8 Public Figures Who Have Repeatedly Embarrassed Their Wives In Public

Being in the public eye isn't easy, especially when it comes to marriage. While some high-profile unions continue to stand the test of time — think Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest or Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell — others have gone down in unforgettable flames. Jesse James and Sandra Bullock got divorced after James publicly admitted to several affairs, for instance. Russell Brand, in another infamous example, texted Katy Perry that he wanted a divorce right before she went to perform on stage, a heartbreaking moment featured in her 2012 documentary, "Katy Perry: Part of Me.".

While some wives who have been publicly embarrassed by their high-profile partners may choose to walk away from their marriages, others have opted to stick things out and give their relationships another shot. Alas, this has led to many instances of male public figures embarrassing their wives multiple times, whether intentional or otherwise.

Justin and Hailey Bieber first crossed paths in 2009. Hailey was around 12 years old, while Justin was 15 and an already established pop sensation. The pair casually dated from 2014 to 2016, reconnected in 2018, and got married a few short months later. The Biebers later welcomed their first child in 2024. 

There are a lot of strange things about Justin and Hailey Bieber's relationship. In 2019, for instance, Justin was lambasted by netizens for absentmindedly closing a car door on Hailey as she was getting out. The moment was captured by paparazzi in West Hollywood, and while the slam didn't look intentional, Justin sure didn't seem too concerned about Hailey in that particular moment. 

Some of his social media behavior has raised eyebrows as well. In 2025, Justin celebrated Hailey's Vogue cover with an incredibly backhanded Instagram caption. "Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight. I told Hails that she would never be on the cover of Vogue," Justin wrote in part (via Teen Vogue). Justin deleted the caption, but not before he was accused of embarrassing Hailey and trying to undermine her moment. 

Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo first connected in 2012, when a mutual friend set them up via email. At the time, Levine was looking for someone to star in a Maroon 5 music video. The pair began dating soon after, although they split in mid-2013. Levine and Prinsloo ultimately got back together, tied the knot in 2014, and welcomed three children.

Things took a turn in September 2022 when a woman named Sumner Stroh alleged that she had an affair with Levine in a since-deleted TikTok video. At the time, Prinsloo was pregnant with Levine's third child. To add insult to injury, text messages Stroh shared between her and Levine were turned into memes. Levine publicly apologized to Prinsloo, although he denied cheating. 

While Adam Levine's cheating scandal that rocked his relationship was undoubtedly embarrassing, it's certainly not his only cringeworthy moment. On a far less sordid note, Levine brought the TMI in 2018 when he shared he nearly had a bathroom emergency while Prinsloo gave birth to their first child. "I [was] basically bursting at the seams like, 'I'm going to s**t my pants'," Levine admitted on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." 

Kanye West (also known as Ye) and Kim Kardashian's marriage dramatically ended in 2022. West then went on to strike up a relationship with Bianca Censori, an architectural designer. Censori married West in December 2022, weeks after his divorce from Kardashian was finalized. 

The following year, Censori and West made headlines when they appeared to engage in an illicit act out in the open while riding a water taxi in Venice. Years later, Censori maintained that, despite the fact that West's pants appeared to be down, nothing lewd happened. "It was the first time I was really embarrassed," she told Vanity Fair in 2026. "I felt embarrassed because of my dad."

West has arguably humiliated Censori plenty of times, especially online. In a since-deleted 2025 X rant (via Page Six), West declared, "I have dominion over my wife." He went on to state that while his wife needs his permission to wear any of her notoriously shocking outfits — such as the next-to-naked look she showed up in at the 2025 Grammys — she apparently is always on board with the headline-making ensembles. That same year, Censori reportedly left West several times due to his social media rants. This was confirmed by West in an explicit song titled "BIANCA": "Bianca, I just want you to come back/Don't know what I did to make you mad." As of May 2026, Censori and West are still married. 

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been married since 1997, but have been separated since 2016. This news of their separation first came to light in 2020, when Jada admitted to having an "entanglement" with singer-songwriter August Alsina. Today, Will and Jada largely live separate lives, although they don't plan on divorcing anytime soon. 

Arguably the most talked-about moment in their relationship came about at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. When presenter Chris Rock compared Jada, whose journey with alopecia led her to shave her head, to "G.I. Jane," Will stormed the stage and slapped him across the face. "Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth!" Will exclaimed. In the wake of the shocking incident, Will was banned from the Oscars for 10 years. Looking back on the moment, Jada told NBC News' Hoda Kotb she remembers thinking, "I'm really worried for Will because I don't know what's going on."

This wasn't the first time Will apparently got heated on behalf of Jada. In his 2020 memoir, "Living in Color," Tommy Davidson explained that when he kissed Jada in a movie scene, Will followed him to his trailer and made his displeasure extremely clear. "There was a moment there when we might have come to blows," Davidson wrote, noting that Jada ultimately stepped in to calm down the confrontation.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel met in 2007 and married in 2012. The couple went on to have two sons. Over the years, their relationship has been at the center of a number of rumors, including whispers regarding whether or not they'll split. As of April 2026, reports indicate that while Biel hasn't filed for divorce yet, she's supposedly ready to pull the plug. "There's not much more she can take," a source claimed to Daily Mail. "She's sick of being publicly embarrassed."

In 2024, Biel's husband made headlines after he was charged with a DWI. The embarrassing body cam footage of the arrest shows Justin Timberlake admitting to only one drink, yet failing sobriety tests; the event later became a meme over the arresting officer not recognizing him. A source told People in March 2026 that Biel was upset about the footage, stating, "It obviously doesn't portray him in the best light."

In addition to the DWI, Timberlake publicly embarrassed Biel when he was photographed holding hands with actor Alisha Wainwright in 2019. Photos also surfaced of Wainwright's hand on Timberlake's leg. Although Timberlake denied cheating, he issued a public apology to Biel on Instagram (via Elle). "I drank way too much that night and I regret my behavior," he wrote in part. 

Jay-Z and Beyoncé have been married since 2008, although not without some serious cringeworthy moments courtesy of Jay-Z. All eyes were on the power couple when Beyoncé released her 2016 album "Lemonade," which heavily implied that Jay-Z cheated. In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Jay-Z confirmed that he had indeed been unfaithful to his wife. "The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone's face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself," he admitted. 

Though they've had their issues, Jay-Z has long been a fierce champion of Beyoncé's music and her impact on the music industry. At the 2024 ceremony, Jay-Z called out the Grammys for never awarding Beyoncé album of the year. "I don't want to embarrass [Beyoncé], but she has more Grammys than everyone," Jay-Z said. "Some of you don't belong in a category," he added. While he made a number of fair points, the speech still ruffled feathers, and Beyoncé reportedly looked uncomfortable with his remarks. The following year, Beyoncé won AOTY for "Cowboy Carter."

Most of Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright's disastrous relationship played out on the reality show "Vanderpump Rules" and its spin-off, "The Valley." The two split in early 2024 after four years of marriage; they tied the knot in mid-2019 and welcomed a son in 2021. 

There's no shortage of examples of Taylor humiliating Cartwright in front of the Bravo cameras. In 2015, for example, Taylor was arrested for allegedly stealing a pair of sunglasses during a cast trip to Hawaii while under the influence. In 2017, Taylor admitted to cheating on Cartwright with their co-worker, Faith Stowers. These events played out on "Vanderpump Rules" Seasons 4 and 6, respectively. In one of the episodes, Cartwright listened to a recording of Taylor openly trash talking their relationship to Stowers. 

In the wake of the cheating scandal, Taylor broke up with Cartwright. "I was so mad that he did that after everything, and he's embarrassing me even more by just ending it for no reason," she said on the show. The two eventually got back together, but they certainly didn't live happily ever after. On "The Valley," Taylor continued to humiliate and shame Cartwright even after they separated. As of April 2026, their divorce is not finalized.

If there was ever a poster couple for the phrase "open book," it'd be Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell. The couple began dating in 2007, married in 2013, and share two children, born in 2013 and 2014. As a duo, Shepard and Bell have made plenty of waves with out-of-pocket revelations. In a 2025 Instagram post, for instance, Bell claimed her husband once said, "I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I'm heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would."

There have been many cringe Dax Shepard moments that make some people uncomfortable. In Shepard's case, the embarrassment comes from jokes that don't necessarily land. In 2012, for example, Shepard "joked" that he hit Bell several times after she said something about her car. In 2021, Shepard also caused a bit of a stir when he posted an NSFW photo of Bell on Instagram (although he did censor her bottom half). 

When Bell appeared on a 2018 episode of "Armchair Expert," Shepard asked her to list the top moments he's embarrassed her. She offered a few examples, including one time when they were in an elevator in Italy with strangers and he apparently began singing a song in an exaggerated Italian accent. He maintained this didn't happen, but she recalled watching it unfold. "So close to people's ears in the elevator, and my head would sink and I would want to melt into the floor," she said.