The Many Ups & Downs Of Nicollette Sheridan's Love Life

Actor Nicollette Sheridan has starred in some seriously legendary soap operas over the years. From "Knots Landing" to "Dynasty," Sheridan has certainly proved that she knows how to bring the drama viewers crave. Of course, we can't forget about her contribution to "Desperate Housewives" as Edie Britt, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and two Gold Derby Awards. "Who are you to tell me I haven't been happy?! I have been ECSTATIC!" still lives in our brain rent-free. 

While Sheridan's TV career has had its fair share of high points, her personal life could fit right in on a soap opera — and yes, it's generated a lot of content for the gossip mill. Over the years, the small screen veteran's relationship woes have been splashed across tabloids time and time again, and there's been no shortage of twists or turns. Some people meet their soulmate at a young age and stay with them for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately for Sheridan, her up-and-down love life has left an unforgettable digital footprint. Gather around, for it is time to dig into Sheridan's chaotic dating history. 

Nicollette Sheridan isn't a nepo baby, per se, although her stepfather was actor Terry Savalas. Instead of going straight into acting, Sheridan spent her teenage years modeling. It's unclear how she met former teen idol Leif Garrett, but they started dating in 1979 — Sheridan was 15 years old, while Garrett was 17. "The first time I saw her, it was like time stopped. I thought, 'She's the one; that's the person I want to live with the rest of my life, have children with, the whole thing!'" Garrett told Closer Weekly in 2020. 

Sheridan and Garrett's relationship was certainly a roller coaster, an early glimpse into the future for Sheridan. While still a minor, Sheridan moved into Garrett's family home (with permission, though). The couple posed for one particularly memorable photo session in 1980 and split in 1984, although they got back together in 1985 with an engagement. 

Sheridan and Garrett broke up for good by the end of 1985; Garrett has spoken highly about his relationship with Sheridan several times over the years since, although he's recognized that they simply weren't compatible long-term. "[Nicollette] Sheridan was probably the biggest love of my life. It was lust, passion, love at first sight, all of it," he told Tru Rock Revival in 2021. 

Nicollette Sheridan's acting career was slowly taking off by the time things with Leif Garrett ended: she made her TV debut in "Paper Dolls" (1984) and starred in two 1985 projects, "Scene of the Crime" and the film "The Sure Thing." Scott Baio, on the other hand, was another popular teen idol (although he's now one '80s heartthrob you might not recognize today): Baio gained fame as Chachi Arcola on "Happy Days," a role he played from 1977 to 1984. 

Sheridan and Baio never appeared to be an official item, but they attended several events together in the late '80s. In 1987, for instance, the duo showed up to a party thrown in Joan Collins' honor. In 1988, they were photographed at a launch party hosted by ABC, a benefit dinner in Los Angeles, a fundraiser for future President George Bush, and an event at Beverly Hills High School. 

Sheridan and Baio have yet to directly address whatever they had going on back then. That said, Baio did say of that period on a 2008 episode of A&E's "Biography" (via E! News), "I had a huge advantage. I was on television, the greatest aphrodisiac ever ... [dating] became a game, and I was good at the game."

After things with Scott Baio fizzled out, Nicollette Sheridan found herself a new man: Harry Hamlin, who was then known for portraying Michael Kuzak in the TV show "L.A. Law." Sheridan met Hamlin on the set of the 1990 TV movie "Deceptions," in which she played a murder suspect; Hamlin starred as the movie's detective. As things tend to go in Hollywood, one thing led to another, and the pair got married in September 1991. 

Alas, Sheridan and Hamlin's marriage didn't even last a year. In fact, Sheridan ended up being married and divorced before she turned 30. Hamlin filed for divorce in August 1992 shortly after they called it quits, in which he cited irreconcilable differences. The divorce was quickly processed and signed off on, since they weren't legally bound for long and shared no children. 

While Sheridan and Hamlin have said plenty to each other in recent years — which we'll get to later — they didn't divulge much about their breakup in the '90s. However, Hamlin did say to the Chicago Tribune in 1994, "I've been through a couple of divorces ... The second one [with Sheridan] was civilized. When people are dealing ... with that kind of emotional collapse, their dark side can come out. Divorce can produce the absolute worst behavior I've ever seen."

Nicollette Sheridan was hardly untangled from Harry Hamlin when she started to jump into another relationship. In 1992, Sheridan was reportedly introduced to the legendary singer Michael Bolton by a mutual friend, musician Kenny G (there's a reason we say "reportedly," which we'll get to in a minute). They made their first public appearance at a ball that October. 

For a while, Sheridan and Bolton were quite a power couple. They attended scores of events together, such as the 20th Annual American Music Awards in 1993, an Elvis Presley tribute in 1994, and the Essence Awards in 1995. They also attended a Grammys party in 1995, in which a rare video of them leaving together can be found on YouTube. 

Sheridan and Bolton were together for five years before they split in 1997. They didn't explain why they decided to go their separate ways, but the long-distance nature of their relationship — both were successful entertainers at this point, after all — probably didn't help. "Three months ago, Michael and I split up. I spent a lot of time alone. It was a time to reflect. I had to look at [my] life. ... It was painful," Sheridan reportedly told TV Guide (via KnotsLanding.net). 

Nicollette Sheridan is one celebrity who wants nothing to do with Lisa Rinna — although you already know this, of course, if you've ever seen "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" or certain episodes of "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen." As Sheridan moved on with Michael Bolton, Hamlin fell in love with Rinna; it's worth mentioning that Hamlin and Rinna also met in 1992. They married in 1997 and have been together since. 

If there's one thing to know about Rinna, it's that you don't (figuratively) touch her husband, ever. In 2019, Rinna took a page out of Bethenny Frankel's book and "mentioned it all" regarding the end of Hamlin and Sheridan's relationship. To make a long story short, Rinna alleged — multiple times in interviews and on "RHOBH" — that Sheridan actually cheated on Hamlin with Bolton after they met at a concert. 

"What's it called when your wife of one year suddenly goes to bed with a pop singer? ... two weeks after your mother dies??" Hamlin posted on X at the time. Sheridan quickly offered a rebuttal on X: "Do you really want the truth shared? I appreciate that you want to support your housewife's FAKE NEWS narrative, but the end of our marriage had nothing to do with anyone other than us."

Let's set Harry Hamlin and Michael Bolton aside for a moment. In the mid-to-late '90s — presumably after things with Bolton ended — Nicollette Sheridan met Simon Main, an Australian businessman (his stepfather for a time, coincidentally, was actor Barry Crocker). Sheridan and Main were photographed together several times, although they weren't particularly forthcoming about their relationship.

Things fizzled out between Sheridan and Main in 2000 after the former ended up in hot water: That April, as reported by The Guardian, Main was arrested in Italy on drug trafficking allegations. He was convicted by the end of the year and subsequently served four years in an Italian prison. 

When Main returned to Australia in 2005, he claimed to reporters that he broke things off with Sheridan after his arrest. "I couldn't bear the thought of getting a 'Dear John' letter later on," he said at the time, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. Sheridan never released a statement about Main or his legal drama, although she met him for dinner after his release. 

After Simon Main reportedly broke things off with Nicollette Sheridan, she appeared to embrace the single Pringle life for a few years. This changed in late 2003, when Sheridan met Nicklas Söderblom, a Swedish personal trainer/part-time actor, at a Hollywood gym. As reported in the Daily Mail, Söderblom was in a relationship with another woman when Sheridan swayed him with an interesting pick-up line: "Do you want to be my sperm donor?"

By this time, Sheridan wasn't just enjoying her time with Söderblom, but also the emerging success of "Desperate Housewives." Sheridan and Söderblom got engaged during a winter trip in 2004, although by October 2005, they were done. "They ask that you respect their privacy at this time," Sheridan's publicist requested at the time, as reported by People. No other details were provided as to why they parted. 

Söderblom later wrote a book about his relationship with Sheridan, "Not a Desperate Housewife." It was never released in the United States, despite his public appeals for a publisher in 2008. "There were things about [Nicollette's behavior] that struck me as very strange from the start, but I let them go," one proposed excerpt read (via Digital Spy). "She didn't blame her problems on herself. She blamed them on me, and she thought the way to deal with that was to move on to a new man."

The new man in question wasn't new at all, actually. After spending nearly 10 years apart, Nicollette Sheridan reconnected with Michael Bolton, whose own relationship history is one for the books. While Sheridan isn't a singer, she made time to record a duet with Bolton, "The Second Time Around," for his 2006 album "Bolton Swings Sinatra." 

In classic Sheridan style, she and Bolton moved things along quickly. The rekindled couple got engaged in March 2006 during a trip to the Bahamas and gave their first joint interview to Ellen DeGeneres that May. They explained that they met during a ping-pong game at a friend's house — Kenny G was not mentioned by name — so naturally, DeGeneres gifted them a ping-pong table.

Sheridan and Bolton never made it down the aisle; they ended their engagement in August 2008. The pair have yet to explain why they split for good nearly 20 years later, although at the time, an anonymous source alleged that Bolton's children disliked her. "Michael played referee and tried to smooth things over but when push came to shove, he chose his daughters over his fiancée," the tipster declared to The Australian Women's Weekly. 

Although Nicollette Sheridan didn't get her happily ever after with Michael Bolton, she didn't give up on trying to find true love. Between early 2009 and mid-2011, Sheridan was photographed at events with businessman Steve Pate. In April 2009, Sheridan and Pate made their couple debut at the movie premiere of "Star Trek." They attended a store launch together in December 2010 and the 15th Annual PRISM Awards in April 2011. 

Sheridan and Pate's relationship was a fairly private one, although they did make headlines twice for horse-related accidents. In January 2010, Pate reportedly rushed Sheridan to the hospital after she was bucked off by a horse. It was then reported in February 2011 that Sheridan got bucked again; luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), the only injuries she sustained were broken fingers. 

Sheridan and Pate's last public appearance was at the aforementioned PRISM Awards, so if we had to guess, their relationship ended by the end of 2011. Their breakup was never made public, although RadarOnline claimed that Sheridan was seen with another man in April 2012.

Before Aaron Phypers married actor-turned-housewife Denise Richards, he was romantically entangled with none other than Nicollette Sheridan. It's unclear when and where this unlikely duo met, although they were first spotted together in December 2014. Out of all of Sheridan's documented relationships, this one was the most private. The former couple never gave any interviews, were hardly photographed in public, and didn't post about one another online. 

Sheridan's ultra-private wedding to Phypers took place in December 2015 — something the public wasn't even aware of until July 2016, when Sheridan filed for divorce. According to court documents obtained by People, Sheridan claimed they separated in June over irreconcilable differences. Though they were together for only six months, their divorce lasted over two years. It was finally signed off in August 2018.

Phypers didn't just start dating Richards during his divorce from Sheridan, but Richards happened to be Sheridan's neighbor, too. Sheridan reportedly learned that Phypers and Richards were together in May 2018, after he parked outside of her house. "She was so embarrassed to learn he's dating Denise," a source alleged to In Touch. "Nicollette can't believe her luck. It's her worst nightmare, seeing him strolling around her neighborhood."

Today, Nicollette Sheridan is one of a handful of soap opera stars we don't hear much from anymore. After her divorce from Aaron Phypers, Sheridan appeared as Alexis Carrington in the first two seasons of the CW's reboot of "Dynasty." In 2023, Sheridan portrayed a character named Juliette Matheson in the TV movie "Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas" — and hasn't done any acting since, although she's slated to appear in a future movie called "Hal." 

Does Sheridan have a partner? We can neither confirm nor deny. If Sheridan is currently in another relationship, or met someone new after her time with Phypers, she's yet to spill the beans about it — although marriage records are public, so if (or when) she ties the knot a third time, someone will eventually find out. Sheridan was last spotted with an unidentified man in 2018, although she never explained who he was and/or the nature of their relationship. 

Sheridan may not discuss her personal life, but she does maintain a semi-active online presence. According to Sheridan's Instagram, she's still an avid horse rider (despite the previous injuries), is a fan of singer Chris Stapleton, and has a dog named Little Lord Huckleberry. "My mantra for today ... Stay present. Live in gratitude. Be aware. Use your intelligence. Choose happiness and kindness," Sheridan captioned an Instagram post in August 2026.