Stars Who Left Their Wives For Younger Women

Some men treat their wives like cars: after a few years (or in some cases, a decade or two), they like to trade up for a newer model. This is hardly a new phenomenon; the phrase "trophy wife" has been part of the lexicon for decades, and the older (and almost always wealthier) guy with the hot young wife has become something of a cliche, the inevitable result of mid-life crises run amok.

Of course, this has proven to be especially true in Hollywood, where celebs have no shortage of options for new loves. In fact, it's also a relationship that's been reflected onscreen of generations, with aging Hollywood stars continually paired with young starlets onscreen. From Bogie and Bacall to Richard Gere and Julia Roberts (then 40 and 22, respectively, when they co-starred in "Pretty Woman"), it's a matter of debate whether the movies are reflecting reality or simply serving as wish fulfillment for the men who make them.

Meanwhile, it's a sad, but true, fact of Hollywood life that first wives often get the boot to make way for younger seconds ... or thirds ... or, well, you get the picture. To learn more, read on for a rundown of stars who left their wives for younger women.

Rock 'n' roll icon Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones met his wife, Jo, in 1977 and married her in 1985. Everything was pretty peachy for the hard-partying couple until 2009. What happened then? Wood reportedly met 18-year-old cocktail waitress Ekaterina Ivanova and wasn't discreet about his dalliances with her — he even introduced her to his own wife!

In Jo's autobiography (via the Daily Mail), she claims Wood and Ivanova drunkenly arrived at Wood and Jo's home in the wee hours one morning. Jo claims that Ivanova, still allegedly wasted, tried using her gas stove to light her cigarette and caught her own hair on fire. Jo said she used a damp washrag to put it out — a move she admitted to the Mail that she may regret. The incident supposedly ended with Wood telling Jo, "Ain't she funny? She reminds me of you when you were young." Uh, ouch.

Wood remained with Ivanova for 18 turbulent months, and theirs was not a happy parting. "He was like a child with tantrums when he was drunk, throwing water bottles and doing impressions of my voice," she told the Daily Mail of their relationship. "It was like trying to keep a child under control. In the end I was so unimpressed by everything. I found it very fake." In 2012, Wood married his third wife, 30-years-his-junior Sally Humphreys, with the two welcoming twin daughters. Humphreys proved to be his rock when Wood was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017.

In a move so cold it befits Lilith more than Frasier Crane, actor Kelsey Grammer announced a shotgun engagement to a much younger woman before the ink had dried on his divorce papers with wife Camille Grammer. Kelsey and Camille wed in 1997, and the couple had two children together. In 2010, Camille, then 43, abruptly filed for divorce from Kelsey, then 55, citing irreconcilable differences.

The actor quickly proposed to then-29-year-old British flight attendant Kayte Walsh. He married Walsh in February 2011, mere weeks after he finalized his divorce from Camille, with whom he still doesn't get along (although, to be fair, she did join the cast of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," and do those women really get along with anybody?).

Kelsey and Walsh have remained happily married, and have three children together: sons Kelsey Jr. and Auden, and daughter Faith. That said, Walsh has admitted that she wishes their love's origin story hadn't been so scandalous. "I'm not proud of the way we started out," Walsh said during an appearance on "Oprah's Next Chapter (via ABC News). "Because he was in a marriage."

Ryan Phillippe was one of the prettiest pin-up boys of the late 1990s. He and Reese Witherspoon, who co-starred together in 1999's "Cruel Intentions," tied the knot in 1999 when Witherspoon was 23 and Phillippe was 25. They soon became parents to daughter Ava and son Deacon and were considered a golden (or at least golden-haired) couple until 2007.

That's when Phillippe reportedly met Australian actor Abbie Cornish on the set of the 2007 film, "Stop-Loss." Witherspoon filed for divorce, and Phillippe stepped out with Cornish, who is about six years younger than his ex. Meanwhile, Witherspoon also established a dating history of her own.

Phillippe and Cornish remained together for four years before splitting up. In an interview with W Magazine (via People), Cornish admitted that the intense media scrutiny during the early part of their relationship led to "a really difficult time for me." Having her every movement tracked by paparazzi, she explained, was something she hadn't experienced before and completely threw her for a loop. "For me, it was like night and day," she recalled. "I woke up one day and there was this whole new thing I had to process and deal with." When the end finally came, the breakup was reportedly messy, following tabloid reports linking Phillippe to other women. "Ryan ended the relationship and asked her to move out of his house," his publicist said in a statement to People.

Burlesque starlet Dita Von Teese married self-proclaimed Antichrist Superstar Marilyn Manson when she was 33 to his 37, but less than a year later, their romance kicked the bucket. As she told Australia's Daily Telegraph, she decided to divorce Manson "due to infidelity and drug use." In another interview, with the U.K.'s Sunday Telegram, she indicated that there was another woman involved, although she stopped short of mentioning her by name. "I wasn't supportive about his partying or his relationship with another girl and as much as I loved him," Von Teese said, via Newsweek. "I wasn't going to be part of that."

That "other girl" was widely believed to be then-19-year-old Evan Rachel Wood, who would later star in Manson's "Lolita"-inspired music video for "Heart-Shaped Glasses." Wood and Manson eventually got engaged, but the two never made it to the altar. The reason why later became clear when she went public with shocking allegations of abuse. "The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson," she wrote in an Instagram post (via The New York Times). "He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years." Shortly after, Manson was dropped by his record label.

Wood's claims led several other women to come forward, sharing similar accusations. Four of those women sued Manson.

Eddie Cibrian married model (and future "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star) Brandi Glanville in 2001. The couple has two sons together, Mason and Jake. In 2009, Cibrian, then 36, co-starred with LeAnn Rimes, then 27, in the Lifetime movie, "Northern Lights." That was when the two allegedly began having an affair; Rimes was also married at the time, to chef Dean Sheremet. Cibrian initially denied rumors of infidelity. "It is a fabricated story that is using random snapshots as connective tissue to create a scandalous relationship," Cibrian said in a statement, via People.

That statement was ultimately proven to be a big fib when Cibrian and Rimes both divorced their respective spouses. Cibrian's divorce was finalized in 2010, and he and Rimes tied the knot in 2011.

Despite starting in scandal, Cibrian's relationship with Rimes has been a successful one. Interviewed by The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, Rimes was asked if it had been worth it. "For sure," she declared. "Obviously there was purpose [to how we got together]. We have a great life." In 2025, the couple celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary, proving naysayers wrong as their relationship continued to stand the test of time.

Director Robert Rodriguez wed producer Elizabeth Avellán in 1990. In 2006, when Avellán was 49, the pair divorced. At the time, Rodriguez was filming "Grindhouse" at the time with muse Rose McGowan, then 33. McGowan would later become his fiancée one year later. Interestingly, Rodriguez and Avellán's professional relationship continued after their divorce, with his ex producing many of his films — even "Grindhouse."

Rodriguez and McGowan split up in 2009. Years later, after McGowan went public with her sexual assault allegations against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein — whose company produced "Grindhouse" — Rodriguez revealed that he cast McGowan to send Weinstein a message after he had blacklisted her in Hollywood.

In a lengthy statement he issued to Variety in 2017, Rodriguez admitted he'd come to regret making the movie at all. "Looking back over the years, I have wondered if I would have made the same choices, knowing the bleak outcome," he wrote. "We all suffered greatly on the film, and the journey ended up costing us all more than we ever bargained for. For me personally, it cost me my marriage of 16 years, my family, a large dose of sanity, and for years I have grappled with the sobering idea that maybe I made a grave error in standing up at all, when no one was even asking me to."

When rising star Tom Cruise married Mimi Rogers in 1987, their wedding was initially kept a secret. By 1989, his fame had skyrocketed, making him a 27-year-old megastar married to a 33-year-old actor. Then Cruise met a 22-year-old Nicole Kidman on the set of 1990's "Days of Thunder." The year the movie debuted, Cruise divorced Rogers and married Kidman, with whom he shares two adopted children.

In 2001, Cruise reportedly blindsided Kidman by filing for divorce and rebounded with Penélope Cruz, his co-star in "Vanilla Sky." At the time, Cruz was 27 years old, while Kidman was 34 and Cruise was 39. Cruise and Cruz dated from 2001 to 2004, reportedly ending things amicably.

Soon after moving on from Cruz, Cruise then married Katie Holmes — when he was 44 and she was 27. They divorced six years later. During a deposition in Cruise's lawsuit against a tabloid, he confirmed that Holmes left him in order to prevent their daughter, Suri, from embracing Scientology. "That was one of the assertions, yes," Cruise said, as reported by ABC News. After Cruise's three divorces, an odd coincidence has become apparent: every single one of his three divorces occurred when his ex-wives were around the same age, 33 and 34.

Ewan McGregor was married to French production designer Eve Mavrakis for 22 years. The couple shares two biological children and two adopted children. In October 2017, McGregor, 46, and Mavrakis, 51, made headlines when they announced their breakup — after McGregor was spotted kissing his "Fargo" co-star, 32-year-old Mary Elizabeth Winstead. While McGregor insisted nothing untoward happened with Winstead before he and Mavrakis secretly split in May 2017, rumor has it Mavrakis thinks he cheated.

McGregor's daughter, Clara, was initially not thrilled with her dad's new relationship. In July 2018, she left a withering comment about an Instagram fan site's photo of Winstead. "Most beautiful and talented woman on earth? Oh man y'all are delusional. The girl is a piece of trash," Clara wrote, as reported by People. As time passed and hurt feelings calmed down, Clara came to make peace with her dad's new relationship.

Interviewed by The Times later that year, Clara admitted that she regretted lashing out. "It wasn't the most mature way to go about things, but I was angry and upset," she said. She continued by explaining that "there had been a lot building up to it and a lot to deal with — not to make excuses or anything — but, yeah, it wasn't my finest moment."

Ben Affleck, then 30, was engaged to Jennifer Lopez, then 33, in 2003. The couple the media had dubbed "Bennifer" didn't last, and the two went their separate ways in 2004. Soon after, he began dating Jennifer Garner, whom he'd first met on the set of "Pearl Harbor" back in 2000. Affleck married Garner, who was 33, in June 2005.

Affleck and Garner were seemingly happy in their marriage, welcoming three children. In 2015, however, the two separated, eventually finalizing their divorce three years later. In 2017, Affleck went public with his new (and younger) girlfriend, Lindsay Shookus, a producer on "Saturday Night Live" who was 37. A subsequent report from People, however, threw that timeline under the bus, suggesting that Affleck and Shookus had actually been involved since as early as 2013 — two years prior to his separating from Garner.

After splitting up with Shookus in 2018, Affleck subsequently embarked on a romance with actor Ana de Armas (she was in her early 30s, he in his late 40s), which reportedly ended in 2020 because she wanted to get married, and he didn't. Not long after parting ways with Armas, he rekindled his romance with JLo, 20 years later, with the two getting married and then, a few years later, divorced. "There's no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue," Affleck told GQ about the divorce, insisting the reason the marriage ended "is much more quotidian than probably people would believe or would be interesting."

Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez were married from 2004 to 2011. During their marriage, the two welcomed twins, Max and Emme. When they separated, Lopez was 41 to Anthony's 42. He rebounded with Shannon De Lima, who was just 23 when they met. When Lopez and Anthony's divorce was finalized, he walked down the aisle with De Lima, but the second Mrs. Anthony separated from the singer in 2016.

In January 2023, Anthony married again, tying the knot with model and former Miss Universe contestant Nadia Ferreira — who is a whopping 31 years younger than him. A mere five months later, the two welcomed a child.

Truth be told, the couple put on an adorable display when she interviewed him (in Spanish, duh!) on the red carpet at Premio Lo Nuestro 2025, with Ferreira playfully scolding her hubby when he engulfed her in a big hug. "Did you call me Marc instead of 'papi'? It's the first time you've called me Marc," Anthony joked. His wife scolded him once again, declaring, "I'm working, behave yourself."

Aw, come on, Mr. Bean! In 2013, British comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson divorced his wife of 23 years, Sunetra Sastry (pictured), who was 56 to his then-62. He very quickly moved on to Louise Ford, a then-31-year-old actress. That rebound was considered "unreasonable behavior" by a judge, who settled Atkinson and Sastry's divorce in just 65 seconds. For what it's worth, Atkinson and Ford were still going strong as of 2025. However, only time will tell if she ages herself out of his demographic, too.

The split proved to be devastating to Atkinson's family, particularly his daughter, Lily Sastry. In a since-deleted social media post (via the Daily Mail), she opened up about the difficulties of coping with her "broken family." According to Sastry, "I went through so much chaos and loneliness ... I was so lost."

Another victim in the scenario was Ford's ex-boyfriend, James Acaster, who was left crushed and humiliated when he learned of his then-partner's new romance in a newspaper. "I got left for Mr. Bean," Acaster joked in a 2019 performance, as reported by the Daily Mail. "I found out a year after we split up. I opened the newspaper and there was a full-page story. No one else in the history of time has ever been left for Mr. Bean."

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were one of the most popular couples on the planet during their five-year marriage. They infamously divorced in 2005, when Pitt was 41, Aniston was 36, and Pitt's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star Angelina Jolie was 30. Pitt and Jolie were together for 12 years (married for two) before they split in September 2016.

It took eight contentious years and who knows how much in legal fees, but in late 2024 the battling exes finally arrived at a settlement. "Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over," Jolie's lawyer, James Simon, told People.

While Jolie has apparently remained single since her spilt from Pitt, he eventually moved on with model Ines de Ramone — who is nearly 30 years younger than him. "Ines is cute, fun and energetic. She has a great personality. Brad enjoys spending time with her," a source told People in 2022, shortly after their romance became public knowledge. As of early 2025, Pitt and de Ramone were still going strong, vacationing together in the California coastal town of Carmel.

Sean Penn was married to Robin Wright for over 11 years when they separated and almost divorced — the couple withdrew the divorce petition in 2008. That same year, Penn, then 48, started dating model Petra Němcová, then 28, while still married to Wright, then 43. After he and Wright split for good in 2010, he almost immediately took up with actress Scarlett Johansson, who was 26 at the time.

The relationship with Johansson flamed out quickly, ending in June 2011 — just a few months after it began. Since then, Penn has continued the trend of dating women far younger than him. That included his third wife, Leila George (31 years younger than Penn), whom he began seeing in 2016. They wed in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, but split up a year later. Penn blamed himself, telling Hollywood Authentic, "I f***ed up the marriage. We were married technically for one year, but for five years, I was a very neglectful guy."

After that, he reportedly dated 19-years-younger Canadian actor Olga Korotyayeva in 2023 and 2024. In late 2024, he made his red-carpet debut with his girlfriend, model Valeria Nicov, 34 years his junior.

Jason Aldean, then 36, was married to Jessica Ussery, then 38, for 12 years when they split in 2013. The reason for the divorce? It was reported that Aldean was allegedly busted getting handsy with "American Idol" reject Brittany Kerr, then 25. Aldean and Kerr tied the knot in 2015. The couple announced the birth of their first child, a son named Memphis, in December 2017. That happy arrival was followed by another, daughter Navy Rome in 2019.

While the controversy regarding the scandalous nature of their romance's beginning has long since blown over, Kerr — now known as Brittany Aldean — has proven to be a controversial figure in her own right. For example, there was the launch of her clothing line, Brittany and Kasi (in which she partnered with her sister, Kasi Rosa Wicks), featuring t-shirts and other articles of clothing featuring right-wing slogans, including "Unapologetically Conservative" and "The Unsilent Majority: Speaking Up to Protect Our Freedom."

When she issued a social media post in 2022 thanking her parents for not altering her gender, she was hit with backlash for her apparent anti-transgender views. "It's so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human?" country singer Maren Morris tweeted about her, slamming Brittany as "Insurrection Barbie."

Though they never made it down the aisle, Billy Crudup was expecting a child with actor and longtime girlfriend Mary-Louise Parker in 2003. Crudup was 35 to Parker's 39. Then, Crudup met a 24-year-old Claire Danes. He dumped Parker and took up with Danes, his co-star in 2004's "Stage Beauty." Crudup and Danes were together for four years. Danes later told Howard Stern (via Us Weekly), "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."

Danes ultimately left Crudup for her current husband, actor Hugh Dancy. Meanwhile, Crudup went on to tie the knot himself. In 2017, he began dating British star Naomi Watts. After several years as a couple, the two tied the knot in 2023.

Sylvester Stallone was married to first wife Sasha Czack from 1974 to 1985, and they had two kids. Czack was 35 when he left her for model and actress Brigitte Nielsen (pictured left), who was 22 when she married Stallone in 1985. Nielsen and Stallone were married for two years. He and Nielsen divorced in 1987, and almost immediately after the ink dried on that split, Stallone took up with current wife Jennifer Flavin (pictured right), who was just 19 at the time. He and Flavin have been together — save for a brief split in 1994 — ever since.

However, it's also fair to say that Stallone's marriage to Flavin has had its rocky moments (pun intended). Case in point: Flavin's decision to file for divorce in 2022, followed by the couple's reconciliation just a month later. "Let's just say that it was a very tumultuous time," Stallone told The Sunday Times of the near-divorce. "There was a reawakening of what was more valuable than anything, which is my love for my family. It takes precedence over my work, and that was a hard lesson to learn."

The late Tony Curtis was a serial younger-woman-pursuer. He divorced first wife Janet Leigh (pictured left) in 1963 when she was 35 for a then-18-year-old Christine Kaufmann (pictured center). He divorced Kaufmann in 1968 when she was 23 and quickly took off with Leslie Allen (whose age has gone unreported) the same year. He and Allen divorced in 1982. Two years later, he wed Andrea Savio, who was 21 at the time. He divorced Savio in 1992, when she was 29, and married attorney Lisa Deutsch (whose age was also unreported) in 1993. They divorced just 10 months later, and he married Jill Ann Vandenberg (pictured right), who was 27 at the time — 45 years younger than Curtis. Vandenberg and Curtis remained together until his death in 2010.

While the actor may have had extensive experience as a husband, his daughter Jamie Lee Curtis — whom he shared with Leigh — has confirmed that he was a terrible father. "Children, as we all know, are complicated and messy. He was not a father and he was not interested in being a father," she said during an appearance on "The Talk" (via the Daily Mail), shortly after her dad's death. "It's not a slant against him, he was very clear," she added. "He did what he was supposed to do from a financial standpoint, which was honorable of him but he was not an involved father."

Sir Patrick Stewart was married to second wife Wendy Neuss, then 49, when he met Lisa Dillon, then 24, in late 2003. He and Neuss (pictured left) divorced and he dated Dillon until 2007. After they split, he met jazz singer Sunny Ozell in 2009. They walked down the aisle in 2013. While Ozell (pictured right) is much younger than Stewart and Neuss, she's actually about a year older than Dillon.

The "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star's marriage to Ozell has stood the test of time, lasting more than a decade. "I've never met anyone like her before," Stewart told People in 2022. "She is so smart and so informed. And her intellectual accomplishments are extraordinary. She remembers everything."

Despite being married to a very well-known man, Ozell has admitted that even after so many years, she still hasn't become comfortable with the trappings of fame. "The whole 'celebrity' thing only intrudes on our lives when we're trying to have a relatively normal dinner out," she expressed to Female First. "People with their darn phones and their Instagram accounts are relentless, and it's profoundly obnoxious at times. Besides that, we're a very normal, loving couple, and we have a great time together."

One aspect of the shady side of Rod Stewart that everyone ignores is his proclivity for younger women — far younger women. In fact, Sir Rod has a type: hot, blond, and younger than his previous lover. He and his first wife Alana Stewart (pictured left) were 34 when they tied the knot in 1979. In 1983 — before his and Alana's divorce was finalized — Rod hooked up with model Kelly Emberg, who was 24 at the time to Alana's 38. He and Emberg dated from 1983 to 1990, when he met and married model Rachel Hunter — when Emberg was 31 and Hunter was 21. He and Hunter (pictured center) were married until 2006, when Rod met model Penny Lancaster, who was 34 to Hunter's 37.

Stewart and Lancaster (pictured at right) tied the knot in 2007 and had two children together. They remain happily married, with no indications that the rocker — who turned 80 in 2025 — has any intentions of seeking a younger bride. That was clear when they renewed their wedding vows in 2017. "Penny is my whole world. What a girl," Stewart told Hello! after the conclusion of the ceremony. "It was a beautifully romantic thing to do. We're not proving anything, just sharing our love with our friends and family."

Johnny Depp wasn't legally married to Vanessa Paradis, but they were together for 14 years and had two kids (daughter Lily Rose and son Jack) and seemed like a rock-solid couple. That is, until Depp co-starred with Amber Heard in 2011's "The Rum Diary." Depp and Heard hit it off during filming, and Depp, then 49, and Paradis, then 39, announced their split in June 2012.

Depp and Heard started traipsing around the globe together and tied the knot in February 2015 when she was 28. They eventually split in May 2016, and it got ugly until they finalized their divorce in early 2017.

Just how ugly became clear when Depp sued Heard for defamation, with the sensationalized, televised trial featuring such hot-button moments as Heard's allegations of Depp's rampant drug use, and her denial that she'd dropped a deuce in their bed (she claimed one of their tiny doggies had proffered the poop). As bonkers as it was nasty, the whole thing wound up cratering both of their acting careers.

The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek was married to wife Suzanne for 16 years when he met 19-year-old model Paulina Porizkova (pictured) on the set of the "Drive" music video. Shortly after, he and Suzanne divorced, and he and Porizkova became inseparable. They married in 1989 and remained spouses for decades.

Ocasek died in 2019 at age 75. At the time, his relationship with Porizkova was not nearly as it had once been; in fact, they'd separated in 2018, and were in the midst of a divorce.

The true state of their relationship emerged when details of Ocasek's will emerged — revealing that he left her nothing. "It's a betrayal," she said when appearing on a podcast, "The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet." "It's a betrayal of my trust and my love and everything I put into him for years and years and years. And I have no way of knowing what possessed him to do this." She was later able to work things out and received a settlement from his estate.

Mel Gibson's 2009 divorce from Robyn Moore was a pricy one, topping the list of the most egregiously expensive divorces in Hollywood. The couple was together for nearly 30 years and had no prenuptial agreement, costing the actor close to half of his estimated $850 million fortune. Robyn, then 53, and Gibson, then 55, reportedly split up when he impregnated pianist Oksana Grigorieva, then 39.

The "Braveheart" star's relationship with Grigorieva (pictured left) also cost him. That tumultuous relationship ended in an acrimonious custody battle over their daughter, Lucia, and legal proceedings rife with accusations of gold-digging and domestic abuse.

It's worth noting that Gibson's love interests have continued to decrease in age. In 2017, he welcomed his ninth child, son Lars Gerard Gibson, with his 26-year-old girlfriend, former equestrian vaulter Rosalind Ross (pictured right).