authority from entertainment sources that 'former teammate' in Tony Parker-Eva Longoria affair is Brent Barry," he wrote. He also added that Longoria had found text messages on Parker's phone from Erin. According to a source from People, Longoria and Erin became close friends thanks to their husbands playing for the Spurs. They had even attended Parker and Longoria's wedding.
Coincidentally, Brent filed for divorce from Erin the same month as the actor's announcement. The Barrys had been married since 1998 and share two children.
Angelina Jolie found herself in another love triangle
Yep, Angelina Jolie found herself in not one but two love triangles. In 2005, one of the most shocking news stories broke out in Hollywood: Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were getting divorced after five years of marriage. That same year, Pitt and Angelina Jolie were promoting their film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and rumors that the co-stars had an affair ran rampant.
Despite allegations that he cheated on Aniston, Pitt told W Magazine (via CBS News) that his romance with his co-star didn't begin until he and Aniston had split. As for Jolie, she told Vogue in 2007 that she started to have feelings for Pitt as they worked on their movie. "I think a few months in I realized, 'God, I can't wait to get to work' .... We just became kind of a pair." Well, her comments didn't sit right with Aniston, who was still married to Pitt when the movie was being made. In her Vogue interview, Aniston called Jolie's words "really uncool." To add more fuel to the fire, Jolie told The New York Times that she fell in love with Pitt on the set of their movie.
Pitt and Jolie wed in 2014 and, together, shared six children. However, their marital bliss didn't last, and the couple separated in 2016. As for Pitt and Aniston, they have seemed to put their past behind them. During the 2020 SAG Awards, the former couple shared a hug backstage.
Jesse James cheated on his Oscar-winning wife
Sandra Bullock and Jesse James seemed like an odd pairing when they began a relationship after meeting at James' "Monster Garage" tour in 2003. However, they proved everyone wrong when they wed in 2005, and the actor earned a new role as stepmom to the West Coast Chopper founder's three children.
When Bullock was nominated for several awards for her role in "The Blind Side" in 2010, James was on every red carpet to support his wife. When she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in January, Bullock thanked her husband in her acceptance speech, "... and to my husband, there is no surprise that my work got better when I met you because I never knew what it felt like for someone to have my back. So thank you!" In March 2010, Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress, but there was no mention of James this time.
Just days after her win, a stripper named Michelle McGee came forward and alleged that she had been having an affair with James. In an interview with Inside Edition, McGee claimed that she initially contacted James for a modeling opportunity. When she arrived at his motorcycle shop, he made advances toward her and told her he and Bullock were separated. McGee went as far as stating that she believed she would marry James. Soon after, he faced allegations of infidelity by several other women. Bullock filed for divorce from James that April. James also earned a new nickname: the most hated man in America.
Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan's feud was all thanks to Aaron Carter
Unfortunately, love triangles also occur in the world of Disney. In 2001, Hilary Duff and Aaron Carter became an item after he appeared on an episode of her Disney Channel show "Lizzie McGuire." However, after dating for nearly two years, Carter decided to date Lindsay Lohan simultaneously. In 2005, Carter recalled that time in his life, telling CNBC (via Us Weekly), "I was dating [Duff] for like a year and a half, and then I got a little bored, so I went, and I started getting to know Lindsay, dating Lindsay." Carter began dating Lohan, which only lasted a few months in 2003. He'd end up back with Duff, but that relationship was short-lived.
So did Duff and Lohan team up and slam Carter for his dirty deeds? Unfortunately, the women began a feud with one another instead. It all started when they would attend one another's movie premieres uninvited. Lohan took it further by making fun of Duff during a "Saturday Night Live" skit, which Duff did not find funny. "I don't think it's an honor to be made fun of on 'Saturday Night Live.' I'm not here to talk bad about her like she talks bad at me all the time," she told Access Hollywood.
By 2007, Lohan and Duff put their feud to rest. The "A Cinderella Story" actor told People, "We are both adults, and whatever happened, happened when we were young."
Naya Rivera revealed Ariana Grande caused her split from Big Sean
Before Naya Rivera's tragic death in July 2020, the "Glee" star released her memoir, 2016's "Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up," which revealed how she and rapper Big Sean allegedly ended their engagement all thanks to one very famous singer.
After dating for a few months, Rivera and Big Sean announced their engagement in October 2013. However, the couple's wedding was called off in April 2014 amid rumors that Big Sean had cheated. At the time, a rep for the rapper told Us Weekly that the allegations were false, adding, "Sean wishes Naya nothing but the best, and it is still his hope that they can continue to work through their issues privately." However, Rivera had a different story to tell. In her memoir, the actor implied that Big Sean cheated on her with Ariana Grande. "I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? ... It rhymes with 'Smariana Schmande,'" Rivera wrote (via Us Weekly).
In addition, Rivera revealed that she did not know she and Big Sean were calling off their engagement. "I learned that I was no longer getting married from the internet, and at the same time as the rest of the world," the actor shared. Big Sean and Grande began dating shortly after his split from Rivera, but they called it off in April 2015.
Kristen Stewart got caught cheating, with photos to prove it
"Twilight" fans loved the real-life romance between co-stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. The duo began dating sometime in 2009 after filming the first installment of the "Twilight" film franchise and kept most, if not all, of their relationship low-key. However, in July 2012, their relationship came to a standstill when Us Weekly revealed Stewart was cheating on Pattinson with her "Snow White and the Huntsman" director and married father of two Rupert Sanders. To make things worse, there were photographs to prove it.
After the photos of the two locking lips were released, Stewart publicly apologized to Pattinson. "This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry," her statement read (via People). Sanders followed suit, apologizing to his wife, model Liberty Ross, and their two kids.
Despite Stewart's make-out session with Sanders, Stewart and Pattinson appeared to have reconciled. They made their first public appearance together for the final installment of the "Twilight" films, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2." Meanwhile, Ross filed for divorce from Sanders in January 2013. Unfortunately, Bella and Edward couldn't make it work, and they called it quits sometime in May 2013.
Brandi Glanville couldn't let go of her husband's affair with LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian have been married for over a decade, but the beginning of their love story was anything but blissful.
Rimes and Cibrian met on the set of 2009's "Northern Lights." At the time, the country singer was married to Dean Sheremet, while Cibrian had wed "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Brandi Glanville in 2001 and shared two children. Rumors swirled that Rimes and Cibrian were having an affair, and both stars would go on to deny the allegations. Glanville even labeled Rimes "a stalker" obsessed with her husband. However, both stars would separate from their spouses in 2009. The following year, having already gone public with their relationship after their separations, Rimes admitted to having an affair. "I did one of the most selfish things that I could possibly do in hurting someone else. I take responsibility for everything I've done. I hate that people got hurt, but I don't regret the outcome," she told People.
It was a whirlwind romance for the pair. In December 2010, the couple got engaged and then wed in April 2011. Meanwhile, Glanville once again commented on the couple, telling Daily Pop (via E! News) that her ex-husband's marriage to Rimes wouldn't make it past the 10-year mark. Thankfully, in 2018, Glanville and Rimes ended their nasty feud. The women posed for a selfie on Instagram while celebrating Glanville and Cibrian's son's birthday. And all is right with the world.