Top 10 Celebrity Love Stories That Ended in Scandal

When you’re as famous as Ariana Grande, your love life is basically public property. While Grande’s relationships have usually been in the spotlight, that shifted when she met real estate agent Dalton Gomez in 2020. The couple kept things low-key, only sharing glimpses of their romance through music videos and the occasional Instagram post. After quarantining together during the pandemic, they married in a private ceremony in May 2021. But cracks started to show when Grande moved to England to film “Wicked,” leaving Gomez in LA. While there, she began dating her co-star Ethan Slater, who was also married. This new relationship stirred some controversy after both parties filed for divorce from their respective partners, fueling speculation that they’d been cheating with each other.

Leaving your partner for someone else can seem like a jerk move, but doing so when they’re heavily pregnant with your child is unforgivable. That was the exact stunt Billy Crudup pulled on his then-girlfriend, Mary-Louise Parker. The two actors met in 1996 while starring in a Broadway play and began dating soon after. However, just two months before Parker was due to give birth, Crudup ended the relationship and moved on to actress Claire Danes, whom he had met on the set of the film “Stage Beauty.” The love triangle grabbed public attention, though none of them addressed it until years later. As fate would have it, after just three years together, Danes left Crudup for her now-husband, Hugh Dancy.

In March 2010, Sandra Bullock was at the peak of her acting career, capping an impressive awards season with a Best Actress Oscar for her turn in “The Blind Side.” However, just days after her win, it was reported that her husband, Jesse James, had been unfaithful. From the start, Bullock and James seemed like an odd pair. She was “America’s Sweetheart,” while he was a rough-around-the-edges motorcycle builder. Regardless, they appeared happy during their five years together, and had even initiated the process of adopting a child together. But when the cheating scandal broke, those plans unraveled. Bullock’s triumphant season was overshadowed, forcing her to cancel appearances due to “unforeseen personal reasons.” By the following month, she had filed for divorce.

In the late 1990s, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s love story captivated the world. They quickly became Hollywood’s it couple, marrying in a private ceremony in Malibu in 2000. Theirs was a picture-perfect relationship, until it came crashing down in 2005 when they announced their split. Apparently, while filming “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” Pitt had fallen for his co-star Angelina Jolie, and rumors of an affair began swirling. The scandal exploded when Pitt and Jolie were photographed together on vacation in Kenya, seemingly confirming their relationship. It all became a very public affair, with fans split into Team Aniston and Team Jolie. Ultimately, Pitt divorced Aniston and married Jolie, though their union also ended in divorce in 2019.

Famed actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger first met TV journalist Maria Shriver at a charity tennis event in the late ‘70s. Their connection deepened over the years and they eventually got married in 1986, blending his Hollywood fame with her ties to the prominent Kennedy family. The couple stayed married for 25 years until 2011, just after Schwarzenegger left office as the Governor of California. It was then that he publicly admitted to having an affair with the family housekeeper, which resulted in a child who was born just days after Shriver gave birth to their youngest. The revelation triggered a media frenzy that dominated the news for weeks. Shriver later filed for divorce from Schwarzenegger, which was finalized in 2021.

In 2001, Elin Nordegren was working as a nanny when she met the world’s top golfer, Tiger Woods. They tied the knot three years later and soon welcomed two children. Then, in 2009, Woods’ personal life and career both came crumbling with the swing of a club, and it wasn’t even on a golf course. Nordegren had chased Woods out of their house with a club after discovering his infidelity, causing him to crash his car nearby. This led to the affair being exposed, and soon, over a dozen women claimed they had also been involved with him. The fallout was devastating for Woods. Not only did he lose his marriage, he also forfeited several sponsorships and his career was thrown in jeopardy.

These Hollywood stars began a romantic relationship after meeting on the set of the 2011 film “The Rum Diary.” They seemed like a perfect match, even gaining notoriety when they ran into legal trouble in Australia just months after their 2015 wedding. However, the following year, Heard filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order, accusing Depp of physical and emotional assault. Things escalated even further when Depp sued Heard for defamation over a 2018 op-ed where she implied she had suffered domestic violence. The resulting trial became a public spectacle and revealed shocking details about their tumultuous relationship, with both sides accusing each other of assault. Ultimately, Depp won the defamation case, but the trial left both their reputations severely damaged.

It was one of the most scandalous love triangles in Hollywood history. Eddie Fisher left his wife, Debbie Reynolds, to be with her close friend, Elizabeth Taylor. Fisher and Reynolds, who had gotten married in 1955 and had two children, embodied the perfect all-American family. They were also close to Hollywood power couple, Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd. But after Todd died in 1958, Fisher stepped in to comfort Taylor and seemingly never left. In 1959, he divorced Reynolds and married Taylor mere hours after the divorce was finalized. The fallout was immense, even leading to the cancellation of Fisher’s variety show. Ironically, Taylor later had an affair with Richard Burton while still married, and ultimately wed Burton 10 days after divorcing Fisher.

There existed a deep artistic bond between filmmaker Woody Allen and actress Mia Farrow. This soon blossomed into a 12-year relationship, during which Farrow starred in 13 of Allen’s films. Although they never got married, Allen helped raise Farrow’s adopted children and they had one biological son together. Their relationship seemed solid until 1992 when Farrow discovered that Allen was romantically involved with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, whom he ultimately married. A few months later, Farrow publicly accused Allen of inappropriate behavior with their adopted daughter, Dylan. Allen denied this allegation, attributing it to Farrow’s anger over his relationship with Previn. While he was never criminally charged, the accusations have followed Allen for decades, turning him from celebrated auteur to Hollywood pariah.

Then the Prince of Wales, King Charles first met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977. Their fairytale romance was met with great public excitement, leading to a lavish wedding in 1981. Soon, they welcomed two sons and to the outside world, their life seemed perfect. Behind the scenes, however, the marriage was strained. Charles remained close with his former flame, Camilla Parker Bowles, which left Diana feeling isolated and led to her own infidelity. This affair became a scandal when tapes of Charles’ phone conversations with Bowles were leaked. This was followed years later by Diana’s infamous “Panorama” interview, which further exposed the cracks in their marriage. With such irreconcilable differences, the couple divorced in 1996, one year before Diana’s tragic death.


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