15 Shocking Celebrity Cheating Scandals
We sure didn't see many of them coming
By The Singapore Women's Weekly -
Cheating scandals are always shocking but especially so when they involve famous faces. From alleged incidences of infidelity to ones that got ugly and public real fast, here are some of the most shocking celebrity cheating scandals that have captured the world's attention.
David Beckham's new four-part Netflix docuseries 'Beckham' has once again brought his scandal from nearly two decades back to the limelight again.
In 2004, David and Victoria Beckham found themselves thrust into the spotlight due to allegations of an extramarital affair, as their former personal assistant, Rebecca Loos, claimed that she had engaged in a four-month romantic relationship with the soccer star.
The scandal started when David Beckham relocated to Madrid to join Real Madrid in the summer of 2003. Just a few months later, in September, he was seen on a night out with an unidentified brunette (later identified as Rebecca Loos) in Madrid, as reported by The Guardian.
Loos later went on to claim that their involvement had extended to a four-month affair, creating a major celebrity scandal that dominated headlines. Other women later came forward with their own allegations, all of which Beckham has denied and called "completely and totally untrue".
Thankfully, the couple have weathered the storm and celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary this July (2023).
In 2020, Taiwanese star Show Lo found himself in hot water after his ex-girlfriend of nine years, Chinese influencer Grace Chow, took to social media platform Weibo to expose his philandering ways. In an explosive post, the then-31-year-old shared that she had broken up with Lo after he cheated on her many times.
Chow labelled him a chronic womaniser and accused him of engaging in “multi-player sports sessions — things that normal people cannot even begin to imagine”.
Additionally, Lo allegedly kept another mobile phone that was used to contact other women. He was accused of inviting women to the home the two share when Chow was not around, inviting women to his hotel during his travels, and having improper relationships with female artistes in his management agency.
Following the reveal, Show Lo posted a public apology on his Instagram page. He wrote, "Regarding the matter of my relationship, I would like to extend a solemn apology to Ms Grace Chow. I'm sorry, I was wrong." He added, "I did make a lot of mistakes, and I also want to apologise to all women who have been deceived and disrespected by me. I'm sorry, I will bear all the consequences."
As expected, Show faced swift repercussions as both showrunners and advertisers distanced themselves from him in the aftermath of the scandal. Consequently, he took a two-year break from the public eye, but has recently made a return.
Closer to home, local actor and director Jack Neo was also embroiled in an extramarital scandal in 2010.
Then, freelance model Wendy Chong disclosed to Lianhe Wanbao that she had been in a two-year-long affair with Jack Neo. At that time, Wendy was 22 years old, while Jack was 50 years old.
Subsequently, Jack Neo organised a press conference during which he openly admitted to his wrongdoing and appealed for understanding. His wife, Irene Kng, also attended the press conference and publicly forgave Jack, affirming her decision to stand by him. The emotional intensity of the moment was palpable as Irene collapsed after her statement, and had to be helped off the stage.
Over a decade later, the couple seems to be going strong – they celebrate 33 years of marriage this year, and welcomed their second grandson a few months ago.
A day after Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos and his novelist wife Mackenzie announced that they were ending their 25 years of marriage after “a long period of loving exploration and trial separation”, Jeff’s affair with a pilot and former news anchor Lauren Sanchez was exposed by the National Enquirer in its issue that hit the stands on January 10. Lauren’s brother Michael Sanchez is allegedly the source behind the leaking of intimate texts and nude photos of the couple to the magazine, with reports saying he was paid for providing the material.
The bombshell exposé was apparently the result of a four-month-long investigation into the affair between Jeff, 55, and Lauren, 49. Reporters reportedly tracked the couple “across five states and 40,000 miles, tailed them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and ‘quality time’ in hidden love nests”.
The saga took a dramatic turn when in an extraordinary move, Jeff published a blog post on Medium saying the publishers of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc. (AMI), tried to extort him by threatening to publish explicit selfies between him and Lauren. That is, unless Jeff halts his investigation into the leaks and makes a public statement disavowing the idea that the investigation was politically motivated, said his post. “Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten,” he wrote.
Jeff, who is one of the richest people in the world, has four children with MacKenzie. They announced in April 2019 that they had finalised their divorce agreement. She reportedly parted ways with Bezos with a whopping $38.3 billion in Amazon stock.
While they looked happy from the outside, British actor Colin Firth's wife has admitted an affair with an Italian journalist she has accused of stalking her. The pair separated quietly in 2015 and 2016 when the affair took place but have since reconciled.
While the couple never admitted to having an affair, Brad Pitt stated that he "fell in love" with Angelina Jolie while filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The dashing actor was still married to Jennifer Aniston at the time. They divorced shortly after and Brad moved on and eventually married Angie.
However, the two later also went their separate ways with a messy split in 2016, and to date, are still engaged in a custody battle. They share six kids: twins Knox and Vivienne, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara and Maddox.
The actor and former governor has been married to Maria Shriver for over 25 years but during that time he also fathered a son with the couple's maid, Mildred Baena. The son reportedly looked so much like his father that Shriver was suspicious and asked the housekeeper point blank if he was Arnold's son.
The pair went their separate ways in 2011 after the scandal.
In 2016, Wang Baoqiang's divorce from his wife, over her alleged extramarital affair, had social media buzzing, with posts about the subject gaining over five billion views. He alleged that his marriage broke down after his wife had an affair with his agent. Scandalous!
After a 12-year marriage, Gwen and Gavin split in 2016 after he was caught having an affair with the nanny. The nanny was promptly fired, and it didn’t take long for the couple, who share three children, to get a divorce. Gwen then moved on with country music star, Blake Shelton, whom she met on The Voice. They got engaged in 2020, and walked down the aisle the following year.
The actor was with actress Elizabeth Hurley when he was caught and arrested for having sex in a car with a sex worker in 1995. The couple tried to make it work, but eventually broke up in 2000. They have, however, remained good friends till this day.
Theirs was a romance straight out of the books but Kristen ended up breaking Robert's heart when she was photographed kissing her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders.
Though she issued a public apology for the “momentary indiscretion” that “jeopardised the most important thing” in her life at the time — her relationship with Pattinson — the actress and her beau broke up soon after.
Jesse James and Sandra Bullock were still married when multiple women came forward in 2010 saying they had had affairs with Jesse. There was reportedly at least four women who he cheated on the Oscar-winning actress with. They divorced a year after the allegations surfaced.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana's tumultuous marriage was marred by allegations of infidelity. According to Prince Charles' official biographer, he started an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in 1986, just five years into his marriage to Princess Diana.
Charles and Diana officially separated in 1992, eventually leading to their divorce in 1996. Prince Charles and Camilla eventually married each other in 2005.
Photo: TPG News
This post was published on 17 April 2019, and updated on Oct 10, 2023.