By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:26am PST, Dec 28, 2021
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Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the celebrity cheating scandals that rocked Hollywood throughout 2021, starting with this debacle… In late January, The Sun reported that Pamela Anderson's new husband, Dan Hayhurst, was still involved with his former love of five years, a woman named Carey, when he starred seeing the "Baywatch" actress in early 2020. "My almost five-year relationship … ended because of the affair Pam and Dan started while he was still with me. … [Their relationship] started with deceit, denials and life-shattering choices for all the people involved. It wasn't this romance that happened overnight. He worked with her for over six months before any of that happened," Carey alleged, adding that Dan left her to move in with Pamela in July 2020. "Dan would stay at her house and not come home," she continued. "At first he denied it when I confronted him but then, finally, I asked him, 'Are you sleeping with Pam?' He said, 'All I'm going to say is I've crossed the line.'" Pam and Dan tied the knot at her home on Canada's Vancouver Island on Christmas Eve in 2020.
Now keep reading for more of the year's biggest celeb cheating scandals…
RELATED: Celeb splits of 2021
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This wasn't fun to watch… In late October, Ioan Gruffudd took to Instagram to reveal his new girlfriend: actress Bianca Wallace. Just hours later, his estranged wife, Alice Evans, took to Twitter to accuse them of having an affair. In a series of tweets, she accused the Welsh actor of seeing his new love "for THREE years behind all our backs." Wrote the "102 Dalmatians" star, "For at LEAST 2 years I've been told 'by him' I'm just not interesting or lovable enough. … Why couldn't he have just told me the truth..? Why did he have to gaslight me? … Why couldn't he just have told me he had met someone. … They started seeing each other before he told me he didn't love me and wanted a divorce." It's unclear if Alice has evidence Ioan was unfaithful or simply made assumptions about the timeline of his new romance, which apparently came to her attention after fans started dissecting the actor's love life in a Reddit forum. (Internet sleuths allege Ioan and Bianca got together after she served as an extra on the 2018 Australian series "Harrow," on which he stars.)
RELATED: Notorious celeb cheating scandals from over the years
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This was an unexpected twist in the seemingly perfect romance between Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez… On the "Southern Charm" season 7 reunion special, which filmed in late 2020 and aired in late January 2021, Craig Conover accused Madison LeCroy of having an affair with an ex-MLB player. (During the reunion, Madison admitted that the mystery man "contacted" her and that they exchanged direct messages but insisted that "other than that, there was nothing" between them: She "never physically" saw him or "touched him.") After the accusation aired, the Internet erupted with rumors Madison had an affair with A-Rod. The evidence? The baseball star — who was previously accused of cheating on J.Lo with Jose Canseco's ex-wife, Madison lookalike Jessica Canseco — followed the "Southern Charm" star on Instagram and liked several of her thirst-inducing snaps. Alex and Madison also reportedly stayed at the same New York City hotel at the same time in December 2020. Then on the Feb. 2 episode of the "Reality Life with Kate Casey" podcast, Madison's "Southern Charm" co-star Danni Baird revealed that Madison told her "months before" the reunion that she and Alex "were FaceTiming or something." The following day, Madison confirmed to Page Six that she and the former professional athlete — whom she described as "just an acquaintance" — had "spoken on the phone" but insisted that they "never met up," had "never been physical" and "never had any kind of anything." Said the blonde beauty, "He's never physically cheated on his fiancée with me." She added that they spoke "randomly" but not consistently and maintained that the nature of their communication was "innocent." An Alex-friendly source, meanwhile, insisted to Page Six that A-Rod "doesn't know" Madison and "definitely didn't hook up with her." (The source didn't deny that he'd slid into her DMs, though!) In the wake of the drama, several more anonymous women came forward on social media alleging that Alex has also slid into their DMs in recent years. Just two months later, J.Lo and Alex announced that they'd ended their four-year romance and two-year engagement. In late April, an Us Weekly source said that Jennifer "was always aware of the rumors" Alex was cheating or "messaging other girls," which "played a part in why the engagement ended." Neither she nor Alex has publicly addressed his purported infidelity.
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Khloe Kardashian's off-and-on boyfriend of several years, Tristan Thompson, was embroiled in multiple cheating scandals in 2021. The trouble started in late April when Instagram model Sydney Chase claimed on a podcast that she hooked up with the professional basketball player "multiple times" between late 2020 and mid-April 2021. (Khloe and Tristan reconciled in mid-2020 after splitting in early 2019 in the wake of previous cheating scandals.) "He told me he was not in a relationship anymore," Sydney recalled. "I literally said, 'Are you single?' … And then I found out that he was not single and I cut him off." Although Sydney refused to back down from her allegations, Khloe stood by her man. The reality TV star, who shares daughter True with Tristan, even opened up about learning to trust him again on the second part of the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" finale reunion special, which was filmed in April and aired on E! on June 20: "[I know] how hard he fought to get back with me currently. … I don't understand why someone would go through all that if they weren't serious," she said. The very next day, however, DailyMail.com and "Entertainment Tonight" reported that the athlete was seen "acting very single," "grabbing this one girl's [behind]" and joining three mystery women in "one of the party rooms where everyone goes to hook up" — and later remerging looking "disheveled" — during a June 18 birthday party in Los Angeles… while he was reportedly in L.A. to spend Father's Day with Khloe and True. As the buzz he cheated again started growing online, multiple media outlets reported that Khloe and Tristan actually amicably called it quits weeks earlier — around the time his last cheating scandal made headlines. But on June 20 — the day before the party and breakup claims hit the Internet — People magazine reported that, according to a source, Khloe and Tristan were "good" and "planning some summer vacations together." Regardless of when they actually split, it seemed Khloe was finally done with Tristan. It's a good thing too… because that wasn't the end of the drama. In early December, another woman Tristan cheated with emerged: After Houston-based personal trainer Maralee Nichols sued the sports star for child support for the baby she claims they conceived together on his 30th birthday in March 2021 (when he and Khloe were still together), he admitted in court documents that he and Maralee did, in fact, have sex several times in a hotel room after they attended a party together. He claimed their tryst was only a one-night thing, though. Maralee, however, insists that their affair kicked off at least "five months" before his 30th birthday and continued after she got pregnant. Court documents also show that Tristan fessed to using Snapchat to arrange hookups with Maralee — a contradiction of his previous claim that they spent only one night together. "Our relationship was based on sex. We would not have seen each other in Houston if we were not going to have sex," he said in legal paperwork. "We did not have any dates in the traditional sense at any time; there were no dining at restaurants, going to movies, traveling or any other indicia of a normalized relationship. There was only Snapchats of 'where' and 'what time' we would hook up and what hotels would be used."
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In early September, Page Six dropped a major bombshell: According to multiple sources, Kanye West cheated on Kim Kardashian West early in their marriage. The track "Hurricane" off his 2021 "Donda" album references his infidelity: "The song is in a way his testimony of everything he did wrong and taking accountability for their marriage breakdown," one insider told the New York Post's gossip column, adding that the father of four is "referring to his infidelity during his marriage with Kim, even after two kids."
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Kim Kardashian West was also at the center of another cheating scandal in 2021… In mid-May, Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler's daughter, Alabama Barker, took to her Instagram Story to share a screenshot of a DM from the former pageant queen claiming that she "divorced Travis" in 2008 because she "caught him having an affair with Kim." (It's unclear who Shanna was messaging or how Alabama got ahold of the screenshot.) Shanna later doubled down on her allegations, telling Us Weekly, that she and Travis split after she caught him "having an affair" with Kim: "Someone sent me all their [text] conversations, and I'm also close friends with people who were there while things were happening. … I received all the text messages and the other third parties kind of let me know. It's something I was well aware of," she said. She then claimed Travis — who previously fessed up to having a crush on Kim — also had an affair with Paris Hilton, who was "best friends" with Kim at the time. "We were working on our marriage and trying to heal through that affair, that infidelity," she said, adding that she even asked Travis not to work with Kim because of her proximity to Paris. Amid Shanna's affair allegations, an old Instagram Story post from Aubrey O'Day resurfaced: In July 2020, the Danity Kane singer claimed that Kim and Travis were "hooking up" back when she used to be "bffs" with the reality star. (The two women were frequently photographed together in 2007 and 2008. Kim was also seen with Travis around that time.) According to a Page Six source, however, Travis and Kim "never had a romantic relationship" and were simply "friends who met through Paris Hilton." A second Page Six source accused Shanna of knowingly spreading lies. As for Travis's previous comments about having a crush on Kim — "I couldn't keep my eyes off Kim!" he gushed back in 2015 — a third Page Six source maintained he was simply "joking" at the time. "Anyone who is close to them has always known that Travis has been in love with Kourtney [Kardashian] for forever [not Kim]," said the source. At the end of the month, Kim took to her Instagram Story to shoot down the rumors about her relationship with the blink-182 drummer: "NO! False narrative! We've been friends for years and I'm so happy for him and Kourt," she wrote after a fan asked during a Q&A, "Did you hook up with Travis Barker?"
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In mid-October, Lala Kent dumped her fiancé of three years, Randall Emmett, after photos of him with two mystery women in Nashville surfaced on social media. As the Internet erupted with allegations that the film producer cheated — and had, in fact, been cheating for years — the "Vanderpump Rules" star seemingly confirmed the infidelity rumors by liking a particularly telling meme: "All of us if Rand cheated on Lala," read the meme, which shows Lisa Rinna pointing a gun at Randall. In the wake of the breakup news, a source told Page Six, "Randall always lives a double life. He lives the life of a husband or boyfriend, and then he lives the life of a serial partier and then goes on a bender." On the Dec. 1 episode of her "Give Them Lala" podcast, the new mom — she welcomed daughter Ocean with Randall in March — admitted that she had her "head in the sand for a really long time" when it came to her ex's bad behavior over the course of their relationship.
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In mid-October, Vicki Gunvalson took to Instagram to accuse her ex-fiancé, Steve Lodge, of cheating on her. "He used me, he lied to me, he's been dating a 36 year old and is not what he portrays himself to be," she commented on a photo of pal Tamra Judge. The 59-year-old former star of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" added in a second comment, "While I was out of town working on a biz trip, he took her to my condo in Mexico! He's been flaunting around my town making out in public places. It's disgusting." When the 62-year-old aspiring politician caught wind of Vicki's comments, he released a statement to multiple media outlets insisting that the reality star was lying: He and Vicki "had not been in an intimate relationship since September of 2020," he claimed, adding that he's been living in his own condo in Mexico — not hers — "since the beginning of 2021." He also claimed that he and Vicki agreed to remain friends following their split but that it's now "clear" to him that she was hoping for a reconciliation. Said Steve, according to Us Weekly, "I told her [that] was not possible." After Steve released his statement, Vicki told Page Six, "He is correct, that he rented a one-bedroom condo in the complex that I purchased a home in for our retirement in April. He continued to stay with me when I was there, but physically moved out of both my homes three weeks ago." She added that "living together gave me hope that we would be OK."
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In January, several women alleged that their past relationships with Armie Hammer turned abusive. The allegations against the "Call Me by Your Name" actor stretch back to 2016 — four years before he and Elizabeth Chambers announced they were ending their marriage of a decade. Two women claim they even "confronted" the mother of two about their affairs with the actor. According to E! News, Armie confessed to Elizabeth "a couple years ago" that he'd cheated on her and that it was not "a one-time situation." At the time, he was "extremely apologetic and intent on trying to make [the marriage] work," so he and Elizabeth entered couples counseling and agreed to work on their relationship. A Page Six source, meanwhile, said that "Elizabeth was aware of some infidelity" but "wanted to make the marriage work and thought that he did too." A second Page Six source explained that Armie changed after starring in "Call Me By Your Name," which catapulted him to a new level of fame: "Women were texting him, chasing him — and when he would drink, that's when he'd run around. Everyone thought he and Elizabeth decided to have an open marriage," said the insider.
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In late November, a viral TikTok alleged that Anthony Ramos was "all over" a woman who definitely wasn't his then-fiancée, "Hamilton" co-star Jasmine Cephas Jones, during a visit to a Los Angeles strip club earlier that month. The video, which strongly suggested he was unfaithful, included purported evidence, but it's unclear if the man pictured is actually the "In the Heights" actor. And if it was him, it's unclear if he and Jasmine were still together at the time… Just a few days after the clip surfaced, E! News reported that they'd quietly called it quits after six years together. (They were engaged for nearly three years.) The timeline of the breakup was murky, though: Page Six reported that, according to a source, the duo still planned to wed — and even sent out wedding invitations — "a few weeks" before they suddenly split.
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In early September — amid questions about the timeline of John Mulaney's romance with Olivia Munn — Page Six reported that, according to a source, the comedian's ex-wife, Anna Marie Tendler, knew he was "doing things with other women before he went to rehab" — and before they ended their marriage — in late 2020. It wasn't "entirely clear when [his] relationship [with Olivia] started," the insider said. A second Page Six source opined that it appeared John was "going to great lengths to dispute the idea that he cheated." Yet another Page Six source alleged, "[John] was DM'ing women on Instagram for hookups — whether he went through with anything, we don't know — and by December he'd fallen off the wagon again and was abusing drugs and alcohol. … Sometimes, he told friends that he was so wasted that he had no recollection of even talking to these women."
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In early August, Lily-Rose Depp and Austin Butler — who co-starred in Kevin Smith's 2016 indie comedy "Yoga Hosers" — were snapped packing on the PDA during a night out in London. (See photos here.) It was the first indication that the model-actress's off-and-on relationship with Timothée Chalamet had come an end for the second time and that Austin's romance with Olivia DeJonge — who plays Priscilla Presley to his Elvis in an upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic — had also come to an end. Back when Austin and former long-term love Vanessa Hudgens called it quits in late 2019, there were rumors he cheated on the "High School Musical" alum with Olivia. It appears history may have repeated itself: On Aug. 9, Deux Moi reported that, according to an anonymous source, Olivia "found out" about Austin's relationship with Lily-Rose when the photos of them kissing hit the Internet. "He's a cheater," said the alleged insider.
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In early May — after singer Jamie Sun alleged on Instagram that he and longtime love Naomi Sharon had recently split after nearly a decade of coupledom because she was unfaithful — a rumor started circulating online that Drake was to blame. "Imagine having the most beautiful, supportive, and faithful relationship 8 years long with an engagement and wedding planned. A beautiful woman on your side as ride or die. Then this major opportunity comes and a world star calls your fiancée to sign a record deal. Flies you both over and then out of nowhere all the trust is vanished with knives in your back and in your heart. Imagine," Jamie captioned a since-deleted Instagram post. As for the evidence Drake is the "world star" to whom Jamie was referring? Jamie shared a video of himself working out with Drake (see it here) while Drake's personal photographer reportedly snapped Naomi in the recording studio during a session for the rapper's "Certified Lover Boy" album. Jamie first alluded to the breakup on Instagram in late April.
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In early September, E! News reported that, according to a source, Ed Westwick's girlfriend of nearly two years, Tamara Francesconi, dumped him after she caught wind of "rumors of infidelity."
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In late October, Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes — who got engaged on the finale of season 17 of "The Bachelorette" — announced that they were going their separate ways. Less than a month later, Katie revealed that she was dating another man who competed for her heart: California-based bartender John Hersey, whom she eliminated during the second week of the competition. Though they failed to make a connection while shooting the hit reality TV show, they became friends once the season started airing and were seen together several times over the summer. (They're pictured together at a Hollywood event in September.) So when exactly did things between them turn romantic? That's what Blake wondered on the Nov. 24 episode of the "Talking It Out" podcast: He said that while he doesn't "think there was any physical cheating" on Katie's part, he believes there was "clearly emotional" cheating. Two days later, John took to Reddit to release a lengthy statement insisting that he and Katie "were ALWAYS platonic" during her engagement and that "there was no wrongdoing."
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In other sketchy Bachelor Nation news… In late September, Clare Crawley took to Instagram to publicly address her final spilt from Dale Moss. Curiously, she tagged another Bachelor Nation star, Abigail Heringer — who competed for Matt James's heart on season 25 of "The Bachelor" before striking up a romance with Noah Erb on the seventh season of "Bachelor in Paradise" — in the eyebrow-raising post. The implication was clear: Clare was co-signing a rumor inspired by a Deux Moi blind item that Dale cheated with Abigail. According to an Us Weekly source, Abigail "hooked up" with the male model while she was "under the impression that he and Clare weren't serious" anymore. Clearly Clare had a different perspective on the matter and was left feeling betrayed when she found out about the tryst at the same time as everyone else: when people started buzzing about it on the Internet. A Dale-friendly source, however, insisted that he and Abigail "never kissed or had sex" and that he "never cheated on Clare." Of course, it wasn't the first time Dale found himself at the center of rumors he was unfaithful: When he and Clare first split in early 2021, multiple media outlets reported that he'd been in a relationship with another woman, Eleonora Srugo, since late 2019. At the time, Eleonora released a statement insisting that she and Dale "have been platonic friends for a few years" and "have never been romantically involved in any way."
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We're gonna need to break down the timeline when it comes to these controversial romances… In late April, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" newbie Falynn Pina (who was going by Falynn Guobadia at the time) announced on her Instagram Story that she and her husband of two years, Simon Guobadia, were going their separate ways. Simon later revealed that he and Falynn had been "broken up since late January." Less than a month later, Porsha Williams announced that she and Simon had gotten engaged following a courtship of just a few weeks. In early June, Falynn implied that Simon had been unfaithful over the course of their marriage, though she stopped short of saying he cheated with Porsha. When Simon caught wind of her comments, he alleged that it was actually Falynn who'd been unfaithful. "She got a baby to prove that she was actively cheating," he said at the time, calling into question Falynn's relationship with Jaylan Banks. Two months later, Falynn confirmed that she was, in fact, expecting a baby with Jaylan. They got engaged in mid-October and welcomed a daughter in late November. The baby, however, isn't proof "that she was actively cheating" — it was Simon, after all, who said that he and Falynn split in January, before the baby could've been conceived. Falynn maintains she never strayed from her marriage.
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In mid-March, Bravo & Cocktails published a since-deleted video of Brandi Redmond's husband, Bryan Redmond, kissing another woman in a nightclub. Two months later — on the second part of the "Real Housewives of Dallas" reunion special — Brandi confirmed that it was, in fact, her husband of nearly two decades pictured in the damning clip. The indiscretion, which she already knew about, went down in Las Vegas in 2018 during a dual bachelor and bachelorette party for her sister and brother-in-law, she revealed. The mother of four — who claimed someone leaked the three-year-old video to intentionally cause her harm — said that she and Bryan were still together and trying to work through their issues.
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Another "Real Housewives" cheating scandal?! Yep! In early April, Deux Moi reported that, according to an anonymous source, Luann de Lesseps' then-boyfriend, Garth Wakeford, was cheating on her with a college-aged woman. The following day, however, the "Real Housewives of New York City" star told Page Six that she and the personal trainer actually "stopped dating before the holidays." As for the alleged side chick, Garth told the New York Post's gossip column they "have no relationship" and only follow each other on Instagram because she attended one of his exercise classes. Just days later, Us Weekly reported that, according to a source, Luann had already moved on with someone else: Radamez Rubio Gaytan. (In November, she said that she and Radamez were never in a serious relationship because he lives in Mexico.)
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In mid-August, Amber Rose claimed on her Instagram Story that Alexander "AE" Edwards — her boyfriend of three years and the father of her son Slash — cheated on her with at least 12 different women. Later, the A&R exec admitted that he did, in fact, stray from the relationship: "I know that I could stop [cheating]. I could give her a good, solid six months and just really like, deprive myself of my true nature for as long as I can take it but I don't want to live like that," he said, adding that he also "got caught before" and that Amber "just had enough, obviously."
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In mid-July — after "Southern Charm" star Naomie Olindo suddenly unfollowed her boyfriend of more than three years, Metul Shah, on social media and deleted old photos of him from her Instagram — buzz started growing online that they'd quietly split after she caught him cheating. An anonymous source told Deux Moi that the anesthesiologist "cheated with his ex" — a woman with whom he'd been "talking again for over a year." (Other anonymous sources claimed he cheated with more than one woman.) Naomie, who'd moved to New York City for Metul earlier this summer, soon took to her Instagram Story to confirm the breakup news. In the process, she confirmed her ex strayed from the relationship and implied that she learned he was cheating when she discovered damning messages between him and other women.
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In late March, Tamar Braxton tweeted that her ex-fiancé, David Adefeso, "was cheating" with a woman who worked as his assistant "since 2019" — the year they made their debut as a couple. When David caught wind of the allegation, he released a statement to multiple media outlets claiming that he "never cheated" on the singer. "I am disappointed that Tamar Braxton continues to make fabricated accusations about our relationship and has now created a false narrative of an affair that never occurred," he said. "Not only did I love her so much that I never gave another woman a second look during our relationship, I have been celibate since July 2020 — 9 months ago, in an attempt to heal." David went on to attribute Tamar's allegations to her mental health issues. Things between the former couple have been incredibly messy since they split in the summer of 2020.
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In late March, E! News reported that Addison Rae and Bryce Hall called it quits after he was accused of cheating on her in Las Vegas in late February. "I didn't cheat on Addison," he insisted on Twitter in early March.
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In early October, Morgan Willett took to her Instagram Story to reveal that she and "The Challenge" co-star Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio called it quits in September because he was unfaithful. "This past week has been difficult," she wrote. "The person I truly loved more than anything else cheated on me and I found out and I had to leave." A People magazine source said that Morgan "loved Johnny and trusted him" and was "heartbroken that he could do something like this to her after all the time they've spent together."
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According to TMZ, Gary Owen's wife of nearly two decades, Kenya Duke, filed for divorce in Los Angeles in mid-March. She later implied on Instagram that the stand-up comedian and "Think Like a Man" star cheated with a woman from Dallas who's friends with Claudia Jordan — who's been friends with Gary for years. When the former "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star caught wind of Kenya's allegations, she hopped online to set the record straight, claiming in a video (watch a recording here) that she doesn't have a friend from Dallas and has never been aware of any infidelity on Gary's part. In July, Kenya returned to Instagram to publicly blast a woman she claims had an affair with her husband. (It's unclear if she's the woman from Dallas or someone else.) She also alleged that other women came forward to share stories about Gary's bad behavior: "I have enough side chicks and escorts in my inbox to last a lifetime," she wrote.
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In mid-February, Tori Brixx took to her Instagram Story to accuse her fiancé of a year, Rich The Kid, of cheating on her with rapper Dream Doll. Rich initially denied her claims but later wrote on his Instagram Story that he'd previously "left" the relationship. The following day, Dream Doll chimed in, tweeting, "What we not gonna do is sit here [and] 'TRY' to sabotage my character. I have NEVER OR WILL NEVER [mess] WITH NO MAN THAT IS IN A RELATIONSHIP!"
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On the Feb. 11 episode of "The Wendy Williams Show," Lamar Odom admitted that he cheated on his ex-fiancée, Sabrina Parr. He also strongly implied that she claimed she was once intimate with Khloe Kardashian's off-and-on love Tristan Thompson. (It's unclear if Sabrina and Tristan were actually involved, and if they were, it's unclear if he was with Khloe at the time.)
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In February, Chris D'Elia fessed up to cheating on his fiancée, Kristin Taylor, in a nearly 10-minute YouTube video addressing mid-2020 sexual misconduct allegations against him: "I cheated on most of the girls that I've been with. I cheated on my fiancée now — and this is my dream girl. This is the girl that I want to be with for the rest of my life," he said while describing how sex "controlled" his life. He went on to apologize for lying to her — and for other transgressions — and said he's currently on a "path of recovery." Chris and Kristin, who's been described as a stop-motion animator, have been an item since at least mid-2018. They welcomed a baby boy in 2020. Aside from that, little is known about their relationship.
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In her book "Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget: How to Survive in Business and Life," which debuted on April 13, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Margaret Josephs revealed that she had an affair with Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen during her first marriage to Jan Josephs, which spanned from 1994 to 2013. (It's unclear when exactly the affair took place.) Around the time the book debuted, the "RHONJ" star told Us Weekly that her ex-husband, who's 20 years her senior, wasn't aware of the tryst. "It happened so long ago. … He's not going to care," she said.
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During the "Southern Charm" season 7 reunion special, which filmed in late 2020 and aired in late January 2021, Shep Rose revealed that he previously cheated on his girlfriend, Taylor Ann Green. "We've had a few hiccups," he said. "There were some text messages. … I kissed a girl in a stairwell, and that's all it was. … It was an old flame, and we were texting … and nothing ever came of it. It was a moment of weakness. I was drinking, but that's all it was — and I'll go to my grave knowing that that's true." Shep went on to describe how he and Taylor bounced back after he came clean about his indiscretion: "She goes, 'Look, I hate what happened and it hurt me a lot, however, I'd like to stay with you. I'm in love with you. You make me happy,'" he recalled. "And we cried, and it was like a big deal."
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What a mess… In early November, Ashlee Holmes — "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Jacqueline Laurita's daughter — sparked rumors that her estranged husband, Pete Malleo, was having an affair when she wrote on Instagram (in words that aren't fit for print!) that he was "busy" hooking up with another woman. A few days later, Pete released a statement to Page Six explaining that while he was, in fact, communicating with other women, he was officially single and "never cheated on Ashlee." He went on to explain that he and Ashlee had been "separated since August" and were in the process of divorcing. "I have no intentions of getting back together," he said. (The duo first split in mid-2020 following two years of marriage but briefly reconciled in early 2021.) Ashlee then released a statement insisting that Pete "has in fact cheated … in the past." He had "an online flirtation with a girl where pictures were exchanged" during the first year of their relationship and several months into her pregnancy with their son, Cameron, she alleged, adding that "it only ended" because she "confronted the woman." She went on to say that she was under the impression that another reconciliation could be in the cards — especially because Pete allegedly told her he wasn't dating or interested in dating. She was essentially blindsided, she claimed, when she found out he was pursuing other women. But that wasn't the end of the drama… A few days later, Ashlee returned to Instagram to apologize to her ex. "Pete did NOT cheat," she wrote in a since-deleted post. "I was hurt and my anger came from the fact that although separated, it has only been 3 months since we have broken up. We were together for YEARS and I just didn't understand how he could start dating someone so quickly."
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In mid-October, an unsubstantiated rumor surfaced on TikTok alleging that Olivia Jade was having an affair with her "Dancing With the Stars" partner Val Chmerkovskiy, who married fellow professional dancer Jenna Johnson in 2019. The beauty influencer quickly took to her own TikTok to shut it down: "I just wanna clear the air before this goes any further or this video blows up any more," she said. "First of all, the woman who posted it blocked me and somebody had to send me this video. But I'm just gonna be super blunt and straight up and say Val and I are not hooking up. We have never hooked up. This is a complete rumor. We're genuinely really good friends, and I adore his wife. It's literally just a dance show and we're just friends, and I don't know why everything always has to be something. But I've obviously already seen a ton of negative comments. And, yeah, I'd get it if it was true, but it's not so let's end this here."
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In late 2021, Cynthia Bailey's husband of a year, Mike Hill, found himself at the center of a cheating scandal when an anonymous individual started alleging online that he sent compromising photos and videos to another woman via Snapchat. There wasn't any solid evidence he was unfaithful, though: The individual who made the allegations deleted the Instagram account that shared purported evidence of the sportscaster's infidelity — photos and videos that did not show his face. (In other words, there's no proof it was him.) In early November, Mike told TMZ the rumors regarding his fidelity were "not true." The former "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star, meanwhile, insisted that she and her hubby were "great" and indicated they weren't putting much stock in the seemingly fabricated drama. Mike, however, said they would "absolutely" consider taking legal action against his accuser. "I have no idea who it is, and it's not true," he concluded, adding that he hopes the accuser gets "help."
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Now for another "Real Housewives" cheating scandal that may have been completely fabricated… On the Aug. 22 episode of "The Real Housewives of Potomac," Wendy Osefo was forced to deny seemingly unfounded rumors that her hubby was having an affair — rumors that her co-stars heard about on a blog and brought up on camera. "It doesn't affect us. We just celebrated 10 years of marriage. It's a lie, so we were not affected. We were just here living good with our three kids, loving on each other. … I've known Eddie since I was 17. I can tell when he lies if he burnt the chicken in the oven. I know when that man is lying," she said on the Aug. 25 episode of E!'s "Daily Pop." Two months later, Wendy told Page Six of the affair rumors, "When something is not true and you know your truth, it really doesn't impact you. … I know it's not true." She went on to imply that co-star Gizelle Bryant fueled the cheating rumors to detract from the gossip surrounding her relationship with pastor Jamal Bryant: Gizelle's off-and-on love has been accused of having multiple affairs with his parishioners.
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In mid-March — after images of her boyfriend, Karl-Anthony Towns, allegedly communicating with other women surfaced online — Jordyn Woods took to Twitter to claim the screenshots were doctored and to deny he was unfaithful, writing that their relationship is "solid." The professional basketball player also shot down the allegations on Twitter, writing that he and Jordyn are in it for the long haul. "Same haters we got now are gonna be the same ones we have when I put that ring on her finger," he tweeted.
