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Billy Bob Thornton gained international fame in 1996 with the release of the hit film Sling Blade. Hollywood embraced the triple threat actor as its newest star. He had reached the highest point of his career. However, he was still struggling to perfect his role as a husband.
His notorious on-screen bad-boy persona bled into his personal life for an extended portion of his career, significantly affecting his relationships. Between 1980 and 2002, Billy Bob was married five times. Each marriage had its struggles, but the actor himself suggested in an interview shortly after his 5th divorce that marriage “doesn’t work” for him. He would go on to marry once again in 2014, with his latest marriage prevailing longer than any of his previous ones.
Who Was Billy Bob Thornton’s First Wife?
Billy Bob married his first wife, Melissa Lee Gatlin, in 1978. Melissa is the mother of Billy Bob’s first daughter, Amanda Brumfield. It isn’t much known about the couple, but their divorce papers cited adultery on Billy Bob’s part. After the divorce, Billy Bob didn’t spend much time with his daughter, and the two became estranged.
Amanda had been watching her goddaughter, a one-year-old baby girl, when the child accidentally fell from holding her playpen railing, hitting her head on the floor. The baby became unresponsive, and she was declared dead when taken to the hospital. Amanda was kept out of the public eye until she was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter and sent to prison.
Amanda and her attorneys have always maintained her innocence. She was released from prison in 2021and is seeking justice from the system that falsely convicted her.
Rather than come to the defense of his child, Billy Bob never commented directly on the matter. He had his publicist at the time, Andy Robinson, share his sentiments. He reminded the public that Billy Bob had not been in contact with Amanda for “quite some time” and shared his sympathy for the baby’s family lost in the tragedy.
Billy Bob went on to marry actress Toni Lawrence in 1986. The couple separated less than a year later, divorcing in 1988. He then married actress Cynda Williams, staying together from 1990 to 1992.
After divorcing Cynda, Billy Bob remarried in 1993 to Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherinak. The couple was together until 1997. All three relationships are said to have failed due to Billy Bob’s cheating. Pietra also accused the actor of spousal abuse, claiming he would also engage in it in front of their two children.
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Angelina Jolie Was Billy Bob Thornton’s Fifth Wife
Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton’s whirlwind romance is one of the most talked about in Hollywood history. The couple met when starring in Pushing Tin, Angelina being 20 years younger than Billy Bob and instantly connected. It’s hard not to be fascinated by their love story. From the necklaces containing vials of each other’s blood to their devotion to PDA, they left little to the imagination.
One of the more scandalous things about this relationship is how it started. The couple met when starring in Pushing Tin, Angelina being 20 years younger than Billy Bob and instantly connected. The thing was, Billy Bob was engaged to actress Laura Dern at the time. They had been together for over two years and even shared a home.
According to Laura, she was out of town, and Billy Bob chose to strike up a new relationship with his co-star Angelina. “I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I never heard from him again,” said the actress.
Once they were official, they genuinely let the public know everything about their relationship. In an interview with Us Weekly, the couple said their intimate life was so intense they feared it would end them. Their devotion to constant public displays of affection is credited with inspiring future cringe celebrity couple PDA moments – think Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly.
Things between the two actors would cool off almost as quickly as they heated up, with their marriage lasting only three years—cheating rumors circulated in 2002. Billy Bob’s notorious wandering eye poked a hole in another one of his marriages.
When the couple returned from their trip to adopt a child in Cambodia, Angelina was the only parent listed on the documentation. Billy Bob didn’t want to be a father at the time. It was clear there was trouble in paradise. The couple separated in the summer of 2002, and their divorce was finalized a year later.
The two remain friends but have touched upon why they felt the relationship didn’t work out. Angelina was saddened that Billy Bob chose not to adopt a child with her. She also felt the rumors about his infidelity were not untrue. Billy Bob, on the other hand, thinks it’s because Angelina is a woman of the world. She needs to be global, helping people, whereas Billy needs little from the outside world.
Who Is Billy Bob Thornton’s Current Wife?
Maybe it’s because Billy Bob Thornton has indeed met one, but the actor has been married to his sixth and current wife, Connie Angland, for eight years. The couple tied the knot in 2014 after 12 years of dating. They had an intimate ceremony in their backyard with close friends and family.
Connie is a special-effects makeup designer, and the couple has a daughter together, 17-year-old Bella. The couple met on the set of Bad Santa, became friends, and then struck up a romantic relationship. They remain out of the spotlight for the most part, with Connie joining her husband on red carpets or special events.
