15 Celeb Couples Who Stayed Together After A Cheating Scandal
Celebrities try to maintain a picture perfect public image, but of course, things aren't always what they seem. Let's be honest, there's nothing like a juicy celebrity cheating scandal to rock all of Hollywood! Stars who cheat on their spouses are willing to risk it all just to satisfy their own selfish needs. Everyone knows that it's only a matter of time before what they do in private comes to light, and getting caught in the act is almost inevitable. Once their foolish ways become public knowledge, the damage that could be done to both their personal and professional lives is irreversible. Famous figures that have been exposed as adulterers could potentially lose the bulk of their fan-base, millions of dollars in endorsement deals, and worst of all - their significant other. While there have been an endless amount of very public celebrity cheating scandals that have gone up in flames, not all relationships come to a screeching halt when someone is caught with their pants down (literally). Before you assume that every story of infidelity results in divorce, here are these 15 celeb couples who actually stayed together after a megawatt cheating scandal.
15 Jay-Z & Beyonce
There's no doubt that Jay-Z and Beyonce are the king and queen of the music world right now, but don't let their popularity fool you: this dynamic power-duo definitely isn't perfect. The famed rapper and singer first linked up in 2002. They managed to keep a relatively low profile but when they finally tied the knot in 2008, the whole world knew that Mr. and Mrs. Carter were a force to be reckoned with. While Jay and Bey appeared to be a match made in heaven, there have been rumors swirling around for years about Jay's multiple infidelities. None of his extramarital activities were ever confirmed, however, until his wife basically outed him as a serial cheater last year when her critically acclaimed Lemonade album dropped. The release featured multiple tracks that chronicled Jay's history of deception and straying from their marriage. The singer even infamously referenced Jay-Z's side chick as “Becky with the good hair.” Despite the rapper's inability to remain faithful to his lady, Beyonce clearly forgave him and was committed to making their relationship work. The couple has three children: Blue Ivy and twins Rumi and Sir. What's even more interesting is that Jay recently released his latest studio album, titled 4:44, where he owns up to his womanizing ways and apologizes to Beyonce for his bad behavior over the years.
14 Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne
Have you ever hear the old saying, “if he'll cheat with you, he'll cheat on you?” Well, that totally rings true when it comes to rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon. Ozzy was actually married for eleven years and had two children with his first wife before he had an affair with Sharon. They got married in 1982 and had three children together, but their wild and oftentimes wayward relationship was a far cry from a fairy tale. During the height of his Black Sabbath fame, Ozzy was no stranger to partying hard and and would cheat on his wife with groupies while on tour. In her 2003 memoir, Sharon herself admitted to her own mistakes by confessing to sleeping with the guitarist for Ozzy's band in the months before their wedding. While neither Ozzy or Sharon were innocent of infidelities throughout the course of their relationship, Sharon was shattered to discover that after thirty-three years of marriage, her husband had been carrying on a long-term tryst with celebrity stylist Michelle Pugh. Upon discovering Ozzy's affair, the co-host of The Talk kicked her husband out of their home and made an emotional appearance on her daytime talk show to discuss the state of their torrid romance. After a brief moment apart, the couple reunited and renewed their vows. Sharon later gave an explanation as to why she took Ozzy back despite his affinity for affairs, stating, “It's gonna take a long time to trust, but we've been together 36 years, 34 of marriage. I just can't think of my life without him… even though he's a dirty dog.”
13 Kobe & Vanessa Bryant
In 2003, it seemed like professional basketball player Kobe Bryant had it all: a super successful career with the LA Lakers, gorgeous wife Vanessa by his side and a newborn daughter. What else could he possibly want? Well, apparently even the best isn't good enough when you're an A-list celebrity who is never satisfied. That same year, Kobe became the focus of a massive assault allegation that took the world by storm. A 19-year-old hotel employee from Colorado claimed that she and Bryant had an affair, but she said that she never consented to being intimate with the pro athlete. Initially, Kobe denied having any kind of relationship, but he eventually confessed to authorities that he did in fact have a mutually consensual affair with the woman, telling detectives, “If it becomes public, I'll lose my wife… and all my endorsements." The very serious charges were eventually dropped, but the damage was already done and he was publicly revealed as a cheater. The ball player held a press conference alongside his wife and admitted the errors of his ways, saying, "I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making the mistake of adultery. I love my wife with all my heart. She's my backbone." Many wondered whether Vanessa would leave Kobe after the massive media circus surrounding the cheating scandal, but Kobe gave her an eight-carat purple diamond ring worth over $4 million and she stood by her man… for a little while at least. In 2011, Vanessa did file divorce citing “irreconcilable differences” but the split was later called off. Who knows? Maybe Kobe bought her another giant diamond and convinced her to stick around.
12 Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi & Jionni LaValle
Reality star Nicole Polizzi may have beat the odds by finding true love on the Jersey Shore, but that didn't stop her husband from creating an online profile on a very popular site that was specifically designed for cheating spouses. Polizzi got engaged to Jionni LaValle in 2012 and she gave birth to their first child later that year. They got married in 2014 and added a daughter to their picturesque family. While it looked like Snooki's life had changed for the better and she was living the American dream, scandal hit the newlyweds in 2015 when Ashley Madison, a major website that catered to extramarital affairs was hacked and thousands of married men were exposed as cheaters. The leaked list of users featured several celebrities and well-known public figures… including none other than Snooki's hubby Jionni. While it was never confirmed whether or not he actually acted on his intentions of stepping outside his marriage, it was abundantly clear that he had at the very least looked into the site and created a profile on the platform. While most wives would have given their husbands a hard time about being on such a seedy site, Snooki defended her man at all costs. The star refused to believe that Jionni was actually a cheater and insisted that he hardly knew how to use a computer, let alone how to use a cheating website. She told the press, "It's so stupid, and we honestly think, like, someone is trying to f**k with us because this isn't the first story that Jionni's been cheating on me. But all these stories never have evidence. There's never a photo, there's never text messages, there's nothing." Well, she did have a point but the fact that he had even signed up for a website who's tagline was “Life is short, have an affair” in the first place is still super shady.
11 Fergie & Josh Duhamel
Hunky actor Josh Duhamel met his future bride-to-be in 2004 when Fergie and her band, The Black Eyed Peas, made a guest appearance on the show Las Vegas. By 2009, the couple had gotten married and they were set to live happily ever after… until an exotic dancer came out with claims that she and Josh had an affair that same year. While Duhamel publicly denied cheating on his wife, the woman spoke to several media outlets to. Fergie always remained mum about the situation but there's no doubt that such a heavy accusation of infidelity can take a toll on any marriage, let alone a marriage between two celebrities. It was a classic case of he-said, she-said and nobody really knew which side was telling the truth. Of course, Fergie chose to either believe her husband was innocent or forgive him of cheating ways because the couple is still very much together. In 2012, the singer sat down with Oprah to briefly discuss how the alleged affair affected her relationship, stating, "When you go through difficult times, it really makes you stronger as a unit, as a partnership. It does for us, anyways. Our love today is a deeper love, definitely.” She went on to say, "We're stronger today definitely because of anything difficult that's happened with us. We deal with it, we communicate; communicating's the most important thing." We're not sure whether or not Josh stepped out on his wife, but one thing is for sure: it's gonna take a lot more than a lady of the night to break up this union.
10 Countess Luann & Tom D'Agostino
Last season on The Real Houswives of New York City, Countess Luann De Lesseps met a man named Tom D'Agostino and her life was totally flipped upside down. Luann and Tom were on the fast-track right from the start and they got engaged pretty quickly. The love story between the pair created a controversial storyline for the women of NYC… mostly because prior to dating Luann he had dated both of her co-stars, Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan. But aside from being a three-time dabbler in the Real Housewives pool of single ladies, Luann's new beau created a firestorm of scandal because of the endless rumors of his infidelities. Many of the other women in the group had warned Luann about her fiance's intentions, but it was Bethenny Frankel who came through with some seriously incriminating evidence. The concerned businesswoman presented Luann with a picture of her future husband locking lips with a mystery woman during a night out at the Regency hotel in the city along with other receipts that proved he was being unfaithful. Despite the women's best efforts, Luann chose to brush aside everyone's advice and adamantly forged ahead with her plans to marry husband number two. The couple tied the knot on New Year's Eve of last year, but the question remains of whether or not these two will actually last.
9 Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott
Pretty much everyone knows that when Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott first began their romantic relationship, they were both married to other people. While they each got divorced and married each other, Tori and Dean were adamant that their love was the real deal and that they had finally found their soulmates in one another. The couple got married in 2006 and welcomed four children together over the next several years before it was revealed that Dean had been cheating on his second wife with a mistress named Emily Goodhand in 2013. The alleged affair was a hot topic in the media and it was a central story-line for the couple's reality show. While Tori and Dean were very public about the apparent tryst, some accused the couple of fabricating the entire thing as a shameless publicity stunt. No media outlet could ever locate any proof of the side chick's existence, but the McDermotts insist that the cheating scandal was the real deal. Despite the devastating blow to their marriage and Dean's history of being unfaithful, Tori chose to side with her husband. The pair went on to welcome their fifth child together earlier this year. What can we say? Other than these two definitely deserve each other.
8 Kendra Wilkinson & Hank Baskett
Former playmate and professional reality star Kendra Wilkinson married pro football player Hank Baskett in an elaborate ceremony at the bunny Mansion in 2009. That same year, the couple welcomed their first child together. To Kendra, her life was finally coming together and she was living out a fairy tale. However, scandal hit the couple in 2014 when Hank was accused of cheating on his wife with a trans model. The story took on a life of its own and news of Baskett's alleged affair became the subject of every headline. More details were released about Hank's rendezvous with this mystery person, and it was revealed that Kendra was heavily pregnant at the time of her husband's transgressions. Naturally, the subject of whether or not Hank actually cheated on Kendra became a major storyline on the couple's reality show which only brought more attention to an already sensitive matter. Despite covering Hank's infidelity expensively on multiple television shows and in interviews, Baskett refused to reveal whether or not he actually engaged in any inappropriate behavior with a third party. Eventually, during an episode of Marriage Bootcamp, Hank confessed that he “wasn't loyal” to Kendra while insisting that he “didn't cheat”. The star went on to say that the whole thing was a big understanding (which is likely code for “PR stunt”). In the end, Kendra chose to stand by her man despite his potential cheating. The couple recently celebrated their nine year anniversary as a couple and appear to be very much in love.
7 Shannon & David Beador
Let's face it, anyone who is up-to-date with The Real Housewives of Orange County is already aware of the ongoing drama surrounding Shannon Beador and her husband David. Shannon joined the successful franchise during its ninth season and her beau's bombshell affair was a major topic of conversation on the series. After fourteen years of marriage and three daughters together, Shannon discovered that David had been having an eight month long affair with another woman that she knew. Beador caught wind of her husband's infidelity when she caught him whispering on the phone and found numerous hotel and dinner date receipts. To make matters go from bad to way worse, the woman not only lives in the same community as the Beador family but her children also go to the same school as Shannon and David's kids. David openly admitted to having an extensive affair but eventually decided that he wanted to keep his marriage intact. While most wives would be less than interested in forgiving a cheating husband, Shannon would do whatever it took to keep her marriage from crumbling. The reality show documented the couple going to therapy and meditation sessions, and the pair even renewed their vows following David's affair. Of course, getting over the fact that your husband was carrying on with another woman is no easy task, but Shannon remains committed to making sure her family remains a united front in spite of the public cheating scandal.
6 David Letterman & Regina Lasko
Late night talk show host David Letterman married his second wife Regina Lasko in a quiet ceremony in 2009. Later that same year, Letterman announced on The Late Show that someone with knowledge of his multiple affairs had threatened to blackmail him if he didn't agree to pay $2 million in hush money. Letterman, fully aware of the damage that a massive cheating scandal could do to his career and his marriage, came clean and admitted to having multiple inappropriate relationships with female employees who worked on his show. Once the can of worms had been opened, multiple women came forward and confessed to having secret affairs with Letterman. David's lengthy history of rendezvous within the workplace was finally exposed and he was put on a paid leave of absence from the show. He issued a public apology to his wife, who surprisingly, didn't decide to leave the marriage. Three years after the humiliating scandal was unearthed, Letterman sat down with Oprah Winfrey to discuss the consequences of his actions, stating, "I have no one to blame but myself.” We're glad he accepted ownership of his wrongdoings… and he should be grateful that his wife is so forgiving.
5 Magic Johnson & Earlitha Kelly
Professional basketball player Earvin Johnson, better known as “Magic” on the court, better thank his lucky stars every night for marrying such a loyal woman even though he probably doesn't deserve it. Earlitha Kelly proved that she was the true definition of a “ride or die” chick when she stood by her husband after he dropped a double-edged bombshell on her: not only did he cheat on her incessantly throughout their relationship, but he also contracted HIV due to his unsafe interactions with other women. The couple married in 1991 and Earlitha was pregnant with their first child together when Magic called her and said he had to tell her something important when he returned home. The couple had only been husband and wife for merely six weeks when Magic admitted to that he had been having secret affairs with so many women than he had lost count… and that he had been diagnosed with the very intimidating disease. In her 2016 memoir, Believing In Magic, the basketball star's wife spoke of her initial reaction upon hearing the news, admitting that she was both heartbroken and terrified of what the future might hold. Instead of getting angry at Magic, Earlitha told her husband, “we're going to beat this together” and has stuck by him ever since. The couple has been married for over twenty five years and their bond is stronger than ever.
4 Billy Ray & Tish Cyrus
Country music star turned actor Billy Ray Cyrus married his second wife, Tish, in 1993 and the couple raised seven children… including Miley Cyrus, of course. The couple appeared to be happily married for nineteen years when trouble in paradise started brewing for the famous family. In 2013, Miley made private family drama very public when she took to Twitter to give her dad an ultimatum. The outspoken pop star posted a cryptic tweet directed toward Billy Ray saying, “Since you won't reply to my texts I'm giving you an hour to tell the truth or I'll tell it for you”. To make matters even more complicated, Miley also included a picture of herself with a mystery woman along with her threatening message. While it was pretty clear that Cyrus was insinuating that her father had been seeing another woman behind her mom's back, the rumor mill had already been swirling about Tish's alleged affair with Poison front-man Bret Michaels. It didn't seem like either party was interested in making their marriage work and the couple announced their plans to get divorced that same year. Subsequently, they somehow managed to work out their differences and scratched their plans to separate. Billy Ray and Tish may have both been guilty of engaging in extramarital affairs, but they are still together despite their very public missteps.
3 David Boreanaz & Jamie Bergman
There are all different levels of cheating, but actor David Boreanaz totally takes the prize for one of the biggest d-bag husbands of all time when he cheated on his pregnant wife of ten years. The Bones star got caught up in an unwanted media frenzy when it was revealed that he was two-timing his wife Jamie Bergman in 2010. Not only were he and his wife married for the better half of a decade, but the couple was about to become parents for the second time as Jamie was expecting while he was romping around with another woman. To make matters a whole lot worse, the “other woman” was Rachel Uchitel, a woman who was heavily involved in the Tiger Woods cheating scandal. In true celebrity fashion, private text messages between Boreanaz and Uchitel were leaked to the public revealing just how inappropriate their relationship really was. The actor later spoke out about his explicit affair, saying, "In a sacred ground like marriage, you find yourself out of it at certain times for reasons unknown that can be destructive.” Boreanaz continued to take zero responsibility for his actions while remaining firm about working on his marriage, stating, “There could be a demon that kind of comes out and overtakes you. Do I believe in giving up? No, I don't. I'm a fighter. I'm a lover.” For reasons far beyond our point of comprehension, Jamie decided to stay with her husband in spite of his inability to remain a one woman kind of man.
2 David & Victoria Beckham
At this point, David and Victoria Beckham are so revered that they are practically British royalty, but the couple's relationship was put to the test in 2004 when a woman came forward and said she had been having an affair with the handsome soccer star. The alleged mistress was named Rebecca Loos and she was working as Beckham's personal assistant at the time. The twosome was photographed together at a night club and although Rebecca initially denied any sparks flying between her and David, she still was fired from her job as his assistant due to all of the attention the snapshots were receiving. Following her dismissal, Loos sold the details of her supposed tryst with Beckham to a major British publication and all hell broke loose. News of the affair traveled fast and David Beckham was instantly labeled a cheater. Loos tried to milk newfound fame by signing up for multiple reality shows and even posing for the cover of Playboy magazine. As a rebuttal, David released a statement to the media that slammed his former assistant's claims by labeling them “ludicrous” and insisting that he's a very happily married man. The pressure of a super public affair would be enough to make most marriages crumble, but Victoria chose to believe that her husband was telling the truth. While we may never know if David actually was cheating or if this was just a case of a bitter ex-employee trying to make a quick buck, we're certainly glad that the Beckhams are still together after eighteen years of marriage.
1 Bill & Hilary Clinton
When you think about highly-publicized celebrity cheating scandal of epic proportions, Bill Clinton unequivocally comes to mind. The 42nd president of the United States became the subject of a major controversy when he got caught up in a web of lies surrounding his alleged affairs. Clinton was revealed to be both unfaithful to his wife, Hilary, and an all-out liar when his side relationship with Monica Lewinsky became public knowledge. The president infamously denied having any romantic involvement with Lewinsky, but later acknowledged his inappropriate relationship with the White House intern. Numerous other women came forward to confess having long-term extra-marital affairs with Bill Clinton over the years. With so much evidence mounting against him, you might think that Hilary would immediately divorce her two-timing hubby, right? Well, apparently the multiple instances of deception and torrid affairs weren't enough to make Hilary leave. Decades after the shocking cheating revelations took the world by storm, Bill and Hilary are still much an item.