The 90s were full of iconic couples, fast weddings, and even faster divorces.
Paula Abdul and Emilio Estevez were definitely a part of the trend.
Many thought they would truly be together forever, but a heart-breaking reality of what
they wanted for their future ended up being what tore them apart.
The year was 1991, and Paula Abdul was dating early 90s heartthrob John Stamos.
The pair seemed to be happy together, but that would all change with a phone call from
Emilio Estevez.
The actor initially called the singer to express his admiration for her.
He then continued to reach out once every couple of months to keep in touch.
Estevez and Abdul’s relationship was strictly landline exclusive as she was still involved
with someone else.
Then, just before her world tour in 1991, she ended her romance with Stamos.
Paula’s first stop on her tour was New York.
While she was there, Emilio left a message at the hotel she was staying at.
He was staying at the same hotel and suggested they go out for dinner.
From there, the romance bloomed, and their relationship was in full swing.
"After that, he would send flowers or letters to every city I was in.
We would have phone conversations and visit every few weekends.
We thought everything was perfect,” she said.
At that time, Estevez had never been married, but he did have two children with model Carey
Salley.
A 7-year-old son and a daughter who was 2 years younger.
Him being such a great dad to his kids was one of the reasons Abdul fell in love with
the guy.
She also hoped to have a family of her own with him.
Just six months after they started dating, she would get one step closer to that family
she dreamed of.
She went out to visit him in Minneapolis while he was filming The Mighty Ducks.
During the visit, Emilio popped the big question.
Paula, of course, said yes.
And his proposal couldn’t be any more perfect.
“He got down on his knee and said, ‘I’ve been in love with you for a long time.
I don’t want to live my life without you.’
I just melted,” she recalled.
We’re melting too!
It wasn’t long; in fact, it was just a couple of months until the pair got married.
They wed in a private ceremony at a Santa Monica courthouse.
Despite how low-key and unusual their wedding was for two stars of their caliber, it was
still dubbed the Hollywood wedding of the year.
There wasn’t much news on the couple after they became husband and wife, but they still
made their red-carpet appearances.
Everyone assumed the newlyweds were happily in love.
In 1994, almost exactly two years after Paula and Emilio wed, the Straight Up singer filed
for divorce.
She released a statement saying it was with tremendous reluctance and great sadness that
she’s taken this action.
Abdul also noted that she had great affection and both personal and professional respect
for her soon-to-be ex-husband.
The one hope was that they would continue to be supportive of each other.
The actor released a statement as well.
“I have nothing but admiration, love, and respect for Paula.
I’m sorry we weren’t able to come to a different conclusion,” he said.
At the time, it was reported that the separation might have had something to do with rumors
about Estevez having extra-marital affairs, which Abdul had allegedly believed.
Then, an interview with the singer came out where she divulged the true reason for the
split.
Emilio was already a father of two and didn’t want to have any more children.
Paula let him know that she was very interested in having kids.
He initially agreed, only to later have a change of heart later.
He decided it just wasn’t in the cards for him, not even if it meant getting a divorce
from the woman he loved.
“It was very hard for him to admit that he couldn’t handle having kids again.
It was heartbreaking for us both,” she said.
After their divorce was finalized, the exes never spoke about one another again.
Well, at least until 2006, when Estevez commented on his ex-wife’s gig as an American Idol
judge.
He was asked how he enjoyed the show, and his answer was…
Well, interesting?
He said he did not watch the show because it was a part of the fame machine that he
objects to.
A machine that favors popularity over talent.
“Bush said we're bingeing on oil.
I think we're bingeing on gossip.
It's gotten so far away from the work.
Now people are just famous for being famous,” he said.
Well, is he wrong?
Just two years after her divorce from Emilio, Paula got married again to Brad Beckerman.
Rather similarly to her first marriage, just two years later, she filed for divorce and
cited the usual “irreconcilable differences” as the reason.
As for nowadays, Abdul has recently been linked to her on-again, off-again boyfriend, JT Torregiani.
The pair dated for the first time in 2007, but it didn’t quite work out.
Unfortunately, their relationship fizzled out soon after it started, and JT wouldn't
make headlines again until 7 years later, when he began another romantic endeavor with
Dancing With The Stars mainstay Cheryl Burke.
Soon after, that pair also split up, leaving another few-year gap before he and Paula began
seeing each other again toward the end of 2020.
"She is more nurturing than most women I know, let alone women I have dated.
She has such a big heart and even with her crazy work schedule, she always makes time
for me," JT said.
Now the pair seem happier than ever and are super loved up.
Abdul is seemingly very content in her relationship and sees herself being with JT for some time.
The singer has said that she is just in a good place in her heart and Torregiani is
her best friend.
"He’s a sweetie pie.
He’s a positive force that has come into my life right now.
Where it leads, who knows?"
she said.
The star joked that even the most hard-headed of her friends have taken a liking to JT,
referencing co-star Simon Cowell's comments specifically, which she recalled as, "He’s
a great, normal guy – why does he like you?"
If that wasn’t enough, talk of potentially having children sometime soon has also come
up.
And yes, that would be with JT!
However, this may just be tabloid fodder because Paula is now 60 years old.
Who knows where this is heading, but we are excited to see!
As for Emilio, he has kept a low profile in recent years, perhaps reluctant to be a cog
in the dreaded fame machine.
He seemed to have never truly moved on from Paula as he never remarried, and there hasn’t
been much on his love life since then.
The saddest part about Estevez and Abdul’s split is despite not having children being
the one thing that led to their demise, the singer still never had any children of her
own.
This begs the question, if she knew she wouldn’t have children, would she have stayed with
Emilio?
Paula Abdul and Emilio Estevez may have had a short, whirlwind romance and marriage, but
they seem to have had a lot of love for one another.
Even though they ended things almost 30 years ago, how could we ever forget their love story?
We are glad to see Paula is happy and in love.
Wherever Emilio is on his life path and whatever he’s up to, we hope he is happy too.
Let us know in the comments below what your thoughts are on their marriage and the reason
it ended.
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As always, this has been Rumor Juice.