The Messy Affair Drama That's Haunted Billy Bob Thornton For Decades

Critically lauded actor Billy Bob Thornton has proved to be quite the womanizer, having been married six times thus far while also being romantically linked to even more stunning women. And, although having that many divorces under his belt may seem controversial enough, Thornton has also found himself at the center of several different sordid affair rumors. While going through the divorce process with his fourth wife, model Pietra Dawn Cherniak, the "Sling Blade" star started dating fellow acclaimed actor Laura Dern, in 1997. It probably sounds like the Oscar winner moved on from Cherniak rather quickly, but the truth about how Billy Bob Thornton's relationship with Laura Dern ended turned out to be even more dramatic. Apparently, while starring together in the 1999 film "Pushing Tin," Thornton started a relationship with another Hollywood A-lister, Angelina Jolie, before marrying her without the knowledge of many, including Dern. 

Even worse, the two superstars were also engaged at the time. The "Jurassic Park" star has understandably expressed deep hurt and confusion over Thornton leaving her for another woman without even properly ending things with Dern first. According to ABC News, the actor spoke candidly to a publication called Talk, in 2000, about the pain she experienced upon learning of her husband's affair, which reportedly happened while she was also on location working on a film, assuming their relationship was perfectly healthy. "I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I've never heard from him again," Dern sadly revealed. As the "Wild at Heart" star explained, "It's like a sudden death. For no one has there been any closure or clarity." 

Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie ultimately got divorced in 2003 after three years of marriage, and the "Bad Santa" star later remarried again. While his sixth marriage appears blissful, at the time of writing, the racy beginnings of the "Love Actually" star's relationship with Jolie were not the only time he was accused of having an affair. Another drama that has plagued Thornton for years revolves around one of the messiest (in all senses of the word) celebrity break-ups in history: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Before the controversial 2022 court case involving severed fingers and dastardly things done on a bed, Depp and Heard's divorce was finalized in January 2017 after less than two years of marriage. TMZ claimed that the actor cut off the tip of Depp's finger during a heated altercation, which was reportedly about an affair Heard was having. 

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star then allegedly dunked his wounded digit in paint and scrawled on a mirror: "Starring Billy Bob" and "Easy Amber." Depp purportedly believed that his then-wife was cheating on him with Thornton after the two collaborated on the movie "London Fields." Billy Bob Thornton, as well as his current wife, Connie Angland, continue to insist that the rumors are nothing but fiction. While speaking with TMZ, the "Landman" actor claimed that he had only interacted with Heard once outside of shooting their scenes together, which was during a meal with the entire cast of "London Fields," and that he never even had a friendship with her.