What Brooke Shields' Husbands & Ex-Boyfriends Have Said About Her

Brooke Shields has lived quite the life. She first hit the mainstream as a preteen, starring as a child forced into sex work in the controversial 1978 movie "Pretty Baby." At 14, she went on to become the youngest model to ever appear on the cover of Vogue, and has continued to have a successful acting and modeling career — as well as earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Romance languages from the prestigious Princeton University. In between all that, Shields has had plenty of high-profile romances — and high-profile fauxmances — too.

John Travolta and George Michael are among the famous faces that have been linked to Shields over the decades. There are also plenty of rumors about whether Michael Jackson dated Shields. What's more, Shields had a college romance that completely fell apart, and she's also been married twice. Although her nuptials with tennis professional Andre Agassi didn't end well, Shields' relationship with Chris Henchy is one of Hollywood's most-celebrated unions. And for good reason: The duo have been together since 2001, and also share two daughters.

Although her personal life has undeniably been marked by a lot of ups and downs, Shields has consistently spoken pretty highly of her former beaus. But what have her husbands, ex-boyfriends, and supposed love interests said about her? Let's find out.

Brooke Shields' first public relationship was with Scott Baio, who was a teen idol in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He rose to fame playing Chachi Arcola on the popular "Happy Days" series, joining the cast in 1977 and starring in 131 episodes before leaving in 1984. As a child star herself, it was seemingly a no-brainer that Brooke and Baio gravitated towards one another, appearing as the picture-perfect couple to fans.

However, Brooke and Baio's relationship was not all it seemed. In her 2015 memoir, "There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me," she said that the high-profile appearances and dates were all for show. In the book, Brooke wrote that her mother, Teri Shields, had manufactured the pairing. "Basically, my 'relationships' had always been orchestrated by my mother in one way or another," she penned. "She didn't focus on romance (never mind love) but instead wanted to associate me with names that connoted fame, money, and power."

Brooke's claim about her nonexistent romance with Baio was later backed up by him. Years on, he described his relationship with the "Pretty Baby" star as nothing more than platonic. According to PageSix, Baio said that Brooke was "just a friend."

After her relationship with Scott Baio, which fans now know wasn't actually romantic at all, Brooke Shields began dating John Travolta in the summer of 1981. The "Grease" star, who became an instant Hollywood heartthrob following the movie's 1978 release, was 27 while Brooke was just 16. Perhaps it's no wonder, then, that he had a lot to say about her innocence — as arguably icky as that might seem from a modern-day perspective.

"There are lots of women with physical beauty," Travolta told People (via SheKnows) in August 1981. "But Brooke exudes goodness. She's untainted. You don't want anyone to hurt her or say the wrong things because she's special."

Once again, however, it turned out that the relationship between Brooke and Travolta was cooked up by her mom and manager, Teri Shields. Writing in her 2015 memoir, "There Was a Little Girl," Brooke explained that her mother set the pairing up as a PR stunt because they both had movies being released around that time; for all intents and purposes, her relationship with Travolta was platonic. "Mom encouraged friendships with people like George Michael, Michael Jackson, and John Travolta because I believe she was impressed by their genuinely sweet natures as well as their level of fame," she wrote.

In the early '80s, Brooke Shields struck up a friendship with Michael Jackson. The pair met when she was a teenager, and they bonded over the trials and tribulations of child stardom. Their friendship evolved over the years, and she often accompanied him to events as his date, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky's 1991 wedding, which was hosted at Jackson's Neverland Ranch. In her 2023 doc, "Pretty Baby," Shields noted that whenever they went out together, the paparazzi were sure to find them. 

Although Shields has repeatedly denied anything romantic happened between herself and Jackson, the music icon told Oprah Winfrey in 1993 that they were dating. Years later, in a 2023 interview with The Times, Shields said she wasn't happy about Jackson's Oprah appearance. "I called him up and I think I said, 'This is kind of pathetic that you need to do this. I am having a shot at normal life — you cannot drag me into crazy town,'" she recalled. In that same interview, Shields doubled down on her line that Jackson was nothing more than a friend (although he asked her to marry him several times), saying, "I remember the early days when other actresses were after him and he was kind of cute ... but it never ever crossed my mind." 

As for what the King of Pop had to say about Shields? "That was one of the loves of my life," he declared in tape recordings obtained by "Dateline." "I think she loved me as much as I loved her, you know? We dated a lot. We, we went out a lot. Her pictures were all over my wall, my mirror, everything."

Musician George Michael — who at the time had yet not come out as gay — went on a few casual dates with Brooke Shields in the mid-1980s. Unlike Brooke's previous romances, which were largely manufactured by her mom and manager, Teri Shields, comedian and talk show host Joan Rivers took credit for this one. As Rivers quipped to Michael on an episode of "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers," "I fixed you up with Brooke Shields, and it didn't take."

As the story goes, Shields told Rivers on an episode of "The Tonight Show" that she was interested in meeting Michael. Evidently, their respective PR teams got right to work and set the two stars up. And while they got on well, the romance wasn't meant to be. Speaking in the aforementioned "Late Show" interview with Rivers, the Wham! pop star said his relationship with Brooke ultimately fizzled out because dating in the spotlight comes with unique pressures. Nonetheless, Michael made it clear he adored the Calvin Klein model. "Brooke is one of the sweetest people I've ever met," he told Rivers. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life." 

For her part, Brooke recalled the singer being a complete gentleman during their time together. "He was so sweet to me," she wrote in "There Was a Little Girl," describing their time together as "enjoyable." Brooke continued, "I was smitten just because he was so respectful and I didn't feel pressured."

In 1983, Brooke Shields took a break from acting to attend Princeton University, and it was there she met her college sweetheart: Dean Cain. Recounting their romance, Shields wrote in her "There Was a Little Girl" memoir that she and Cain — who later went on to become an actor himself, starring as the lead in the 1990s television series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" — were "instantly crazy" about one another.

Over their two-year relationship, Shields and Cain's love continued to blossom, and she even lost her virginity to him. "He was incredibly and painfully patient with me regarding sex," she recalled in her memoir, before revealing that guilt took over her. "Instead of giving in to what was a loving, and emotionally safe, relationship, and escaping into the most intimate and deserved moment, I began to cry deeply and silently," she wrote. In a later interview with People, Shields unpacked that "shame," and said she apologized to Cain over it. "I did not make it easy," she said.

Although Shields has regrets over not enjoying her college romance with Cain as much as she would have liked, he has maintained praise for his ex. "We truly had a wonderful relationship," he said of their time together on a 2014 episode of "The Meredith Vieira Show." Cain continued, "We were two young people, and we cared for each other. She's a wonderful person."

Just a year before he met "The Parent Trap" star Natasha Richardson, whom he would go on to wed in 1994, Liam Neeson dated Brooke Shields for several months in 1992. "He was a tall Irish actor and a drunk who was 13 years my senior," Shields said of him in her "There Was a Little Girl," recalling that she fell for "his brogue, his poetry, and his sh*** choice of cheap pinot grigio wine."

While the wine may have been disappointing, Shields and Neeson evidently fell for each other fast. "We got serious after only three months," she wrote in the book. "He asked me to marry him without a ring." But, astonishingly, Neeson allegedly ghosted Shields shortly afterwards ... and over the Christmas holidays, no less. "He was there one minute and gone the next," she told The Times years later. "I was shocked, I couldn't believe it."

That wasn't quite the end, however. "He came back after the first time he left me and asked me to marry him again," Shields revealed to People some time after, pointing out that she declined the offer. So, what did Neeson say about all that drama? Well, as it turns out, not a lot, given that it apparently barely made an impression on him. "I'm not going to deny it. I actually don't really remember," he told Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" (via InStyle) in 2019. To that end, Liam admitted he hadn't spoken to Shields for years but called her "a great lady and a fantastic girl."

Brooke Shields' first husband was tennis star Andre Agassi. The pair met in 1993, forming a relationship in true '90s style — via fax. "We began to communicate via long rambling faxes," Brooke wrote in "There Was a Little Girl" of their relationship's beginning. "We knew somewhere deep inside that we needed each other." By 1997, the pair were married, but Brooke recalled instantly regretting it in her book. "I knew I had made a mistake. I did not want to be married," she penned. Behind the scenes, the two grappled with his struggles with drug addiction and their overall incompatibilities, and by 1999 their marriage was over. 

Despite her regret, Brooke was able to find positives about their marriage, particularly because it brought about a separation from her mother and manager, Teri Shields, that she'd so longed for. "The whole relationship with him was so necessary," she told People in 2014. "He gave me my first taste of freedom from my mom. He swept me away."

Ultimately, Brooke and Agassi's marriage did not last, and they divorced in 1999. Since then, Agassi has spoken very little of their relationship, but he has made a few comments here and there. During a 2009 appearance on "Today" (via TV Guide), the former tennis pro stated, "I think timing is really important. You need in a marriage, two people who understand themselves, and I certainly didn't understand myself." Reflecting on this marriage in a 2025 chat with Us Magazine, Agassi said, "I have always wished nothing but the best for her." He went on, "At the end of the day love wins and I try to love everyone."

Following several failed romances, Brooke Shields finally found her happily ever after when she met director, writer, and producer Chris Henchy in 1991. The two tied the knot a decade later, and Henchy and Shields went on to become the the proud parents of two daughters. Speaking about the secret to their successful marriage, Shields told People in 2024, "You have to be willing to adapt to the other person growing and changing."

Though Henchy, a longtime creative partner of Will Ferrell, has worked in Hollywood for quite a while, his success is of the behind-the-scenes variety. Shields, on the other hand, has been an A-list superstar for decades. While some might be intimidated by or jealous of her fame, it's clear that's not the case with Henchy; he has been nothing but supportive of her career — and even co-created a sitcom inspired by her, called "I'm With Her." Describing the 2003 series to Deseret News, Henchy stated, "There's two different worlds that are kind of colliding." Of the parallels, Henchy continued, "I was often pushed backwards as the driver, the bodyguard, the guy who held her purse or whatever. It was just coming into that world with a very average-guy outlook and perspective."

Decades on, during a 2023 appearance on his wife's "Now What?" podcast, Henchy echoed that sentiment when he implied that the early days of their relationship were "weird" due to the intense media spotlight on her. On the upside, however, Henchy quipped, "You got into restaurants very easily."