We all fell in love with Sandra Bullock when she made us laugh endlessly throughout Miss
Congeniality. So when she found love in the arms of Jesse James, the world could not have
been more thrilled. On the red carpet and in photographs, the celebrity pair looked
like a match made in heaven. Sadly, things quickly turned sour when suddenly headlines
of numerous tabloids alleged several cheating allegations against James. At first, people
thought they were baseless rumors… that was until Sandra packed her bags and moved
out of their California home. What made things worse is that Jesse claimed it was inevitable,
and he never thought Sandra loved him. What followed was one of the messiest, most humiliating
divorces in the history of Hollywood, and we've got everything you need to know about
it.
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Sandra and Jesse met when she had arranged for her then-10-year-old godson to meet Jesse
for his birthday back in late 2003. At the time, they took a tour of Jesse's garage,
West Coast Choppers, because the youngster was a fan of the show Monster Garage. The
reality show was well known for showing audiences the process of how a group of maverick mechanics
attempted to transform ordinary vehicles into completely different machines.
It was there, in Jesse's garage that sparks flew between the two. They hit it off almost
immediately and soon started dating. After two years, Sandra and the motorcycle guru
made their love official. On July 16, 2005, the lovers tied the knot in a romantic ceremony
in California.
Jesse already had three children from his previous marriage, so when the couple wed,
not only did Sandra become a wife, she became a step-mom too.
"Here's the thing, I have children. I married into children. I love those children. My concern
and my love for those kids as a co parent is no less than if I had that child biologically.
I don't see the difference between that and having your own child biologically." Sandra
shared.
The actress seemed happier than ever, and her career was on the rise too. At the Golden
Globes, Bullock scored an award for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in "The Blind Side." During
her acceptance speech, she looked lovingly at Jesse and said, "and to my husband, there
is no surprise that my work got better when I met you because I never knew what it felt
like for someone to have my back. So thank you! "
Everything seemed perfect, and in an interview with Barbra Walters, Sandra even said, "I
hope the same people that are in my house today will be there 10 years from now."
Sadly in 2010, just when fans thought the pair couldn't have been happier, In Touch
Weekly reported about Jesse's alleged cheating with model Michelle "Bombshell" McGee. Michelle
confessed that she had an 11-month long affair with Jesse.
The model went on to explain that their affair had occurred while Bullock was filming "The
Blind Side." Michelle claimed that Jesse told her," 'She [Bullock] doesn't live here. She
has a house in Austin. She is filming and I can't talk about it."
A second woman, Melissa Smith, came forward to have also had an affair with Jesse that
lasted for two years. TMZ was later able to obtain a letter that Melissa had faxed to
Bullock's agent. In the letter, she reportedly said sorry and ended off with "Please contact
me if you wish to discuss on the phone or in person."
Then, a third woman, Bridgitte Daguerre, also came forward to tell the story of her affair
with Sandra's husband. She claimed that their affair had begun in 2008 and had over 195
text messages from James to prove her story. One of the texts from him read, "I'll be your
monkey."
Sandra's world had just come crashing down. What made it worse was just as Michelle made
her confession, several other women came forward to share their own account of their affairs
with Jesse. With her heart and trust broken, Sandra packed up her things and left their
California home.
The actress decided to pull out of the London premiere for "The Blind Side." Warner Bros
released a statement on her behalf, "Due to unforeseen personal reasons, a trip abroad
to support 'The Blind Side' has been deemed impossible at this time. I apologize for any
inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your continued support of the film."
Shortly after the shocking news, Jesse issued a public apology to Bullock and their children;
however, he didn't seem to take responsibility for all of the allegations.
"There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me," he said
in a statement. However, he went on to claim that a "vast majority" of the allegations
made against him were "untrue and unfounded," he added, "it's because of my poor judgment
that I deserve everything bad that is coming my way."
Jesse went on to acknowledge the pain and embarrassment that he had caused his family,
and he hoped that they could find it in their hearts to forgive him. Unfortunately for Jesse,
it was all too little too late. It wasn't much later that another woman, Merilee Gerth,
came forward to admit to her affair with James. She also went on to sue him for sexual harassment
after their alleged affair.
Sandra filed for divorce from her husband one month after the affair news broke out,
and it was finalized just two months later. James went on to check himself into rehab
at Treatment Center in Arizona to seek help for what he described as "personal issues."
In an exclusive interview with People Magazine, Sandra revealed she was adopting a 3½-month-old
baby named Louis, born in New Orleans. Bullock confessed that she had begun the adoption
process with James four years ago but decided to keep it under wraps until after the Oscars.
"It's like he's always been a part of our lives," Bullock told the magazine. The issue
with Bullock's new adopted baby on the cover sold 3 million copies.
According to the actress, she gave the child his name because "It was one of the first
names that came to mind. Louis Armstrong's song 'What a Wonderful World' kept playing
in my head when I looked at him, so Louis just seemed to stick."
Hanging his head low, James was currently one of the most hated men in Hollywood. Rather
than avoid the press and keep the details of his relationship with Sandra private, he
took every opportunity he could to share his side of the story.
In an interview with Howard Stern, Jesse confessed that he never believed that his ex-wife loved
him back.
"I always felt like any moment that rug was going to be yanked out," he said, referring
to his relationship with Bullock. And when referencing her Oscars acceptance speech when
she announced how much she loved James, he still couldn't believe her. "Yeah, she could
stand there in front of the world and say she loved me, but in my mind, I was thinking,
'Yeah bullshit' You don't love me.'"
According to the former reality star, he didn't cheat on Bullock right away. For a couple
of years, they were in a bubble of happiness. He admitted that he felt like he really loved
her. Unfortunately, when it came to Sandra's fame, he didn't feel like he could compete.
"I married America's sweetheart, and she's one of the biggest stars in the world, but
I'm still this fucked up kid from Long Beach. The stuff that I did that was bad, I don't
think necessarily nullifies everything I felt…I really did have real feelings for her. The
problem was me."
In the process of their divorce, the former reality star also lost custody of their adopted
child. He admitted it was the most challenging part of the divorce, and he also didn't think
it was fair. Jesse didn't think that he should have lost custody of his adopted son simply
because he had been unfaithful to Sandra. He was heartbroken that he wasn't going to
be able to watch his son grow up.
However, when it comes to Sandra fans, they believe that Jesse got what was coming to
him. His infidelity had gone on for most of their marriage. While Sandra was the ultimate
stepmother to his own children, he chose to break the vows they had made to one another
and sleep with other women. Rather than be proud of the success that the actress had
made with her career, he seemed to resent it.
"In general, both women and men cheat. It's part of life." Jesse said.
Fans think that perhaps he envied the fact that Sandra had become one of the most successful
actresses in Hollywood, while he was simply a reality star? We'll never truly know why
he chose to betray Bullock the way that he did, but what we do know is that the actress
has come out better for it.
Sandra has admitted that she is grateful for her divorce from James because it led her
to where she is today. She explained that it's when you stop looking that you end up
finding everything you've ever wanted.
"My life took a trajectory that wasn't very pleasant, but I feel like it had to happen
in order for me to fully understand what family was about." The actress admitted.
Five years after their divorce, Sandra found love with Bryan Randall. The couple met in
2015 after she hired the handsome hunk to come to take photos at her son Louis' birthday
party. Since then, the pair has been happier than ever. According to Bullock, it wasn't
until she was fully healed that she could meet the person who would eventually become
her soulmate.
"They are best friends and partners," a close friend of the couple shared, adding Sandra
is Bryan's "greatest supporter."
Sandra is looking forward to her future with Bryan. Another friend of the couple shared,
"Sometimes they sit back and laugh because they look at their lives and they feel like
an old married couple. They're set in their ways and content. The kids are healthy and
happy. This is all she's ever wanted: this is heaven for Sandra."