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Two marriages and a love that ended in tragedy: Inside Jim Carrey's turbulent relationships.

 

This post deals with suicide and might be triggering for some readers. 

Jim Carrey’s best known as a Hollywood funnyman with a talent for being able to pull… unusual facial expressions, but the 58-year-old has also dated a number of high profile women.

From two marriages to a string of famous actresses, to his tragic relationship with makeup artist Cathriona White, Carrey’s personal life has been rocky.

Carrey first married actress and waitress Melissa Womer in March 1987, and six months later their daughter Jane Erin Carrey was born. Carrey became a grandfather at 47 when Jane and husband Alex Santana welcomed their first child, a son named Jackson Riley, in February 2010.

In 2011, Jim Carrey published a message to Emma Stone. Post continues below video.

Video via YouTube

After eight years of marriage, they were divorced in 1995.

A year later, he married his Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly.

jim carrey relationships
Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly at The Mask premiere. Image: Getty.
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"You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what happened," his first wife Womer told The Spokesman-Review following the announcement of their divorce. "I personally think she may have been involved a lot sooner than they are letting on."

Regardless, Carrey's second marriage to Holly did not last, with the pair splitting after less than a year of marriage.

In 1999, Carrey began a short-lived but high-profile relationship with his Me, Myself & Irene co-star Renee Zellweger.

The movie’s director told People magazine, Carrey fell for her immediately but she didn’t return the feelings until the end of the shoot.

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Later, Zellweger told the same publication her life with The Grinch actor was “boringly wonderfully normal”.

Carrey told Entertainment Weekly his girlfriend was “absolutely a gem of a human being”.

In December 2000, Zellweger and Carrey's publicists confirmed their split saying that the couple "wanted different things".

renee zellweger 2019
Renee Zellweger and Jim Carrey. Image: Getty.

At the time, National Enquirer claimed the split was fuelled by an ultimatum from Zellweger who wanted a wedding date to be set. But she rubbished the rumour, telling Cosmopolitan in 2003 that they were never engaged.

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He was linked to actress January Jones, Russian dancer Anastasiya Volochkova and Danish model Anine Bing after Zellweger, but each was shortlived.

Perhaps the most high profile of Carrey's relationships came in 2005 when he met model and TV host Jenny McCarthy.

In 2007, McCarthy spoke about Carrey's support of her young son Evan, who was born in 2002 and diagnosed with autism in 2005.

Both McCarthy - who has been described as the United States "most prominent purveyor of anti-vaxxer ideology" - and Carrey believe the incorrect, debunked idea that vaccines cause autism.

Throughout their relationship, Carrey became a vocal advocate for McCarthy's autism activism and McCarthy embraced Carrey's passion for New Age spirituality.

Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy in 2009
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To the outside world, and even to their family and friends, Carrey and McCarthy projected a happy relationship. So when they announced their split on Twitter in April 2010, it shocked even those closest to them.

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According to an 'old friend' of Carrey's, the differences in their personalities may have taken its toll.

"She is really ‘Go get ’em!’ when it comes to publicity," the source told People. "And Jim is nothing like that."

Another source said: "Jim can run hot and he can run cold. He is someone who desperately needs to be with someone, then just as desperately needs to be alone. But at the same time, he can be a very loving, very compassionate guy."

In 2011, Carrey released a bizarre video professing his love for actress Emma Stone. Then 49, he told a 23-year-old Stone that he wanted to marry her, have "chubby little freckle-faced kids," and have sex with her every day for the rest of her life.

From 2012 to 2015, Carrey had an on-off relationship with Irish makeup artist Cathriona White.

According to TMZ, they broke up in May 2013 before rekindling their relationship 18 months later.

They were last spotted in September 2015. Nine days later White died by suicide, aged 30.

Jim Carrey carries Cathriona's coffin. Image: Getty.
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Carrey was a pallbearer at her funeral, and in a statement said he was "deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona."

White’s estranged husband Mark Burton and her mother, Brigid Sweetman, later sued the then-55-year-old actor, alleging that Carrey had provided illegal drugs to her and gave her sexually transmitted diseases, which contributed to her mental anguish.

"It would be easy for me to get in a back room with this man's lawyer and make this go away, but there are some moments in life when you have to stand up and defend your honour against the evil in this world," Carrey said in response to the filing.

"I will not tolerate this heartless attempt to exploit me or the woman I loved. Cat's troubles were born long before I met her and sadly her tragic end was beyond anyone's control. I really hope that someday soon people will stop trying to profit from this and let her rest in peace."

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Carrey filed a countersuit claiming the lawsuits were an attempt to exploit him, and that White had attempted to extort him with false allegations that he passed on multiple STIs to her.

The lawsuit was dismissed on January 25, 2018, and attorneys for both sides confirmed there would be no further legal proceedings.

jim carrey relationships
Jim Carrey and Ginger Gonzaga at a 2019 Golden Globes after party.
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With his legal battle behind him, Carrey said he was glad to be moving on.

In 2018, the actor told Radio Times he liked to keep to himself.

"You could describe my home life as an isolated life. I spend a lot of time by myself but I like being by myself, so it’s okay. That might be strange to some people, but I enjoy it."

But even so, Carrey said he was still putting himself out there.

"I love to read and I enjoy painting and working on sculptures," he said of his free time. "And I date."

Last year, Carrey had a relationship with actress Ginger Gonzaga, 35. The couple met on the set of his TV show Kidding, and made their red carpet debut at the 2019 Golden Globes Nominees Celebration in January 2019.

US Weekly reported they split in October.

Most recently, the actor has made headlines for his bizarre, inappropriate comments to Margot Robbie on The Graham Norton Show and in an interview with Heat magazine reporter Charlotte Long as part of his promotional tour for Sonic The Hedgehog.

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, please contact Lifeline 13 11 14 for support or beyondblue 1300 22 4636.

Feature images: Getty.