Celebrities Who Left Their Wives For Younger Women
Here’s a list to look into the narratives of men who’ve picked a path of romantic upheaval, leaving their wives for younger partners. Beyond the glitz and glamour, these stories play out like riveting dramas, revealing the complexities of love and fame. Let’s explore the details of these headline-grabbing unions and separations by focusing on high-profile individuals navigating the intricate dance of public scrutiny and personal choices.
1. Ronnie Wood
Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones , who married Jo in 1985 after meeting in 1977, faced a watershed moment in 2009. Wood’s involvement with an 18-year-old waitress, Ekaterina Ivanova, was widely publicized, with Wood even introducing her to Jo. Jo recounts a drunken visit from Ronnie and Ivanova to their home in her autobiography, as reported by the Daily Mail . Ivanova, who was allegedly inebriated at the time, set her hair on fire while attempting to light a cigarette with a gas stove. Jo, extinguishing the flames with a damp washcloth, acknowledged a decision she might come to regret. Ronnie ended the incident by comparing Ivanova to Jo’s younger self, saying, “Isn’t she funny? She reminds me of you when you were young.”
2. Billy Crudup
Despite being pregnant with his longtime girlfriend Mary-Louise Parker, 35-year-old Billy Crudup’s life changed in 2003 when he met 24-year-old Claire Danes, his co-star in 2004’s Stage Beauty . Crudup’s relationship with Parker, who was 39 at the time, ended with this encounter. Crudup and Danes, who had been dating for four years, faced public scrutiny due to their age difference. Later, Danes told Howard Stern that she was deeply in love with Crudup and had to navigate the complexities of unexpected consequences at the age of 24, per US Weekly .
3. Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson, a British comedian, abruptly ended his 23-year marriage to Sunetra Sastry, 56, in 2013, and embarked on a high-profile relationship with 31-year-old actress Louise Ford. This quick transition was deemed “unreasonable behavior” by a judge, who finalized the divorce in 65 seconds. Atkinson’s notable move piqued public interest by calling into question the dynamics of age and relationships. Nicki Swift reports that Atkinson and Ford are still together, which raises questions about the longevity of their relationship given their age difference.
4. Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck was 30 years old when he proposed to Jennifer Lopez, who was 33 at the time. Affleck later met Jennifer Garner, who was also 30 at the time, and ended his engagement to Lopez. Affleck was reported to have cheated on Garner with a younger woman, Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus, over a decade later. Affleck publicly dated Shookus after his divorce from Garner, even though he was still legally married to Garner and Shookus was still legally married to her husband, Kevin Miller. Later, Affleck and Lopez officially married on July 16, 2022.
5. Tom Cruise
During his rise in Hollywood, Tom Cruise married Mimi Rogers in 1987. By 1989, the megastar, then 27, had married the actress, then 33. However, while filming Days of Thunder in 1990, Cruise met 22-year-old Nicole Kidman, which led to his divorce from Rogers the following year. Cruise and Kidman married soon after, and they adopted two children. Cruise divorced Kidman in 2001, and she immediately began a high-profile relationship with 27-year-old Penelope Cruz. Their relationship, which lasted from 2001 to 2004.
6. Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, once regarded as one of the world’s most adored couples, divorced in 2005 after five years of marriage. Pitt was 41 at the time, Aniston was 36, and Pitt’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie, who later became his partner, was 30. Pitt and Jolie’s relationship lasted 12 years, including two years of marriage, before ending in September 2016. Jolie, 41, had filed for divorce from Pitt, 52 in 2019, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple, who shared six children – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox, are now officially divorced.
7. Tony Curtis
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by R. Jones/Express
Tony Curtis, who is now deceased, made a name for himself as a serial pursuer of younger women. In 1963, at the age of 35, he divorced Janet Leigh for Christine Kaufmann. Curtis quickly embraced Leslie Allen’s company after divorcing Kaufmann at the age of 23 in 1968. In 1982, their union was dissolved. Curtis married Andrea Savio, 21, two years later, and they divorced in 1992 when she was 29. Following marriages, he had a brief relationship with attorney Lisa Deutsch in 1993. Jill Ann Vandenberg, a 27-year-old bride, 45 years Curtis’s junior, remained together until he passed away in 2010.
8. Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe, a sensation in the late 1990s, embarked on a whirlwind romance with Reese Witherspoon. Their wedding in 1999, when Witherspoon was 23 and Phillippe was 25, marked the start of a golden couple era, and they were blessed with two children, Ava and Deacon. However, the story took a turn in 2007 when Phillippe met Australian actress Abbie Cornish on the set of Stop Loss. Witherspoon filed for divorce, and Phillippe started dating Cornish, who was six years his junior.