6 Famous Couples Who Grabbed Headlines Due to Their Extremely Toxic Relationships

6 A-Listers Who Unfortunately Had Bad Relationships

One look at the media outlets and tabloids will show that numerous celebrity couples in Hollywood have grabbed their fans' hearts before, unfortunately, breaking up for one reason or the other. Some, however, have left behind messy revelations and spilled about the toxicity in their relationship to the public. Some celebrity pairs got a highly publicized divorce, some got hauled to the courtroom, whereas others disclosed the worst part of being in a relationship through interviews and memoirs. So, let's take a walk down memory lane and revisit how famous couples in Hollywood had a tough time.

1. Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson

One of the most infamous celebrity couples of the 1990s was Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. Their tumultuous relationship started with knowing each other for only 96 hours before they eloped and got hitched. Lee and Anderson's marriage was scarred by numerous scandals that included a notorious sex tape as well. According to Radar Online, Anderson also claimed that during their relationship, Lee infected her with Hepatitis C; she also opened up about domestic violence. Lee even served 4 months in jail for abusing Anderson. However, the on-and-off couple divorced and reconciled twice. After their ultimate split, Lee continued to pursue his career as a musician, and Anderson has embraced her natural beauty, ditching makeup to appear on red carpets lately, as reported by Forbes.

2. Rihanna and Chris Brown

R&B superstar Rihanna and Chris Brown were considered one of the most iconic Hollywood couples — until things took a turn for the worse. The couple was first photographed together backstage at the Z100 Jingle Ball concert that was held in Madison Square Garden in December 2005. They went on to make their relationship public and even had several musical collaborations. However, things escalated when Brown hit Rihanna brutally before the 2009 Grammy night. Photos of Rihanna, which resurfaced later in the media, showed the singer with bruises and swelling on her face. According to Reuters, Brown was arrested and charged with felony assault where he pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 5 years of probation. Rihanna filed a restraining order against him.

3. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard's legal battle shook the world a couple of years back. But things started between the couple in a classic Hollywood fashion when the couple met on the sets of The Run Diary. Depp and Heard started dating in early 2012 and were married in 2015 in a private ceremony that took place in their Los Angeles home, per Business Insider. But the couple's marriage did not last long and Heard filed for divorce only a year later, obtaining a restraining order against Depp, as reported by The Guardian. She claimed that Depp has been abusive but the actor denied it. Depp alleged that she was 'attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.' The jury found both of them liable for defamation in their lawsuits against each other but it was a legal win for Depp, per CNN.

4. Selena Gomez and Justin Beiber

The fan-favorite couple that came to be known together as "Jelena" still finds their place in the internet discourse. Selena Gomez and Justin Beiber started dating in 2011 and made their first public appearance as a couple at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party, per PEOPLE. Beiber and Gomez were an instant sensation, but their private life and relationship hurdles were always tossed out in the media. According to the LA Times, there were many accusations of cheating, and the two constantly hurt each other." "I think I was just hurt from my previous relationship,” Bieber explained to the outlet. “I think I still was dealing with a lot of unforgiveness and all that sort of stuff. To be honest, I don’t even think I knew what I was struggling with at the time. In my previous relationship, I went off and just went crazy and went wild, just was being reckless." Now, Beiber is happily married to model Hailey Baldwin Beiber and Gomez is dating Benny Blanco.

5. Madonna and Sean Penn

Pop icon Madonna and actor Sean Penn first met on the sets of her music video Material Girl in 1985. According to Cheat Sheet, Penn and Madonna started as friends but soon, romance blossomed between them. In August 1985, Penn and Madonna tied the knot when the pop star was celebrating her 27th birthday. However, Penn's unpredictable outbursts and temper affected their bond. Penn's reported jealousy would also escalate whenever he would see other men getting near Madonna. In December 1987, Madonna filed for divorce but ended up withdrawing it. However, he filed for divorce for the second time in January 1989. “I am aware of the allegations that have surfaced over the years accusing Sean of incidents of physical assault and abuse against me," she told The Daily Beast in 2017. “Specifically, I am aware of the allegations concerning an alleged incident that occurred in June 1987, whereby Sean allegedly struck me with a baseball bat. I know the allegations in those and other reports to be completely outrageous, malicious, reckless, and false.”

6. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth had a long timeline of being on and off in their relationship. The pair met for the first time on the sets of their 2010 film, The Last Song. According to Cosmopolitan, Cyrus denied rumors spread by the tabloid that she and Hemsworth had broken up in June 2010, only to confirm their split only a few months later. Then, Cyrus later confirmed her engagement to Hemsworth in June 2012 and was captured by the paparazzi wearing an engagement ring. But there were reports of Hemsworth cheating on Cyrus, ruining their union once again. They continued to get back together and split several times through the decade ahead. Hemsworth and Cyrus married in 2018 but broke up in August 2019 and finalized their divorce in January 2020.