Celebrities: they’re just like us! They wear clothes like us…that have designer labels and were picked out by their personal stylist. They take “no makeup” selfies like us…while still wearing their eyelash extensions. They occasionally have normal jobs like us… after making it so big that they don’t have to worry about their paycheck anymore.
One thing celebrities legitimately have in common with all of us regular people is that they make a mess of their dating lives, too. We might even have it better than them when it comes to romance because at least our every move isn’t splashed across the internet for us.
Some celebrity love stories are inspiring. Two people, however famous they may be, who truly want to be together. But to be honest, most celebrity relationships just don’t seem that genuine. Maybe this is because we hear about every single mistake they make, and when it’s a big one, it’s hard to forgive and impossible to forget.
Celebrities aren’t the only ones who cheat. But they’re the only ones who cheat and then receive the judgment of an entire nation. Some cheating scandals were bound to happen from the first time the couple was spotted together. Some are more gasp-worthy. From least surprising to most scandalous, here are 16 of the worst celebrity cheating scandals, ranked. Because no bad deed goes unpublished (see what I did there?).
P.S. Don’t be like Ross. That reasoning never works.
16. Tom D’Agostino on Luann “The Countess” D’Agostino
Though there may not have been new allegations of cheating that ended their marriage before its first anniversary, they were there before Luann even walked down the aisle: Tom had already dated multiple of her friends, and people saw him canoodling with other women during their engagement. I’m not trying to call Luann blind for marrying him anyway but… she definitely turned a blind eye.
15. Scott Disick on Kourtney Kardashian
It really sucks that Scott has treated Kourtney so poorly over the years, especially for their kids. But after a point, isn’t this behavior expected? That doesn’t make it okay, but it’s certainly not surprising. The fact that they still hang out like nothing ever happened is crazy considering all the times he’s screwed up.
14. Ben Affleck on Jennifer Garner
Let’s be honest. The whole Affleck family is kind of the worst. These cheating allegations hardly even made waves. We love Jen, but any strong, powerful woman whose husband cheats on her with the nanny (what a cliché) is clearly better off without that scrub. Not only did Ben apparently cheat with the caretaker of their children, Christine Ouzounian, but recently more rumors were swirling that he and current girlfriend, Saturday Night Live producer, Lindsay Shookus got together before either had broken up with their significant others. #Shady.
13. Ashton Kutcher on Demi Moore
The only reason Ashton cheating on his hot cougar wife Demi ranks so low on the scandal list is that he’s now married to his first on-screen girlfriend, Mila Kunis and they are adorable parents. People really can change.
12. Tiger Woods on Elin Nordegren
Tiger Woods and his wife had multiple children together, yet he was cheating on her with multiple women. Adding to the scandal meter: the fact that Elin Nordegren chased him out of their home with the tool of his own success when she found out. Badass. This cheating scandal was definitely papered over every magazine for weeks when it happened in late 2009, but was it a jaw-dropping *shocker*? No, not really.
11. Hugh Grant on Elizabeth Hurley
Like his Bridget Jones’s Diary persona, Hugh Grant is a skeeze ball. He was arrested with a prostitute in his car while married to Elizabeth Hurley…who stayed with him for five years after the incident. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
10. Marilyn Manson on Dita Von Teese
This one seems scandalous to me because I honestly don’t understand how Marilyn Manson was sleeping with not one, but two beautiful women at the same time. Especially when Dita Von Teese is seemingly so much more suited to his style than Evan Rachel Wood (I might be biased because Across the Universe is one of my favorite movies and her character is the visual opposite Marilyn Manson in about every way).
9. Jesse James on Sandra Bullock
Nobody cheats on America’s sweetheart. Especially when she dedicates an acceptance speech to you while you’re trying to adopt a child together. To make matters worse, after they broke up, a 2004 photo was released of Jesse James saluting in Nazi regalia. Sandra had to make a public announcement saying, “This is not the man I married.” She told People Magazine, “The photo shocked me and made me sad. This was stupid, this was ignorant. Racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, homophobia, anything Nazi and a boatload of other things have no place in my life.”
Jesse James ended up cheating on his other high-profile girlfriend, too, Kat Von D (who, coincidentally(?), also had leaked photos of her posing wearing a Nazi arm band) but that “scandal” didn’t make this list because if someone cheats once, you can’t be all too surprised when they do it again. Also, the whole Nazi photo shoot thing doesn’t lead to a ton of sympathy for either party.
8. Brad Pitt on Jennifer Aniston
Again with the “Nobody cheats on America’s sweetheart.” And, now that Brad Pitt and the woman he broke his vows with Jennifer Aniston to be with are also getting divorced, his cheating ways were all for naught. This was the cheating scandal that rocked and shocked the world, especially because it happened while filming a Hollywood blockbuster, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
7. Dylan Sprouse on Dayna Frazer
This news had me SHOOK. Dylan’s longtime girlfriend, Dayna posted a selfie showing herself crying on her IG story saying, “when you find out your bf cheated on you lol” with a thumbs up. This Suite Life guy was supposed to be… sweet! One of the good guys! Tbh, a little celebrity infidelity is expected from a lot of stars. But one of the Sprouse twins?! My heart breaks.
He responded to the allegations on Twitter saying, “The truth always has two sides, and those sides have motivations, and those motivations, despite how cloudy they currently seem, are private. This is complicated and it will remain complicated, but those who know me and who have known me, know well enough what kind of person I am.” WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?!
6. Gavin Rossdale on Gwen Stefani
Dude. Again, with the nanny? Not even a little bit creative, but a lot gross. Apparently, Gavin had a three-year relationship with their nanny, Mindy Mann and Gwen found the evidence on their family iPad — including nude photos and plans for future hookups. Gavin and Gwen had three children that Mindy looked after. Thank god Gwen’s found a good guy in Blake Shelton now because I’m not sure our fragile hearts could take another one.
5. Jude Law on Sienna Miller
ANOTHER NANNY CHEATING SCANDAL?! Annnnd another controversy that was front-page news. Jude had an affair with the nanny of the children he had with his ex-wife. Somehow, that adds a whole additional level of treachery. The Holiday actor also admitted publicly that she cheated on him, too, in vengeance with none other than Daniel Craig. Jude and Sienna got back together later in 2009, but split two years later. Apparently, the two remain friends? Strange.
4. Kristen Stewart on Robert Pattinson
Somehow it seems worse when it’s the stars of content for kids/teens. Sure, she and R.Patz were just dating and the film Director with whom she was cheating on was married, but considering how much we shipped Robsten, the fact that she was cheating seemed worse. Everybody had something to say about it at the time… and Kristen and Robert still had to do press tours for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 which meant they had to reconcile… for the publicity if nothing else.
3. Sean Combs on Kim Porter
Kim Porter was pregnant with Sean Combs (P. Diddy/Diddy)’s twins when she found out he had recently fathered a child with another woman. Can’t keep it in his pants or in a condom, apparently.
2. Mel Gibson on Robyn Moore
Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore were married for 26 years. TWENTY-SIX YEARS. And then, Gibson not only cheats on his wife of more than a quarter century, he impregnates the woman he cheats with. Do not pass go, no not collect $200.
1. Bill Clinton on Hillary Clinton
For achieving the top spot as the most ~scandalous~ of a long list of celebrity cheating scandals, is it impressive or ironic that this is the only couple who remains together today? Maybe a little bit of both. This controversy has become pop culture lexicon — with everybody from Beyonce to Nicki Minaj, Eminem and Olivia Pope on Scandal referring to the incident.