When it comes to tempers, Russell Crowe's has been nothing short of a raging bull.
From bar fights, ripping phones off the wall and even licking women’s faces.
The actor was recently spotted kissing his new love Britney Theriot - who is
26 years younger than him, might we add. It's the first time he's gone public with
a relationship since his very messy divorce from wife Danielle Spencer way back in 2012.
But perhaps this time, Britney will be the one to tame the aggressive gladiator.
Russell Crowe met singer Danielle Spencer in 1989 when she was cast as his girlfriend in
the Australian movie The Crossing. He was just 25, and she was only 19. They started
dating around a year later, but it seemed that their relationship was a lot more
on-and-off as time went on because Russell was more focused on his career than his personal life.
"We came out of that relationship after a few years with no animosity – it was just
circumstance," Danielle shared in an interview.
She went on to explain that Crowe was "very ambitious" and determined to move to Hollywood.
She was still quite young and focused on her own singing career in Sydney.
Danielle confessed that she wasn't ready to "take the plunge" by committing to their relationship.
In the meantime, Danielle and Russell kept in touch, and she acknowledged that she was
too young to settle down just yet. On the other hand, that didn't stop Crowe from getting involved
with other women - one married woman, to be more specific. Yep, that's right, Meg Ryan.
He met Meg on the set of the 2000 movie Proof of Life, and sparks instantly flew between the two,
sparking their very infamous affair. It's no surprise that Meg's marriage
of nine years to actor Dennis Quaid soon began to crumble as her affair continued.
When news of the actress's adultery broke out, it was plastered all over the tabloids, and Meg - who
was once Hollywood's most beloved leading lady - was now labeled the "scarlet woman."
"It was in One Aldwych Hotel. I walked through the lobby,
and the place stopped. People stopped talking and stared at me. Then I got to the elevator,
and instead of falling apart and going, 'Ooh,' I just started laughing." Meg shared,
explaining that she wasn't bothered by the tabloids at the time.
However, Russell didn't hadn't bad publicity as well. In fact, he walked out of press conferences
when the romance was mentioned, and he was less than pleased when the 'Proof of Life' director,
Taylor Hackford, blamed the film's box office failure on the affair.
Taylor shared with reporters, "It had an indelible and very destructive effect on
the release of the film in the US because the real-life story overpowered the film."
When this message was relayed to Russell,
he replied: "He's a fucking idiot. No, seriously, what a knob."
Following her divorce, Meg insisted that Russell had nothing to do with it. She and Russell
continued their romance for the next year or so, but their relationship soon fizzled out too.
When asked about their breakup, Russell said, "Meg is a beautiful and courageous woman.
I grieve the loss of her companionship, but I haven't lost her friendship."
Meg, on the other hand, confessed, "I was a mess. I hurt him, too, at the end.
I couldn't be in another long relationship; it wasn't the time for that. So I got out."
Over the next two years, the star was linked to numerous A-list actresses,
including Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, and Nicole Kidman.
Nicole first met Russell in their native Australia. But she firmly denied that she had
any relationship with him that wasn't platonic. She claimed that they had never even kissed
but had known each other since they were both in their early twenties and were "very good friends."
Russell had a different version of the story.
He claimed, "I think she is pulling your leg. I have actually been in
a number of adult situations with Nicole. It gets lonely on the road."
It seemed like another one of Russell's close friendships with Courtney Love also led to a
romantic relationship back in 2001. However, after arriving together at the Oscars the
following year, the pair ended up exchanging some very harsh words in front of the public.
After partying until 3 am at a Beverly Hills bash, the actor left without Courtney. Making
things even worse, he left in his limo with none other than his ex - Danielle Spencer.
Courtney was humiliated and
furious. She banged on the windows of the car and, according to witnesses,
screamed and shouted several profanities, yelling, "Why are you so fucking paranoid?"
After that incident, Russell claimed that he hadn't been romantically involved with Courtney
at all but explained that he cut her out of his life because she had insulted Danielle.
What's more, there was also news of Courtney's pregnancy and miscarriage, and the tabloids all
assumed that Crowe had been the father. But he disputed all of those claims too.
The actor explained, "I always had a lot of time for her until earlier this year,
when she kind of verbally attacked a really good friend of mine. I don't believe it's the
gentleman's prerogative to ring up the media to deny a sexual liaison. It's ungallant."
Despite the numerous rumors buzzing around all his leading ladies,
it turned out that Russell had rekindled his romance with Danielle by the start of 2002.
"I do believe that things happen when they are meant to,
and we were both ready to marry." Spencer shared.
However, their rekindled romance was followed by several claims of the actor's flirtations
and aggressive behavior. On one occasion that year, the actor was drunk at a London restaurant,
and a witness claimed he approached fellow diner Georgie Calder and tried to kiss her,
then licked her face and invited her to his hotel room.
He also got into a fight at a bar with millionaire Eric Watson
who claimed the star made a racist taunt, refused to apologize,
then punched him twice in the face before being wrestled to the floor.
But it seemed that his bad-boy behavior wasn't something that bothered Danielle.
Russell popped the big question at his favorite restaurant in Sydney,
and she said yes. They later got married in 2003.
A few months later, the singer fell pregnant with their first child.
She encouraged Russell to quit drinking with her, and he agreed … but not for long.
It wasn't just a few months later that Russell was photographed at a
German Strip club - while his heavily pregnant wife was sitting at home.
The actor's agent claimed that Russell and his pals were simply
"letting off steam" after the premiere of his film Master And Commander in 2003
and that Danielle would have been with him if she had been able to fly. Yeah, the idea that
his pregnant wife would have joined him at a strip club has us scratching our heads too.
The couple welcomed their first son, Charles, at the end of 2003 and later went on to have
another boy, Tennyson , in 2006. Danielle put her own musical career on hold to raise the boys,
while Russell was often away from his family, focusing on his own career.
For a while, Russell appeared to have been tamed by Danielle. The actor shared in a 2005 interview,
"My wife is a very contained person, very passionate and creative, with a
quietness and grace that I really appreciate," he told You in 2005.
But despite his newfound love of country walks and family time, she claimed he didn't need taming.
"He's a sensitive soul, very romantic. He's a soulful, loyal person who has deeply entrenched
family values. And I know he's someone I can count on. I don't think I've tamed him; I just
think there's a natural progression when you become a parent and are relaxed and happier."
She added that it was the pressure of being a celebrity and the toxic
environment of Hollywood that had made him quick-tempered and "defensive"
and said he'd "moved into a calmer environment that works better for him."
Things might have been peaceful when Russell was at home, but when he was away, it was a different
story. In 2005, Russell ripped a telephone off a wall and threw it at a hotel concierge in New York
when he couldn't get through to his wife. He was later arrested and fined £120 for the incident,
but it was rumored that he actually paid the concierge around £750,000 to avoid a lawsuit.
In that same year, patrons of a bar in Toronto claimed Russell was drinking heavily
and had been asking women to give him a kiss and complaining they were 'bitches’ when they refused.
No doubt Danielle heard of her husband's behavior away from home,
and things between them soon tensions began to rise between the couple. In 2011,
guests at a casino reopening the couple attended reported they were "frosty" towards each other,
Later that year, Danielle moved into a new £6 million house in the eastern
Sydney suburb of Rose Bay, and neighbors claimed she and the children moved in alone.
Russell was nowhere to be seen. As it turned out, whenever the actor was in town,
he stayed in their penthouse - alone - and attended his sons' football matches.
Their divorce was announced the next year in 2012 and was finalized in 2018.
Thankfully, he and Danielle were able to keep things civil for the sake of
their boys and even went on holidays together as a family after their split.
This finally brings us back to his new lady, Britney Theriot. While there were rumors going
around about their romance for a while, it seems their recent public outing featured a lot of PDA,
kissing, touching, and all, which have confirmed it.
While their relationship is still pretty new and in its blossoming stages, they're no
strangers to each other. In fact, the pair acted alongside each other in the 2013 film Broken City.
At just 30 years old, Britney is 26 years his junior, but perhaps now that the actor isn't
as busy in his career as he once was, he'll be on his best behavior for her.
Who knows? We just hope that they make each other happy! After all the whirlwind romances,
fleeting affairs, and bar brawls, Briteny might be just the calming influence he needs.