Regarded as one of the hottest men in Hollywood, even now after having turned 60 back in August,
David Duchovny is most recognized for his roles in the shows X-Files and Californication.
Did you know that while playing the sex-mad writer, the actor was actually struggling
with real-life sex addiction, when he was in a happy marriage, Was it happy though? Soon
after the divorce, media rushed to speculate it was caused by David' alleged infidelity and
even mentioned his X-Files co-star Gillian Anderson as one of his romantic interests.
Was it true? And what was really happening in the life of the famously private actor David Duchovny?
Well, we bet we have quite a story to share with you. But before we get this sorted out,
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Before becoming a family man, Duchovny was reportedly linked to a number of high-profile
women, including Ashley Judd, Maggie Wheeler and Winona Ryder. Interestingly, you will
hardly find any real proof or confirmation in the media that these romances existed.
As far as Ryder is concerned, the two were believed to have a brief fling in the mid 90s.
David who preferred to stay coy about it once said: “I was just good friends with
Winona. I just don’t like to talk about my personal life. It’s an area I don’t go into.”
It was the peak of popularity of the series X-Files. Tabloids were thirsty for any information
whatsoever about the hunky actor's private life. As much as everyone wanted the show
characters Scully and Mulder to end up together, people also wanted the two actors to date.
The desire was so strong that even years after the series end,
both stars were asked this question and kept insisting they never dated.
In 2016, Duchovny, when asked to address the
rumours that for some reason continued resurfacing, said:
“Gillian and I are not lovers, or boyfriend and girlfriend. There seems to be a certain
kind of Twitter contingent that wants us to be together. It’s odd to me,
because I’ve never had the fantasy of wanting two people together that aren’t, or are.”
Also in 2016, in an interview with The Telegraph,
Anderson said she had (quote) “never been romantically involved with Duchovny.”
Two years later she reinstated the idea saying she doesn't even know much about David.
She added, however, that they have huge respect for each other and get along really well.
However, there was evidence from numerous sources that while the show was in the making
the co-leads were not always so friendly with each other and even had serious fights on set.
One of the show actors, Dean Haglund, confirmed the rumour. But let us be honest:
who wouldn't have conflicts after working together 12 intense hours a day, 5 days a week?
There was a rather awkward episode sort of proving the point.
When Duchovny earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series in 1997,
he thanked Anderson in his acceptance speech calling her the best co-star anybody could have.
When the cameras moved to catch Gillian's reaction to those sweet sweet words, the only thing they
captured was an eye-roll. In addition to that, Anderson did NOT similarly mention Duchovny when
she won Best Actress. All together it looked like a sign of her not being so fond of her co-star.
And then, all of a sudden, in 1997 Duchovny was already off the market when he married
The Jurassic Park actress Tea Leone after a whirlwind courtship. After the first series of
Californication - the show about the sex-obsessed writer Hank Moody - aired in the United States,
tabloid stories speculated that Duchovny’s relationship with Leoni was on the rocks.
And unfortunately that was true. The couple, blessed with two kids,
had their first split in 2008. They spent several months apart after Duchovny admitted
that he was a sex addict and voluntarily checked himself into a treatment center.
He said in a statement released through his lawyer. “I ask for respect and privacy
for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family.”
As you might have guessed, tabloids kind of ignored the request to be respectful,
especially minding the fact that Calfornication ensured a sensational comeback for David.
During that period the actor threatened to sue the Mail On Sunday over a story alleging
he had an affair with a Hungarian tennis instructor which allegedly caused the split.
The Mail on Sunday retracted the story, but the attention Duhovny had at the time was
surely not making things easier either for him, or his family.
It should be noted that David was one of the first celebrities to confess to having
sex addiction and seeking professonal help. Psychologists explain that sex addicition
is as dangerous as any other addiction, destoying someone's personality if ignored.
While in treatment, David and Tea were apart and shortly after that they reunited,
but in 2014 the pair eventually filed for divorce, after having been separated for 3 years.
So, on television David's show soared and lasted for 7 successful years, but in real
life David was having struggle behind closed doors, the struggle people knew nothing about.
Leoni never said a bad word about her ex. She still thinks very highly of
David as the person she loved and as the father of their children.
"Listen, David gave me the two greatest gifts on the planet; I don't know how I
could ever hate him. We've always loved each other, and we adore these kids."
By the way, in 2007 Duchovny was definitely planning that his marriage is going to last
no less than his entire life as for this 10-year wedding anniversary he tattooed a
four-letter anagram on his ring finger. The anagram stands for At Your Side Forever.
Now he jokes that he is not going to have his finger cut
off because the circumstances have changed.
Interestingly, according to IMDB, Duchovny has (quote) "an allergic reaction to metal which
prevented him from wearing his wedding ring at times". Even though it is hard
to find confirmation of this fact, which has been mostly circulating as a rumour,
some didn't miss a chance to link it to David's sex addiction and his divorce.
Talking about being a family guy a couple of years ago, Duchovny said
he had no regrets about his marriage, but has no desire to walk down the aisle ever again.
"I don't think I want to be married again. I just feel like I'm old!"
It looks like now Duchovny is more concerned about being a good dad rather than becoming
a newly-made good husband. David has recently opened up that his
relationship with his own dad affected the way he sees fatherhood in general.
His parents got divorced when he was a young.
“I probably didn’t get as much of my dad as I wanted as a kid.
There was always that kind of hunger for him.”
When Duchovny became a father himself, he let go the hard feelings associated with
the lack of communication with his dad, as he realized that everyone makes mistakes.
Also being a musician, David Duchovny channeled his feelings in the song
“Stranger in the Sacred Heart,” which he wrote while touring in Europe.
It would be fair to say that 60 is just a number for David who looks absolutely stunning.
Does the fact that he is not planning to remarry mean he is not dating anyone? Probably not.
In 2017, the actor was spotted with 24-year-old Monique Pendleberry in
Vancouver. A year and a half later the two were hitting the beach in Malibu.
But since then, we haven't heard much about them. Is it a sign of the couples'
great conspirology abilities or the sign of their split?
Hard to say… We are still talking about notoriously private David Duchovny!
Meanwhile, as long as we have mentioned Gillian Anderson, she has quite unexpectedly returned
to the big screen a couple of years ago and remains one of the most sought-after actresses.
Anderson has been in the hit series American Gods, Sex Education and The Crown.
Her love life has been no less exciting. Anderson was married twice and has had
two long-term partners after that. She is also a mother of 3 beautiful kids.
It has just been revealed that Anderson and Peter Morgan,
a writer and producer known for his work on The Crown, have broken up. It is never easy
to end a relationship, no matter how amicable the separation was. Shortly after the split,
52-year-old Anderson took to her Instagram account with 1.6 million followers and
posted a photo of herself holding a dog and introducing it as (quote) "my new gf Stella".
We have recently got to know a rather breaking fact about Gillian and David's … no, not
relationships, but their SALARY while in X-Files. Anderson actually had to fight for equal pay on
the show - not once, but twice! First in the 90s when the show just started and then again in the
2016 reboot. She didn’t get equal pay for equal work until three years after the series took off.
Years and years later, when she was approached for the reboot, the actress was only offered half of
what David would make. Despite the studio's attempt at lowballing her, Anderson won the
pay gap battle but the weird thing is that she even had to have this fight in the first place.
Duchovny was also shocked by such development and did everything he could to make sure
they get equal pay for their work on the series. He has been open about his stance:
"...I have always wanted us to be paid the same,
for as long as I've known there was a discrepancy. Hollywood payment is not fair,
and it doesn't always parcel on gender lines or race lines, or anything like that."
That's all for today! Thanks for watching!