26 celebrities who have been involved in cheating scandals
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- Hollywood scandals are a dime a dozen, especially with the rise of social media.
- These celebrities have been accused of infidelity, or they've reportedly been cheating on.
- Some couples learned from the experience and their relationship grew stronger. Others called it off.
In Hollywood, it's a rarity for a relationship to last longer than a few years ... and when millions of dollars, prenups, and other legalities are involved, the break-ups can be messy (and expensive).
What adds even more mess to a Hollywood relationship? Infidelity. While not every celebrity on this list has outright admitted to cheating, they have all been — at the very least — publicly accused of straying outside their relationships.
However, not every couple has broken up after cheating allegations surfaced. Some have made it work and are stronger than ever.
Most recently, the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl announced he had welcomed his fourth daughter from a relationship outside of his marriage to Jordyn Blum. According to his post, Grohl is working on earning his wife's forgiveness.
Here are 26 of the most well-known cheating scandals in recent Hollywood history.
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Grohl has been married to Jordyn Blum since 2003, and the two share three daughters together.
But on September 10, the Foo Fighters singer announced on Instagram he had recently become a father for the fourth time, but Blum is not the mother. His new daughter was "born outside of my marriage," he wrote.
"I love my wife and children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness," he continued. He did not share publicly who the mother is.
Grohl and Blum were last spotted together attending Wimbledon in July.
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Shakira and Piqué, a professional soccer player, were together from 2011 to 2022 and have two kids, though they never married.
In her first interview about the breakup in September 2022, Shakira told Elle, "Sometimes I just feel like this is all a bad dream and that I'm going to wake up at some point. But no, it's real."
She continued, "And what's also real is the disappointment to see something as sacred and as special as I thought was the relationship I had with my kids' father and see that turned into something vulgarized and cheapened by the media."
But by January 2023, the gloves were off. Shakira broke records when she dropped "BZRP Music Session #53," which is apparently about Piqué, his new 23-year-old girlfriend, and how Shakira is worth "two 22-year-olds," Business Insider's Alan Dawson previously reported.
It then led to a popular internet meme involving a jar of jam.
As People wrote, many Shakira fans on the internet claimed Shakira did an interview with a Spanish TV show, in which she said she figured out her partner was cheating on her because someone had opened a jar of jam that Shakira knew Piqué and her kids didn't like.
While there's no actual proof of this interview ever taking place, it hasn't stopped the tabloids.
In March 2024, Shakira told The Sunday Times that she had no idea what the jam rumor was, and denied that it was true.
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In September 2022, Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka was facing a potentially "significant" suspension for a consensual affair with a female staff member. It was later announced that the Celtics had suspended Udoka for the entire 2022-23 season.
"I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down," Udoka said in a statement. "I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team's decision."
The day after the news broke, his longtime partner Nia Long asked that her privacy "be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children."
In December 2022, Long broke her silence about the affair in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The two had been together since 2010 and engaged since 2015 until they split that month.
"I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son's face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public," she said.
"If you're in the business of protecting women — I'm sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I'm OK, to see if my children are OK. It's very disappointing," Long continued.
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Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes were co-hosts of "GMA3: What You Need to Know," and they had worked together since Holmes joined the show in 2020.
In November 2022, photos of the two in various locations surfaced on The Daily Mail, including photos showing Holmes patting Robach's behind.
However, Holmes and Robach were married to other people at the time — Holmes married Marilee Fiebig in 2010, according to a Facebook post he wrote for their 10th anniversary, and Robach married actor Andrew Shue in 2010.
According to a source who spoke to People, Robach and Holmes had been quietly separated from their spouses since August."This was two consenting adults who were each separated. They both broke up with their spouses in August within weeks of each other," said the source.
They were both removed from the show in January 2023 and have each since divorced their spouses. Now, they host a podcast together, "Amy & TJ."
Interestingly enough, their exes, Fiebig and Shue, were spotted together in late 2023. As of an August 2024 E! News interview with Shue's sister, Elisabeth, the two were still dating.
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On April 11, 2018, photos of Tristan Thompson appearing to cheat on his then-nine-months-pregnant girlfriend, Khloe Kardashian, surfaced, and immediately, things went from bad to worse. TMZ then revealed video footage from October 2017 that showed Thompson supposedly kissing two other women at a club.
Despite the cheating rumors, Thompson was with Kardashian for the birth of their child, as seen on an episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." The two remained a couple: An anonymous source told Us Weekly that the pair were "fully back together."
However, on February 19, 2019, reports surfaced that Kardashian and Thompson had split because he had cheated on her again — this time with a close friend of the family, Kylie Jenner's best friend and roommate, Jordyn Woods.
Anonymous party attendees told TMZ that Thompson and Woods "were all over each other" and "making out."
Thompson and Kardashian again reconciled, but they appeared to break up for good after a paternity scandal involving Thompson and another woman broke around the same time it was reported Thompson and Kardashian were expecting another child together. Their son was born in 2022.
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The story of Kevin Hart's infidelity is confusing, to say the least.
He first denied any cheating in July 2017, then posted a video on Instagram apologizing with the caption, "Sending so many apologies to my wife & kids. I gotta do better and I will. I'm not perfect and have never claimed to be ...I love you all."
It was revealed later that Hart was in the center of an alleged extortion attempt. Someone allegedly was in possession of a video of Hart and a woman engaging in sexual activity, and was trying to expose Hart and receive money. During an interview with "The Breakfast Club," Hart admitted to his cheating.
Hart spoke about the scandal in 2020 on a podcast. He said that when Eniko Parrish found out, it "wasn't a walk in the park," but she "came to an amazing conclusion of, 'I like the fact that we have a family, that we have a household, and I like the fact that we now got a job to do to get better,'" Hart said. "'That's what you owe me. You owe me [to] get better.'"
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Kris Jenner admitted to having an affair with friend Todd Waterman, who was given the name "Ryan" in her 2011 memoir, "Kris Jenner ... And All Things Kardashian." Waterman later admitted he was Ryan in an interview.
Jenner later stated that her only regret in life was divorcing Robert Kardashian.
Waterman, for his part, has spoken about the affair too.
"There's several things I regret and it's definitely the pain that it did cause Robert and the children specifically. I think it affected Kourtney the most. I know she was definitely affected and I always felt bad about that," he told The Daily Mail in 2012.
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Though the Smiths themselves wouldn't call it a scandal, the rest of the world was shocked when August Alsina spoke about a relationship he had with Jada Pinkett Smith during an interview in June 2020.
"I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really deeply love and have a ton of love for her," Alsina said. He went on to claim that Will Smith knew about the relationship, and gave Alsina and Pinkett Smith his "blessing."
Naturally, people were shocked, as the Smiths were believed to be one of the longest-lasting Hollywood couples in recent history. First, the couple issued a quick statement denying the relationship, but Pinkett Smith announced on her Twitter (now X) that she was "taking [herself] to the Red Table."
In July 2020, the Smiths sat down at the red table, and discussed their relationship. They spoke about a dark period in their marriage, when they thought they were going to separate and "never speak again."
That's when Pinkett Smith and Alsina began their relationship — or, what Pinkett Smith originally called "an entanglement." Smith denied giving Alsina "permission" (although Alsina didn't call it that), but did know that the two were seeing each other.
However, Alsina and Pinkett Smith's relationship ended once she and her husband decided to try to work things out — although, in 2023, Pinkett Smith said they'd actually been separated since 2016, but did not want to get divorced.
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The "Twilight" movies are some of the biggest successes of our time. At the center of this media frenzy were Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the two co-stars who began a relationship during filming. Fans were obsessed.
All this changed when Us Weekly released paparazzi pictures in July 2012 of Stewart and Rupert Sanders (the director of "Snow White and the Huntsman," which she starred in) engaging in some major PDA. Everyone had an opinion, including Donald Trump.
Stewart publicly apologized to Pattinson, saying, "This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry."
The two reconciled for a time, but eventually broke up.
Sanders also issued an apology. At the time, he was married to model Liberty Ross, and they had two children together.
"I am utterly distraught about the pain I have caused my family," Sanders said in a statement to Reuters. "My beautiful wife and heavenly children are all I have in this world. I love them with all my heart. I am praying that we can get through this together."
The couple separated and were officially divorced in 2014.
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On Thanksgiving in 2009, Tiger Woods' life was forever changed when news of his serial cheating became public. Woods was married to model Elin Nordegren at the time — they have two children together.
When all was said and done, Woods admitted to sleeping with multiple women, though it all started with one: Rachel Uchitel.
Woods' televised statement about the scandal was long. But the confession was relatively succinct: "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated." They got divorced in 2010.
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It was a bombshell when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced their separation after 25 years in 2011, and it became even more shocking when it was revealed Schwarzenegger fathered a son in 1997 with Mildred Patricia Baena. She was their housekeeper at the time.
In an interview with Men's Journal in 2017, Schwarzenegger admitted that he thinks about his affair "every so often," but he does have a healthy relationship with his son Joseph Baena (who really is the spitting image of his famous father).
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Cheating isn't illegal, but engaging in "lewd conduct in a public place" sure is. Hugh Grant was arrested in 1995 when he was caught with Divine Brown in his car, whom authorities said he had paid $60 to perform oral sex on him. He was fined $1,000 and ordered to attend an AIDS education program as punishment, according to The Guardian.
"Last night I did something completely insane," he said in a statement at the time, according to The New York Times. "I have hurt people I love and embarrassed people I work with. For both things I am more sorry than I can ever possibly say."
His girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley, told Barbara Walters on "20/20" in August 1995 that she "felt like I'd been shot" when her agent told her what had happened.
She ended up standing by him for another five years, but eventually the couple broke up.
Proving to have a good sense of humor, Hurley referenced the scandal on her show "The Royals." Her character hired a male escort who called himself "Huge Grant."
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Pictures emerged of Disick and his ex-girlfriend Chloe Bartoli getting pretty cozy while on vacation (Kardashian's reaction was captured on an episode of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians"). The two broke up after this incident, but they continued to have a rocky relationship.
First, her sister, Kim, said she caught a girl hiding in Disick's bathroom in Dubai. Then, the eldest Kardashian invited Disick on a family vacation to Costa Rica. He ended up sneaking a girl into his hotel room — all while he was trying to reunite with his ex. This final incident is what prompted Kardashian to tell Scott they were never ever getting back together.
Kardashian is now married to Travis Barker.
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Jude Law and Sienna Miller were a picture-perfect Hollywood couple. According to People, the couple had been engaged for eight months when Law's kids' nanny, Daisy Wright, claimed that the two had been involved in an affair while he was filming a movie in New Orleans.
Law then published an apology to Miller in the British Press Association, saying, "There is no defense for my actions which I sincerely regret and I ask that you respect our privacy at this very difficult time."
Miller and Law were on and off for the next few years, breaking up for good in 2011.
"That was one of the most challenging moments I hope I'll ever have to experience," she told The Daily Beast in 2022 of the scandal.
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David Letterman had only been married to his wife for six months (although they had been together for over 20 years) when he admitted to having sex with women who worked for him on air, including his long-time assistant Stephanie Birkitt.
The affair came to light when Birkitt's boyfriend Robert "Joe" Halderman, a producer at CBS, allegedly tried to extort Letterman for $2 million in exchange for Halderman's silence. (Halderman later pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree grand larceny in exchange for six months in jail, five years probation, and 1,000 hours of community service, CNN reported.)
Letterman and his wife, Regina Lasko, are still together.
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When Beyoncé released "Lemonade," she put a spotlight onto her marriage with Jay-Z. There was so much speculation about who "Becky with the good hair" was that it became a meme.
The duo was quiet about whether "Lemonade" was based on their marriage until 2017, when Jay-Z released his new album "4:44," which was full of apologies to Beyoncé and their daughter Blue. He eventually came clean about cheating during a revealing interview with The New York Times Magazine.
"You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50% or something 'cause most people can't see themselves," he said. "The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself. So, you know, most people don't want to do that. You don't want to look inside yourself."
Since then, the two have been stronger than ever. In 2018, they recorded a joint album as The Carters called "Everything Is Love."
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Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson married in 1989, and they frequently collaborated together in movies that Branagh directed, including "Henry V," "Dead Again," "Peter's Friends," and "Much Ado About Nothing," which was their last project together before divorcing in 1995.
At the time, there were rumors of a relationship between Branagh and his "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" co-star Helena Bonham Carter, but it was unclear when their dalliance began. Bonham Carter and Branagh were together publicly until 1999.
Thompson has spoken a few times about the affair, including in a 2013 interview where she confirmed that it was an affair, but there's no bad blood.
"You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless," she told the Sunday Times. "I haven't got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago." She added that Bonham Carter is a "wonderful woman."
In 2018, Thompson told The Telegraph that one of the most famous (and heartbreaking) scenes from holiday classic "Love Actually," when her character finds out her husband is having an affair and breaks down in her bedroom, was based on reality.
"I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn't meant for me ... I've had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom, then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer," she said.
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Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston had a long on-and-off relationship (it lasted for 17 years).
But it abruptly ended when Nicholson told Huston that he was having a baby with another woman: actress Rebecca Broussard. And with that revelation, their relationship was finally finished.
Both Huston and Nicholson have talked about their relationship, with Nicholson saying the two of them were "as good as it gets" and Huston saying they had "hopeless, enduring love."
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Morena Baccarin was divorcing her husband, Austin Chick, while she was already pregnant with her costar Ben McKenzie's child. While Baccarin claims that they had been discussing separation, the two were still legally married, according to ET.
Baccarin said the couple had discussed separating in March 2015, and that Chick filed for divorce in July. Baccarin revealed she was almost four months pregnant in September of that year, putting conception around late May or early June.
Her daughter was eventually born in March 2016, and McKenzie and Baccarin tied the knot in June 2017.
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When it was uncovered that Jesse James had been cheating on Sandra Bullock for a long time with multiple women, he became — by his own admission — the "most hated man in the world."
He eventually checked into rehab for sex addiction, and Bullock swiftly filed for divorce. Bullock also chose to continue the adoption process of her son Louis without James.
Seven years later, James spoke to the Daily Mail and said he does not regret how things turned out.
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Both Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott cheated on their respective ex-spouses with each other — they actually slept together the night they met. But in 2013, reports alleged McDermott was cheating on Spelling.
McDermott later admitted to the affair, and he checked himself into rehab. The entire saga played out on TV.
In 2014, E! News reported that McDermott defended himself, saying, "You know, I'm not the first person to ever cheat on his wife."
"I don't bring it up all the time, and when I do bring it up, he listens and he understands," Spelling said during an episode of the podcast "Women on Top" in 2020. "We did have a rebirth after that happened."
However, in 2024, Spelling filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
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While still in a relationship with Mia Farrow — who had adopted Soon Yi Previn with her ex-husband, Andre Previn — Allen began a relationship with Soon Yi. After that came a lengthy custody battle and eventually marriage for Allen and Previn.
When asked about his affair, Allen told Time in 2001, "The heart wants what it wants. There's no logic to those things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that's that."
Ronan Farrow said it best when describing his family dynamic in 2011: "He's my father married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law."
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Usher and his former wife, Tameka Foster, were married for two years before filing for divorce in 2009. They went on to have an extremely nasty, drawn-out divorce and custody battle amid speculation as to what caused their split.
This speculation ended when Usher was interviewed by Oprah. He said that he "was faithful at heart, but not faithful all the way" and that he had "exchanges" with one of his ex-wife's bridesmaids.
Foster also confirmed that Usher told her he had a relationship with one of her bridesmaids on "Entertainment Tonight."
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David Boreanaz simply stated, "I haven't been faithful to my wife. Our marriage has been tainted with my infidelities. I was irresponsible," during an interview with People in 2010.
He chose to make this admission after he was involved in an alleged extortion attempt.
While Boreanaz has never confirmed the identity of his mistress, Rachel Uchitel — yes, the same Rachel from Tiger Woods' cheating scandal — did release a statement in which she claimed there was a romantic relationship between the two.
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Cibrian was married to "Real Housewife" Brandi Glanville and Rimes to her former manager Dean Sheremet when they met on the set of the Lifetime movie "Northern Lights" in 2009.
Both have spoken publicly about the end of their respective marriages.
"I don't like the word regret," Rimes told E! News in 2012. "I wish I handled it differently because I wish I could have been better for me, for Brandi [Glanville], for Dean [Sheremet], for Eddie, for everyone else."
"I think we both grew up a lot because obviously, it was a decade of fighting," Glanville said of their dynamic on a 2021 episode of the "Hollywood Raw" podcast. "We bicker still like we're married when we're not. We're like sister wives. It's me and LeAnn and Eddie."
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It all began with a prank war. The LA Lakers were all involved in a prank war when a video recorded by fellow player D'Angelo Russell was leaked to the public, in which Nick Young apparently admitted to cheating on rapper Iggy Azalea. Young claimed it was false, Azalea believed him, and their relationship continued.
But then, Azalea suddenly posted that she had dumped Young because she caught him on a security camera bringing girls into their home.
To add insult to injury, it came out that Young was expecting a baby with his ex-girlfriend Keonna Green — the baby was conceived while Azalea and Young were still together.
Young and Green since got back together, and are now engaged.