Jim Carrey is definitely one of the funniest men Hollywood has ever seen! But what if it’s
just a mask of a depressed and exhausted person? What if Jim has been playing someone else
his whole life? What if his desire to make people laugh made the women he loved cry?
Many times heartbroken, twice divorced, and once but forever devastated by accusations
of killing his loved one… Be ready to meet Jim Carrey that has nothing in common with
his bizarre film characters. We’ll tell you how the 58-year-old ended up all alone.
Keep watching the video and don’t forget to subscribe to Rumour Juice YouTube channel
to discover other exciting showbiz stories.
Let’s get back to the times when Jim just moved to Hollywood. It's never been a secret
he briefly dated Linda Ronstadt in the early ‘80s, but not many know he was living with
his parents at the time. Wait, but Jim and his parents are Canadians, aren’t they?
Why would an aspiring actor in his twenties move to Hollywood with his parents?
The thing is that Jim’s family struggled financially for years. As a teenager, Carrey
made ends meet by working as a janitor after school. Soon the situation got even worse:
the Carreys became homeless and had to live in a Volkswagen van. Besides, Jim’s mother
got very sick at the time. In an attempt to help distract his family from hardships and
to deal with them himself, young Carrey started making jokes and performing for his relatives.
And it worked. In a candid interview with CBS back in 2014, Carrey revealed how he discovered
his sense of humor. He said: “Depression. I had a sick mom, man. I wanted to make her
feel better.” So Carrey channeled his depression into stand-up comedy. Jim’s father was very
supportive and tried to help the young comedian by driving him to different gigs. When all
of a sudden Jim got one in Hollywood, he invited his family to live with him.
Okay, it’s clear now why he wanted to stay together with his family even in Hollywood,
unlike regular people of his age who prefer to run away from home as soon as possible.
But what about his relationship with Linda Ronstadt? They met during one of Jim’s performances
at Los Angeles Comedy store. Ronstadt asked Carrey whether he was open for her, and he
replied, "No, but I'll go out with you if you want." And so they did. Ronstadt was in
her mid-30s, while Jim was in his early 20s. She didn’t mind Jim sharing an apartment
with his parents. Also, she was okay with the fact that the aspiring actor could only
pick her up in a rusty car. The two were in a relationship for about eight months. According
to Carrey, he was really infatuated with Ronstadt but both of them knew it wasn't going to be
a forever deal. Besides, Jim was very busy with his career at the time. Despite his increasing
popularity as a stand-up comic, Carrey put an eye on the film and TV industry.
Still, he kept performing at “Comedy Store” every now and then, and that’s how he also
met his first wife Melissa Womer. Shortly after the marriage, the spouses welcomed their
firstborn, Jane Erin Carrey. Melissa and Jim preferred to keep their relationship away
from the public glare but it didn’t help to make it stronger. After seven years of
being together, they decided to split. Carrey appreciated Womer for her immense support
and trying to establish his career. Ironically, his career ended up being the main reason
for their divorce, but Melissa says there were other reasons, as well. She once called
Jim an extremely depressive person.
"I had to sit up counseling him until four or five in the morning on many, many nights."
Poor Jim! You would think his depression that roots back to the actor’s unpleasant youth
would go away after his dreams of making a name in comedies came true. But it didn’t
happen. Instead, the “Bruce Almighty” star faced another challenge – the challenge
of being a SUPERstar. It didn't have a good impact on the actor’s next marriage with
his “Dumb and Dumber” co-actress Lauren Holly. Their relationship catapulted Holly
to fame, but she wasn’t ready for the consequences. According to Holly, their one-year-long marriage
was all about running away from Jim’s fans and making sure they have privacy. Also, she
wasn’t ready to deal with the things that Jim, apparently, borrowed from his funny yet
weird characters. Holly filed for divorce a few months after they tied the knot. Rumors
about their split swirled immediately. Some blamed Carrey’s short temper, others said
it was the result of career competition between the exes. Still, the majority were sure that
Holly had been stepping out with fellow actor Edward Burns, while her romance with Carrey
was turning around his money. Oh, was she a gold digger indeed? When asked if he ever
worried that Holly was only attracted to his bank account, Carrey replied: "No. With Lauren,
I know she'd be with me if I were on a soap. She's proven herself." He never commented
on the reasons for their split. It might have been a hard blow for someone prone
to depression!
Carrey’s next romance was with “Me, Myself and Irene” co-star Renee Zellweger. According
to one of the movie creators, Carrey flipped for Renee immediately, but dating guys from
work wasn’t quite her style. Zellweger once told CNN: “I liked him a lot but you're
not going to the set for the love connection”. Eventually, the tides turned, though. Renee
and Jim couldn't stop gushing about their romance. Zellweger told Entertainment Weekly
that their courtship was “an unexpected but wonderful thing”, while Carrey called
his girlfriend “absolutely a gem of a human being.” Carrey also credited Renee with
keeping him grounded. Allegedly, the actors even got engaged. However, just a year after
taking their romance public, Zellweger and Carrey called things off. Zellweger’s representative
shared that they simply wanted different things. Rumors of a broken engagement were splashed
across tabloids. Zellweger insisted those were JUST rumours: “It was all made up…
As if I would consider marriage after only three months!”. They were so sweet together!
But Carrey’s next relationship with actress Jenny McCarthy also melted our hearts. For
five years, McCarthy and Carrey had one of the industry's most fun-loving romances. Once
Carrey even hired a plane to write "J Hearts J" across the Los Angeles skyline. Ahhh, Jim!
What a cinematic move. And his love for Jenny wasn’t only about big gestures. McCarthy’s
first son Evan, who was 7 at the time, had autism. In 2007, while talking about her struggle
to accept her son's condition on "Oprah," she stressed that Carrey was always there
for him.
"He has been so wonderful in Evan's life. He has been through it all with me... He did
fall in love with Evan, and he's so good with him.”
Such an attitude could only arise from a kind heart, and Jim definitely has one. Unfortunately,
kind hearts hurt the most: Jim was still in emotional pain while being with Jenny. Moreover,
his depression was cited as the main cause of the breakup.
Little did he know the biggest tragedy was yet to come. All the actor’s peaks and valleys
turned out to be nothing compared to what happened after he called it quits with his
non-celebrity girlfriend Cathriona White. They had an on and off relationship for a
couple of years, and a few days after yet another breakup Cathriona took her own life
in an apparent drug overdose. In her suicide note, White mentioned that Carrey broke her
down as a person. Jim was obviously devastated by such a development. Paying a tribute to
Cathriona, he said: "I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona.
She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving
and being loved was all that sparkled.”
Soon after he helped lay her to rest, serving as a pallbearer at her funeral, her family
filed suit against Carrey and accused him of being responsible for her death. It later
emerged that even though Cathriona was seeing Jim, she was actually… Married to another
man, Mark Burton. Carrey's lawyer claimed the marriage was only “for a green card”
and proved it with the picture of Ms. White kissing Jim a month after marrying Mark. In
2016 Burton also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Carrey. He insisted that Carrey used
his (quote) "immense wealth and celebrity status" to illegally obtain prescription drugs
involved in her death.
“I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved. Cat’s
troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone’s
control.”
Both lawsuits against Carrey were ultimately dismissed in early 2018, but the troubling
personal details that were revealed in the proceedings didn’t have a positive impact
on Jim’s reputation. Some claimed the dark story of Cathriona’s death was the main
reason why Jim took a break from acting, but Jim didn't confirm that claim in his interview
with The Hollywood Reporter: "I just didn't want to be in the business anymore. I didn't
like what was happening, the corporations taking over and all that." Besides, Jim was
going through something he called an evolution of ego that apparently involved healing through
art. It turned out in 2017 that Jim dedicated most of his time in the preceding years to
painting. Fans were surprised when he presented an exhibition of his artwork in Las Vegas.
Jim’s newfound vocation was a cure for his soul. It helped to release his pain in a way,
but the actor’s fans still had some reasons to worry about his well-being.
It wasn't the last time Carrey dropped such a worrisome comment. A
year later he said in public: “There's a character that's been playing me my whole
life. In fact, there is no me.” The actor also revealed that he liked keeping himself
isolated: “I spend a lot of time by myself but I like being by myself, so it’s OK.
That might be strange to some people, but I enjoy it. And I date.”
In January 2019 Jim appeared on the red carpet with the 35-year-old actress Ginger Gongaza.
They soon made their relationship official but, unfortunately, it didn’t last long:
the two split in October 2019.
So the 58-year-old is single now? That’s right. But why? Is it because of the depression
that followed the funnyman for decades and affected all of his relationships in a way?
Maybe. Carrey confessed that, despite all the expectations, his dream of achieving fame,
success and wealth didn’t make him any happier. He said he’s been through evolution of his
ego, and we do hope it has helped
him reach internal peace. What if Jim Carrey was reborn and he finally feels good? What
if he’s at the beginning of his new history now – not as the funniest man in Hollywood
but just as a human being? Besides, it’s never too late to love and be loved, and we
sincerely believe that Jim could soon meet someone who’ll add more colors to his new
history. Let’s just hope these colors will be only bright!