They were Mouseketeers and vampire slayers. But did they grow up to be homewreckers,
cheaters — and killers? Whether they're still truckin' or they got the hell out,
these former child stars married other celebs.
Justin Timberlake got his start as a
Mouseketeer on "The New Mickey Mouse Club," before becoming a pop sensation with *NSYNC,
and then a Grammy-winning solo artist and actor.
Jessica Biel's big break came when she landed Mary Camden on "7th Heaven." In 2007, Timberlake and
Biel went public with their relationship. And five years later, they tied the knot.
But in 2019, their marriage was put to the test when photos surfaced of
Justin in a bar getting handsy with co-star Alisha Wainwright, according to The Sun.
Justin quickly apologized to his wife on Instagram, adding,
"I am focused on being the best husband and father I can be."
And it appears Justin has been fully committed to his family. In 2021, Jessica posted on Instagram,
"There's no one I have more fun with, have more laughs with,
feel more deeply for and have more history with [...] Happy 40th, my love."
After landing commercial work and
small TV gigs, 14-year-old Mila Kunis auditioned for Jackie on "That '70s
Show." And as she told "The Tonight Show," she totally lied and said she was 18.
"We're gonna make love, you idiot."
"Alright!"
Though they never dated during filming, about six years after "That '70s Show" wrapped,
Mila struck up a romance with co-star Ashton Kutcher.
They got married in 2015 and became parents to two children. So, how did
Jackie and Kelso end up reconnecting all those years later? As Mila explained to Marc Maron,
"We were at an awards show, and I was backstage. I was looking around, and there was like a really
beautiful man from the back. And then he turned around, and I was like, 'Oh, my god! It's Kutch!'"
Long-lasting Hollywood couples are extremely rare.
But Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. beat the odds, celebrating their 19th anniversary
in 2021. Gellar, who staked her claim to fame as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," made her first movie
when she was six years old. The two then met on the set of "I Know What You Did Last Summer."
"We're together 'cuz we like each other and we make each other laugh."
Five years later, they got hitched. Sarah Michelle told Us Weekly that
the key to any successful relationship involves putting in the effort, adding,
"You have to put the work into a relationship. We live in a very disposable society and people
don’t want to have to work. They want immediate reactions, they want immediate responses."
Boasting a powerhouse set of pipes, 13-year-old LeAnn Rimes' rendition of "Blue" went straight
to the top of the charts. With multiple Grammy, CMA, and ACM awards to her name,
the star has been selling-out stadiums around the world for years. But when LeAnn fell for
her co-star Eddie Cibrian on the set of 2009's "Northern Lights," things got really messy.
"You give a guy good sex and a hot meal, and now he's asking you to marry him."
At the time, LeAnn was married to former backup dancer
Dean Sheremet, and Eddie was married to "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star
Brandi Glanville. After news of the affair was reported by Us Weekly, LeAnn tried to brush
off the rumors. But the cat was already out of the bag. She later recalled to People magazine,
"I hate that people got hurt. But I don't regret the outcome."
After finalizing their divorces, the pair got hitched in 2011. And after
more than 10 years together, they still appear to be going strong.
To celebrate a decade with her man, LeAnn posted to Instagram:
"Thank you for being the safe place to finally rest my heart. [...] You are the
biggest cheerleader in my life [...] I look forward to our continued journey."
Silver screen icon Natalie Wood
will always be remembered for "Miracle on 34th Street" and her star turn as Maria in
the original "West Side Story." But her life and legacy were tragically cut short when
she mysteriously drowned in 1981 at age 43. It happened on the yacht she shared
with then-husband, actor Robert Wagner — who was the last person to see her.
"Let's pretend just for tonight, that you're not leaving."
At the time, Natalie's death was ruled an accident. But in 2018, the L.A. County Sheriff's
Department reopened the investigation, and Wagner was named a "person of interest." For now,
Natalie's death remains unsolved. But as a lead homicide investigator told The Times in 2020,
"The case is going to stay open until we find out the truth of what happened."
Best known for her role on the '70s sitcom
"One Day at a Time," Valerie Bertinelli has been a small screen mainstay for decades,
more recently with "Valerie's Home Cooking." When the fresh-faced actor
married late rock icon Eddie Van Halen, fans were shocked. In her memoir, "Enough Already:
Learning to Love the Way I Am Today," Bertinelli wrote,
"We were portrayed as a mismatch, the bad boy rock star and America's sweetheart
but privately, Ed wasn't the person people thought he was and neither was I."
"At first it was real difficult, but now it's still difficult."
The actor and the legendary guitarist were reportedly unfaithful to one another,
with Valerie telling "Today,"
"It was a shame and it was a guilt that I carried with me for a very long time."
She also opened up about their drug use, noting that as they filled out
marriage paperwork given to them by their priest, they "each held a little vial of
coke." The couple divorced in 2007. Though they endured a rollercoaster of a marriage,
the two made amends later in their lives. As Valerie told "Today" in 2021,
"I’m so happy that we were able to come to a beautiful place by the end of his life."
With a starring role in "National Velvet,"
Elizabeth Taylor became MGM's top child star in 1944. This was just the beginning of a storied
Hollywood career, which included five Academy Awards and seven husbands — one of which,
was actor Richard Burton. They were such a good match, they got married and divorced twice.
"I think we loved almost too hard."
But when they first met, Liz was married to singer Eddie Fisher. And Richard was wed to
Sybil Burton. Of course, the tabloids had a field day with the scandal. But the fire
couldn't burn that hot forever. According to the book "Furious Love," Liz later recalled,
"I don't want to be that much in love ever again... I gave everything away... my soul,
my being, everything."
Melissa Gilbert won the hearts of America
playing "Half-pint" Laura Ingalls on "Little House on the Prairie." She met her hubby,
actor Timothy Busfield, at a bar in 2012, with Timothy telling Michigan Live,
"I was just going out to get a slice of pizza and a beer and
watch sports on TV. […] Then I saw her smile and I was gone."
"We immediately fell in love."
"Immediately."
A year later, the couple tied the knot in 2013. Gilbert had
previously been married to actors Bo Brinkman and Bruce Boxleitner.
But Melissa and Timothy seem to be perfect for each other.
In a 2019 Instagram post, Gilbert gushed,
"Six years ago today, I married my soulmate. I have never been more content, more cherished,
or happier. Every day, even the difficult ones, is filled with a joy I never could have imagined."
After Usher discovered him on YouTube,
Justin Bieber went on to become one of the world's best-selling recording artists.
Previously linked to fellow pop star Selena Gomez,
Justin's relationship with model Hailey Baldwin began in 2015. They got engaged in July of 2018,
and legally married two months later, with an official wedding celebration in September 2019.
"I think that it was…so meant to be."
Though their relationship sounds like the plot to an actual Hollywood fairytale, Hailey
says she's not looking at their union through rose-colored glasses. She explained to Vogue,
"I'm not going to sit here and lie and say it's all a magical fantasy. We're going to change a
lot. But we're committed to growing together and supporting each other in those changes."
In 2021, Justin admitted they definitely had their challenges,
but that it all appeared to be worth it. As he told GQ,
"My home life was not existing. I didn't have someone to love.
I didn't have someone to pour into. But now I have that."
Tatum O'Neal became the youngest
person ever to snag an Academy Award when she won for 1973's "Paper Moon" at age 10.
The daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal seemed to have a bright future ahead,
but drug addiction and drama would haunt her for years to come.
In 1984, she connected with tennis megastar,
John McEnroe, who had become infamous for his on-court temper tantrums.
Tatum told "20/20" that it was "love at first sight." But the relationship quickly blew up,
and both partners took aim at each other. Tatum claimed John was cruel and violent, alleging,
"He would take out all of his rage onto me."
"I was, I was really ready to kind of fall down and not get back up."
John denied he ever struck her. But after six years of marriage and three children together,
the couple divorced in 1994. In his autobiography "You Cannot Be Serious," John alleged of Tatum,
"I think she'd realized she was such trouble, and so incapable of being the wife that I wanted,
that eventually I'd be happier with someone else."
Corey Feldman started booking commercials
at age 3. The actor and producer has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows throughout his
decades-long career. But the star made headlines more often for his complicated off-camera life.
And that included everything from a difficult childhood to a history of drug abuse.
Corey married "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum Vanessa Marcil in
1989 when they were both teens. As Vanessa told Entertainment Weekly,
"[It was] actually a joke we played on our friends. We were messed-up kids,
you know? [...] To say that we were really married is completely not true."
But Corey has a different take on what went down. In his autobiography
"Coreyography," the actor described one incident, alleging,
"Vanessa and I are a wreck, fighting constantly.
So I escape back downtown, a bum approaches me [and] asks me to rent a hotel room,
amazingly I do. In exchange he shoots me up. And this is the saddest moment of my
life. […] I lied to Vanessa, let her get swept off her feet by a closet junkie."
The duo, who never moved in together, divorced in 1993.
Janet Jackson appeared with her brothers,
The Jackson 5, and launched her acting career on "Good Times."
When she was 16 years old — just before her pop superstardom ascent began — along came
R&B singer James DeBarge. Jackson recalled in her 2022 documentary,
"He was a sweet guy. He was a nice guy."
At 18, Jackson secretly married DeBarge. But that "sweet guy" soon turned sour.
On their wedding night, the groom even disappeared for several hours. Jackson said,
"Subconsciously, when it comes to relationships, somehow I'm attracted
to people that use drugs. I knew that he needed help. But I wasn't the help that he needed."
"I was going through a lot with my marriage. And it's not a secret,
everyone knows he had issues at that time with drugs."
The marriage came and went in a matter of months.
Brooke Shields became a global sex symbol,
thanks to her turn in "Pretty Baby" when she was only 12.
Cut to 1993 when the star met tennis superstar Andre Agassi,
who went pro when he was just 16 years old. The pair tied the knot four years later, in 1997.
But when Shields guest-starred on "Friends," things took a turn. After seeing her character
lick Joey's fingers, she recalled of Andre in her memoir, "There Was a Little Girl,"
"He said I made him look like a fool by licking Joey’s fingers and he got in his car and drove all
the way to Vegas. Once there, he smashed all of his tennis trophies, destroying them in a rage."
Things unraveled even further when Andre revealed
he was using crystal meth throughout their relationship. Admitting that he wasn't in
the right frame of mind to make the marriage work, Andre told "Today,"
"You need in a marriage,
two people who understand themselves [...] and I certainly didn't understand myself."
"He did himself in, in it. But, you know, he was — he's not a horrible person."
The pair divorced in 1999. Brooke has been married to producer Chris Henchy since 2001.
And Andre married former tennis pro Steffi Graf that same year.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues,
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