We’ve all fallen in love with the Hollywood stars we see in our favourite films – the charming, bumbling Brits of rom coms, the secret agents, the action heroes and even the villains. It’s not hard to see why so many fans are swept up in the fantasy of it all. 

But what happens when that fantasy actually becomes a reality? Here we take a look at the on-screen stars whose steamy off-screen affairs have led to the breakdown of their real-life marriages. 

Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton

Her reputation as the ‘wild child’ of the ‘90s was cemented when Angelina Jolie, 49, embarked on her first affair with married actor Billy Bob Thornton, 69, on the set of 1999 film Pushing Tin. At the time, Billy Bob was engaged to Laura Dern, but swiftly ended their romance, tying the knot with Angelina in Las Vegas the following year. 

Initially their romance raised eyebrows for their 20-year age difference, but later, speculation over the private details of their two-year marriage reached overdrive when the pair revealed how they had gathered a pinprick of blood from each other to keep in vials around their necks when they couldn’t be together. 

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton 

Perhaps the most iconic couple from the ‘golden age’ of film, glamorous icon Elizabeth Taylor fell madly in love with co-star, notorious lothario Richard Burton. At the time, however, ‘Liz’ was with her fourth husband, actor and singer Eddie Fisher, while ‘Dick’ had been married to Sybil Williams for 15 years, with the couple sharing two daughters. 

In an affair Richard dubbed ‘le scandale’, the pair shamelessly continued,  with Eddie famously calling his home only for Richard to answer and tell him, ‘What do you think I’m doing? I’m f**king your wife’. Despite their tumultuous romance, the couple were married for 11 years and proved to be one of the greatest Hollywood love stories of all time. 

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Johnny Depp, 61, and Amber Heard’s defamation trial three years ago unveiled a litany of fiery fights, alleged drug misuse and alleged violence during their seven-year relationship – making clear that their rocky romance had resulted in as much pain as their initial affair. 

 At the time they met on the set of The Rum Diaries in 2009, Johnny had been with model and actress Vanessa Paradis for 14 years before their eventual 2012 split 

On meeting Amber, 39, who had also been in a relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree, on set, Johnny later confessed that he had developed feelings for her during a steamy shower scene, which eventually led to kissing and wine off-set. 

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie 

The most famous love-triangle of all-time, Brad Pitt, 61, and Angelina Jolie’s on-screen chemistry exploded his marriage to golden girl Jennifer Aniston, who was left ‘heartbroken’ and ‘grieving’ after sharing just months previously that they had decided to start a family. 

But Brad and Angelina’s animal attraction on the set of 2005’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith  was undeniable and the couple – who share six children – were married for two years before things went sour. They finalised their divorce in December after a long eight-year long court battle. 

Brad is now dating jewellery designer Ines De Ramon, while Jennifer is single after her divorce from Justin Theroux in 2018. 

Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders

Famously admitting there was ‘nothing [she] could do’ to stop herself falling in love with her Twilight co-star Robert Pattison, 39, Kristen Stewart made further headlines worldwide when she confessed that she and R-Patz loved to lick each other’s armpits in the bedroom. 
However, their four year romance was doomed when Kristen, 35, began filming the lead role in Snow White and The Huntsman, in 2012 – engaging in a brief affair with married director Rupert Sanders. 

After pictures of the pair kissing emerged, Rupert, 54, was forced to make a statement, saying, ‘I am utterly distraught about the pain I have caused my family. 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.’

Meanwhile, his wife, model Liberty Ross, posted a picture of Disney princess Snow White to Twitter, writing, ‘Not so pretty or so pure after all’.

The couple, who share two children, divorced a year later.  

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman

While famous exes Tom Cruise, 62, and Nicole Kidman, 57, have never confirmed that they embarked in an affair, Nicole has admitted her ‘jaw dropped’ when she first laid eyes on future-husband Tom when she co-starred as his love interest in 1990 flick, Days of Thunder. 

During filming intimate scenes with Nicole, Tom had been married to Mimi Rogers. The couple are believed to have unofficially split the previous year, but with the divorce seemingly sped up, Tom was free to marry Nicole just ten months later.

The couple adopted two children together before Tom filed for divorce in 2001, leaving Nicole ‘in shock’. 

Ryan Phillipe and Abbie Cornish

Meeting at her 21st birthday party, Reese Witherspoon, now 49, and Ryan Phillippe, 50, – who she described as her ‘birthday present’ –  went on to star in teen movie, Cruel Intentions, together in 1999 before marrying just a few weeks after the film was released.

The couple, who now co-parent daughter Ava and son Deacon, announced they were divorcing in 2006, just three months after Ryan began filming the movie Stop Less with young Australian actress Abbie Cornish. 

Not appearing to hide his rumoured affair with Abbie, Ryan later admitted, ‘I don’t think an outside person can ever cause a divorce. I had difficulties in my relationship, and in my marriage, long before I ever met her.’ He didn’t, however, clarify that his marriage had actually ended before they embarked on their three year relationship.

Tom Ellis and Emilie De Ravin

Vowing to remain friends with her ex-husband of seven years, Tom Ellis, weeks after their 2013 split, Tamzin Outhwaite soon changed her mind after learning of his affair with his Once Upon a Time co-star, Emilie de Ravin. 

In 2013, the former EastEnders star, 54, who shares teen daughters Florence and Marnie with Tom, 46, marked the 10th anniversary of their split, posting in a since-deleted tweet, ‘Ten years since the father of my kids walked out on us for the final time. I still meet new people on jobs who reveal more infidelities and lies that he committed. But thankfully my heart and soul are clear and clean and I could not be happier right now.’

Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham Carter 

Actors Kenneth Branagh, 64, and Helena Bonham Carter, 58, embarked on an affair when they met on the set of Frankenstein in 1995, while he was still married to all-time English sweetheart Emma Thompson, 66.

Reflecting on when she first learnt of the affair, Emma later admitted, ‘I was utterly, utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set.

‘…I was half alive. Any sense of being a lovable or worthy person had gone completely.’

She did, however, channel her heartbreak into her amazing role as wronged wife, Karen, in 2003 romance, Love Actually. 

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian

LeAnn Rimes first began Dancing in the Moonlight with husband Eddie Cibrian when the pair embarked on an affair after meeting on the set of Northern Lights back in 2008. 

LeAnn, 42 was married to Dean Sheremet while Eddie, 51, was married to Brandi Glanville, with the pair both divorcing their respective partners before marrying in 2011.

A year before their wedding, LeAnn spoke candidly about their affair, saying, ‘I did one of the most selfish things that I possibly could do, in hurting someone else. I take responsibility for everything I’ve done. I hate that people got hurt, but I don’t regret the outcome.’ 

Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith

Sparks flew when Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith first met on the 1995 set of Two Much. So much so that the couple went on to marry just a year later. 

There was, however, a slight bump in their path – both having been married at the time, with Antonio having wed actress Ana Leza nine years previoulsy, and Melanie having married ex-husband Don Johnson for the second time in 1989.

They later welcomed a daughter, Stella, with Antonio calling Melanie his ‘soulmate’. Despite rumours of Antonio flirting with other women, the couple are said to have divorced amicably in 2014, with the actor, 64, saying he will ‘always love’ Melanie, 67. 

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