Celeb Husbands Whose Divorced Dad Behavior Was Off The Charts In 2025

You don't have to be an actual divorced dad to display divorced-dad behavior. For those of you who aren't members of Gen Alpha, the term refers to any lame, embarrassing, or outrageous act committed by a father. Need some examples? Have we got a bunch for you: Some very well-known men provided divorced-dad moments in 2025 which became the subject of comments, criticism, and plenty of smirking. 

In some cases, it was tough to choose just one instance. We could have devoted this entire article just to our own president. Who could forget Donald Trump ranting about his photo on the cover of TIME? Instead of doing a victory dance that a major media outlet was praising his efforts to bring peace in Israel, the divisive POTUS freaked out that the angle of the pic made his hair look less than lush. That DD energy also came out in force when Trump delivered a rambling speech during the posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony for Charlie Kirk. Instead of staying on topic and eulogizing the slain Turning Point USA founder, he used the occasion to do his usual boasting about his accomplishments and dredge up his tired stolen-election claims.

From spouse demeaning to escalator dramatics, these are just a few of the high low points hit this year by notable husbands. Any guesses as to what we might expect in 2026?

At first, the late September 2025 split between Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban came as a shock to fans, but it soon became clear that the high-profile couple might be better off without each other. According to TMZ, Urban was the one who wanted the separation, and in fact had moved out several months prior. Then, just two days before the announcement, Urban's petty onstage behavior during a tour was brought to light by a fellow performer. Country artist Maggie Baugh joined him onstage for his hit song "The Fighter," which was written specifically about Kidman and his promise to protect her from pain. Unexpectedly — most of all to Baugh — Urban changed the lyric "When they're tryna get to you, baby, I'll be the fighter" to "When they're tryna get to you, Maggie, I'll be your guitar player." 

The apparent diss, which Baugh shared on Instagram, sparked outrage among Urban's fans. "Wow! This is gross," went one representative reaction. "Nicole is the mother of your children. If not respect for their mother, at least show respect to the girls! ... Breakups happen but do it with grace, dignity, and respect." The comments section also included a debate over Urban's connection to Baugh herself. Some thought the two were seeing each other on the side, while a staunch fan insisted that Urban regularly changes up his lyrics when performing with a guest artist. Whatever the case, the incident branded Urban as a "Stupid Boy" this year.

It's hard not to include President Donald Trump in a roundup of outrageous-behavior moments, and even harder to pick just one. But our vote goes to the president's inauspicious start to his September appearance at the United Nations. As he and First Lady Melania Trump made their ascent from the lobby to the upper floor, the escalator suddenly stopped. The incident lasted just a moment — the couple walked up the rest of the way with no trouble — but that didn't stop Trump from making an unhinged rant that was dramatic, even for him. On Truth Social, the president fumed, "It's amazing that Melania and I didn't fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first." Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly, Trump repeated his claim that his wife barely escaped a disfiguring disaster.

Adding to the drama factor, there were also snafus with the teleprompter and sound system during Trump's speech to the assembly. He insisted it was "triple sabotage" and called for a full investigation to find whoever was supposedly trying to bring him down. It turns out that a cameraman from the White House may actually have triggered the stairway's stop feature, but that only makes the president's fuss over Escalatorgate all the more embarrassing. (Particularly for Melania, who didn't seem to be in any danger of face-planting.)

Justin Bieber has been honest about the challenges of marriage to Hailey Baldwin Bieber, admitting that their relationship hasn't always been the stuff of romance movies. But one incident in 2025 showed the pop superstar might be causing some of the friction all on his own. In May of this year, Hailey was the cover story of Vogue, a coveted goal for celebs in all walks of life. (Melania Trump is reportedly miffed that Vogue hasn't put her on the cover since becoming first lady.) The "Baby" singer acted like a baby himself as he posted a cringey response to the honor.  On his Instagram account, he shared the photo, along with a statement he has since deleted (but Teen Vogue caught before it disappeared): "Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight," he wrote. "I told Hails that she would never be on the cover of Vogue. Yikes I know, so mean." 

He went on to beg forgiveness for trying to "get even" with his wife, but fans weren't buying it. The post got more than 51,000 comments, including "May this love never find me. I'd rather be a cat lady" and "You don't deserve Hailey. Seriously." A follower wrote in Portuguese, "It's honestly disappointing to see how shallow you've become. You talk about love, but you clearly don't understand what it means."

As the old Avis slogan goes, when you're only number 2, you try harder. Vice President JD Vance has made a habit out of embarrassing his wife, Usha, so often that he came close to topping his boss's record in 2025. Where to begin? For starters, the veep unexpectedly joined his wife on a jaunt to Greenland in March, turning her simple sightseeing visit into a political quagmire as JD talked to the U.S. Space Force about the prospect of Denmark selling the territory to the United States. Maybe it's the way JD let slip that his marriage is toxic; he admitted he has yelled at Usha during their fights. Or, perhaps it's his remark from March in which he quipped (via X, formerly Twitter), "The cameras are all on; anything I say, no matter how crazy, my wife Usha has to smile, laugh, and celebrate it." Somehow, talking about a distinguished lawyer as though she were a dutiful '50s tradwife wasn't as funny as he might have hoped.

Vance's summer outing to the U.K. was another source of head-shaking, this time among the locals. Whether it was his huge security entourage which clogged traffic flow in the quiet Cotswolds, his illegal fishing jaunt with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy (who didn't have the proper license), or just his mediocre skills on Trump's Turnberry golf course, the vice president just couldn't seem to stay out of the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

We never thought Elon Musk would top his bizarre jumping spree at the 2024 Trump campaign rallies. Then the new year rolled around, and things got even weirder for the Tesla and Starlink mogul. Musk hung around Mar-a-Lago more often than Trump's own children did, and then turned his focus to Washington when he was appointed head of the official-but-not-really Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and tasked with cutting unnecessary jobs and expenses. He made appearances at Oval Office press conferences so frequently that "President Musk" jokes began to circulate. Then Musk topped it all off by bringing along his 4-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii (aka Lil X) to one February meeting. Was it merely for the cuteness factor, or to show what a good dad he was, or to reinforce his messaging about repopulation? Whatever the reason, it came off as annoying, not to mention disrespectful to X's mother, Grimes. The singer went on X (formerly Twitter) to say she hadn't been made aware of their son's trip to the White House. "He should not be in public like this," she said.

Adding to his list of uncomfortable moments, in May Musk spoke out against the Big Beautiful Bill, arguing it would undo all the spending cuts he'd made under DOGE. The president was wounded at his bestie's betrayal, and the Trump-Elon bromance went down in flames. Only months later were the two spotted speaking to each other, at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, but nothing further seemed to come of it. As 2025 drew to a close, it was still anyone's guess as to whether the billionaire buddies would reconcile, but Lil X probably shouldn't expect to get a ride in the presidential limo anytime soon.