10 Celeb Couples Who Stayed Together After A Cheating Scandal, And 8 Who Split Altogether
1.Survived: Kevin Hart and Eniko Hart
In 2017, reports surfaced that Kevin Hart had cheated on his then-pregnant wife, Eniko, and even had someone threatening to release a "sexually provocative" video as proof. Hart made a public apology video where he said, "I made a bad error in judgment and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen and they did."
Talking about the infidelity in an episode of the Netflix series Don't F—K This Up, Eniko addressed the situation head-on, explaining, "I believe in second chances. I’m all about forgiveness, and you only get two times. Three strikes you’re out, you’re out of here. So, as long as he behaves, we’re good.”
And in an episode of the podcast, The School of Greatness, Kevin opened up about how grateful he was for that second chance, saying, “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." And it appears they are doing just that.
2.Broke up: Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson
These two have had a long and rocky dating history, dating all the way back to 2016. After two years together, and just days before Khloé gave birth to her first child, it was revealed that Tristan had been unfaithful to her with five different women. They tried to work things out for the sake of their daughter, but ultimately split in February of 2019.
By the end of 2019, they were back together, Khloé took to Instagram to defend her decision, writing, "Life is short! We are all humans trying to figure out this thing called life … Yes, I’m allowed to feel hurt and pain. It would be unnatural for me to pretend as if I don’t… I am allowed to forgive but still not accept their behaviors … I was nothing but beautiful blessings for EVERYBODY that has ever been in my life.”
But the second second chance would only last so long, as it came to light that Tristan had fathered fitness model Marlee Nichols's son while he was with Khloé, and the pair called it quits again. And to add to the drama, it was recently revealed in an episode of The Kardashians that the couple was secretly engaged for nine months before the news of his paternity scandal broke. They have been through it! But at the end of the day, they are making co-parenting their children work. “I still think he's a great guy," Khloé said in an interview with Robin Roberts, "and he's a great dad. He's just not the guy for me.”
3.Survived: Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott
Tori and Dean met on the set of a 2005 TV movie Mind Over Murder (naturally) and by 2006 the pair was married. But in 2014, after eight years of marriage, four (now five) kids, and a reality show, Dean came clean about cheating on his wife on an episode of their show True Tori. He said, "I feel shame. I've never felt shame before. You were at a Christmas event, and I was fucking around. That's disgusting. That's disgusting."
Tori has been open about the work they've put into their marriage over the years, and the ways Dean's cheating has affected their relationship. In a 2020 interview on the Women on Top podcast, she said they were still dealing with the repercussions of his actions, but that, "I make my own money. I can be a single mom, but I actually really love him and I want to work on this. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, but we're going to try."
4.Broke up: LeAnn Rimes and Dean Sheremet
LeAnn and Dean shared an eight-year marriage together before Rimes met her former costar and now-husband, Eddie Cibrian, on the set of the TV movie Northern Lights. The rumor mill was a'churning in 2009 when Rimes and Cibrian were spotted getting cozy, and after the pair filed for divorce from their respective spouses, it seemed all but confirmed that an affair had taken place. LeAnn finally admitted to their infidelity in a 2010 issue of People magazine, saying, "I did one of the most selfish things that I possibly could do, in hurting someone else,” and then continued, "I take responsibility for everything I’ve done. I hate that people got hurt. But I don’t regret the outcome.” She and Cibrian then married in 2011.
Her ex, Dean, didn't talk much about their split until an explosive (and extensive) interview with Nat's Next Adventure, where he candidly talked about their split, revealing, "Never in a million years did I think something like that would have happened. The need for me in her life was so strong. There were things she couldn't do without me," adding, "The cheating wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was someone standing in the back of the bus in the middle of nowhere and saying, 'I don't love you anymore.' I would've rather she said, 'I slept with 20 guys.'"
5.Survived: Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor
These Vanderpump Rules stars really went through the emotional ringer. After Jax met Brittany in Vegas between Seasons 3 and 4, the couple was put to the test just two years later in 2017 when it came out that Jax had cheated with his former SUR coworker/costar, Faith Stowers.
Talking about his infidelity with Us Weekly, Jax said, "I just kind of fell into a deep hole and that happens out here sometimes. You get sucked into this lifestyle.” Ultimately, Brittany decided to stay by his side and even accepted his marriage proposal a year after the scandal happened. "I see him every single day making efforts and he’s completely changed the way he treats me, the way he talks to me, the way he listens to me. Every single thing about our relationship is better.”
In the time since, they have left the reality show to focus on raising their son, Cruz, who was born in April of 2021.
6.Broke up: Sienna Miller and Jude Law
If you were alive in 2004 then you remember this moment in celeb culture. It was everywhere! You couldn't buy groceries without seeing something in the magazines at check-out about Jude Law having an affair with his children's nanny. Jude did make a public apology for his actions, lamenting, "I am deeply ashamed and upset that I’ve hurt Sienna and the people most close to us... There is no defense for my actions which I sincerely regret.” Sienna got candid about the tabloid nightmare in a 2020 interview with the Daily Beast, sharing, "That was one of the most challenging moments I hope I’ll ever have to experience... I look back on it and wonder how I did get through it—but I did."
The pair did end up getting back together in 2009 and dated until 2011 when they called it quits for good. Almost two decades later, Sienna looked back on her relationship with Jude in a recent Elle UK interview and shared even more about her days on the cover of every tabloid, saying, "There was a lot of magic at that time. At first, it was kind of comical, but very quickly it became insidious and, yeah, scary."
7.Survived: Beyoncé and Jay-Z
This absolutely iconiqué couple has been together since the early 2000s, though their relationship has not been without its ups and downs. Rumors of alleged infidelity began to circulate in 2014 after The Elevator Incident with the two of them and Solange, and speculation grew even more after Yonce dropped her 2016 album, Lemonade, which alludes to cheating as well.
But it wasn't until a 2017 interview with The New York Times' T Magazine that Jay-Z shared some insight into his marriage, saying, "The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself.”
The couple seems to have made it through the worst of it, and if the new track "Plastic Off The Sofa" on Bey's new album Renaissance is any indication, they seem to be stronger than ever.
8.Survived: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
Sharon and Ozzy have been married since 1982, and in that time there were several affairs that almost ended their relationship. Sharon got vulnerable in an interview with The Telegraph back in 2017, where she revealed, "There wasn’t just one woman; there were six of them” and that, "He had women in different countries. Basically, if you’re a woman giving Ozzy either a back rub or a trolley of food, God help you.”
But in 2016 Ozzy entered rehab for sex addiction, and when he was released, the couple renewed their vows and commitment to each other. “I made a huge mistake,” Ozzy told Hello! Magazine, “Without Sharon, I am nothing. I love her. I can honestly say that I have never loved anybody other than my wife.”
9.Broke up: Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
In late 2009, The National Enquirer broke news that Tiger was having an extramarital affair. Not exactly the most reliable source, but the golf star admitted the claims were true in a televised statement in February 2010. He said, "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable. And I am the only person to blame." In the lengthy admission, he continued, "I knew my actions were wrong. But I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself."
After initially trying to work things out, Elin ended up filing for divorce in August of 2010, telling People magazine "I've been through hell." She went on to explain how she just couldn't work through the pain, revealing "I felt stupid as more things were revealed—how could I not have known anything? The word 'betrayal' isn't strong enough. I felt embarrassed for having been so deceived. I felt betrayed by many people around me." The couple finalized their divorce later that year.
10.Survived: Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
Ok, aside from being one of the hottest couples in existence, they have also been shining examples of parenting a transgender child, but their relationship has really been put to the test. They've been together for over 13 years, and in that time they've weathered hectic schedules, infertility issues, and in Gabrielle's 2021 memoir, You Got Anything Stronger?, she revealed they also survived infidelity. She wrote, "In 2013, before we were married, Dwyane had a baby with another woman. It should go without saying that we were not in a good place in our relationship at the time that child was conceived...To say I was devastated is to pick a word on a low shelf for convenience."
In a 2021 interview with People magazine, the couple opened up about how they made things work, Dwyane saying, "It's about learning about each other, learning what she wants for her life and for her career and trying to support all those things." To which Gabrielle replied, "We humble ourselves, listen, and we meet in the middle."
11.Broke up: Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh
Married in 1989, this couple were frequent collaborators on movies like Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Again, and Henry V. Rumors started swirling in 1994 that Kenneth and his Mary Shelley's Frankenstein costar, Helena Bonham Carter, were involved in an affair. It was all hearsay until Emma opened up about the scandal in an interview with The Telegraph in 2013. She said, "You can’t hold on to anything like that. It’s pointless. I haven’t got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago." She even noted their similarities, saying they were both, "slightly mad and a bit fashion-challenged. Perhaps that's why Ken loved us both. She's a wonderful woman, Helena."
But it wasn't always easy for Emma. In 2018 she revealed that in the holiday classic, Love Actually, she drew on her real-life experiences during the scene where her character finds out her husband is having an affair. She revealed, "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."
12.Survived: Hillary and Bill Clinton
I feel like I don't really have to recap this one since we've barely stopped talking about it since it happened, and there has been an entire FX limited series devoted to the scandal, AND I don't need to remind you that we as a country unjustly demonized a 22-year-old woman because of it, but I digress. President Bill was caught having an affair with Monica Lewinsky, and ultimately the act led to his impeachment.
Although he ultimately was impeached, our girl Hillary stayed by his side through it all, and their marriage was kept alive. In a 2016 interview with CNN, she opened up about how her community showed up for her in such difficult times. She recalled, "It was really hard. It was painful. And I was so supported by my friends. My friends just rallied around," before adding, "it was something that you just had to get up every day and try to deal with while still carrying on a public set of responsibilities. So it was very, very challenging."
13.Broke up: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
Arnold and Maria were married for an impressive 25 years, but even that solid foundation was not enough to save their relationship after it came out that during that time, the action star had secretly fathered a child with a member of their house staff.
Schwarzenegger admitted to the LA Times that, "I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago... There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children, and my family. I am truly sorry." But Maria filed for divorce shortly after the news came out, though it would take them a full 10 years for them to actually finalize it and legally split. At the time she said, "This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion... as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal."
14.Survived: Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie
Woody and Laura's relationship started when he hired her to be his assistant back in 1987, and after years of working together, they couldn't deny that they had fallen in love. Woody even wrote a song for her to express his feelings, and he told The Hollywood Reporter that, "afterward she says, ‘Woody, I’ve been in love with you for the last two and a half years.’"
But what started off very fairytale-esque was put to the test in 2002 when Woody went home with not one, but three different women, one of which who turned out to work as a paparazzi and leaked the story to a publication called News of the World. In the same Hollywood Reporter profile, Woody opened up about that challenging time and how Laura stood by his side through it all. "Laura — this really gives you a sense of the depth of her compassion — what she said to me after finding out was, ‘That must be really hard for you, to have this shit exposed.’ .... Now that doesn’t mean she wasn’t upset. How did I apologize? You know, just your standard Texan grovel. But she forgave me, and we’re still together."
15.Broke up: Sandra Bullock and Jesse James
In 2010, after five years of marriage and just 10 days after Sandra won her Oscar for her role in The Blind Side, three women came forward saying they were romantically involved with Jesse during the course of the couple's relationship. In a 2017 interview with The Daily Mail, Jesse confirmed it was the reason the couple split, saying, "Yeah, I did cheat on my wife, yeah. I stood up and took accountability for it and apologized," before adding, "In general, both women and men cheat. It’s part of life."
Talking with CBS ahead of the premiere of The Lost City, Sandra shared how the divorce impacted her and her son who was a newborn at the time. "I mean, so much had happened," she said. "How do you process grief and not hurt your child in the process? It's a newborn. They take on everything that you're feeling. So my obligation was to him and not tainting the first year of his life with my grief."
16.Survived: David Letterman and Regina Lasko
Letterman publicly admitted to being unfaithful to his wife Regina in 2009 on an episode of The Late Show. He opened up about having had sexual relationships with women who worked for him at the time, including his assistant, and that there was an attempt to extort him, which is why he decided to come clean about it all on air.
In a 2013 episode of Oprah's Next Chapter, he talked about the scandal and the effects it had on his marriage, revealing, "I have no one to blame but myself. I think if you’re going to have a flow chart of the responsibility for this circumstance, this sex scandal, my name is at the top... I’m taking responsibility for it, trying to atone for it.” And it appears they were able to work through it, as they are still married today.
17.Survived: David Boreanaz and Jaime Bergman
After nine years of marriage, the Angel star admitted to cheating on his wife after his mistress threatened to take their relationship to the media. In a sit down with People magazine, he confessed, "Our marriage has been tainted with my infidelities. I just want to be open and honest. I was irresponsible,” and that they were, “working on our marriage. We’re working on repairing what has been damaged so badly.”
But the couple was determined to work through it, and came out stronger on the other side. Jamie told People that the two of them viewed the situation as an opportunity to work together and fight for their relationship. "It took a crisis, it took infidelity to get us off our asses and work for what we want. We do the best we can. That's all we can do.”
18.Broke up: Iggy Azalea and Nick Young
The story of Iggy and Nick is short, but not without plenty of dramaaaa. They got together in 2014 and were engaged by 2015. But their days of bliss didn't last for long, because in 2016, home security footage showed Nick cheating on Iggy, bringing women into their home while she was away.
But it was she who got the last laugh. In an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, she told Andy Cohen what she did to work through the pain: burning all of his things. "I burnt it all, darling,” she said with a smile. “Every designer you could think of, I’ve burned.” She went on to say that she gave him fair warning though, "I text him a video and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m burning your shit. I don’t know where you’re at – probably with some girl. I hope you get home quickly because we’re progressing on the spectrum of cheap to expensive.'” Needless to say, the engagement was called off and the couple called it quits.
