Who: Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress Demi Moore, 56, and actor and producer Ashton Kutcher, 41.
How They Met: Play? Dinner? Party? It’s not clear which of these reported locales is accurate (maybe it was dinner theater?), but we do know that the meeting happened early in 2003, and that Moore “knew it had the potential to be something special right away.”
The pair moved fast, making their red carpet debut at the June premiere of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle — with all three of Moore’s kids and her ex-husband Bruce Willis.
That’s a lot to process.
In an interview with the Calgary Sun, Charlie’s Angels star Drew Barrymore implied that she thought Moore’s relationship with Kutcher had negatively affected the film’s box office draw. “You could say there is a bit of irony in all that,” she said. “In the film, Demi’s character, Madison Lee, wanted to overshadow the new Angels, and that’s what happened in reality.”
In September 2005, after more than two years together, Moore and Kutcher wed at their Beverly Hills home.
Why We Loved Them: It was sweet how quickly Kutcher adjusted to life with Moore’s three (then-tween and teen) daughters. It was reported that the trio (Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah) referred to their stepfather by the acronym MOD (My Other Dad).
In a 2008Harper’s Bazaar profile, Kutcher said he was “eternally grateful” for having Moore’s daughters in his life. But for Rumer, who was 15 when her mom began dating Kutcher, having a teen heartthrob transition into the role of her stepfather wasn’t always comfortable. In that same profile, she admitted that she’d “had a poster of Ashton when my mom and he met,” noting, “I can appreciate the fact that he is a handsome man, but he is my stepdad, and he has given me a healthy perspective on relationships.”
In addition to the closeness of Kutcher’s unconventional instant family (which included Bruce Willis, of course), he said his and Moore’s devotion to Kabbalah was “one of the essential ingredients in the success of our marriage.” Well, until it wasn’t …
When They Peaked: They knew what people were saying about their 15-year age difference, and weren’t afraid to punk, if you will, the haters. In a March 2005episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kutcher, the That ‘70s Show alum discussed how dismayed he was to hear what the tabloids were saying about his relationship before introducing Moore, disguised to look like an elderly woman, on stage.
It's also hard to forget the time Kutcher (formerly the King of Twitter), tweeted a photo of Moore bending over. So yeah, just fully a stalker-y snap of his wife's butt.
The Break Up: In November 2011, Moore released a statement reading, “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton. As a woman, a mother and a wife, there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life.” The tenor of Moore’s statement and the ambiguity of its final words could be interpreted as a confirmation of the myriad cheating rumors that swirled during the last year or so of their relationship.
Kutcher denied allegations in 2010, tweeting, “I think Star magazine calling me a ‘cheater’ qualifies as defamation of character. I hope my lawyer agrees.”
But in October 2011, just one month before news of Moore and Kutcher’s separation was announced, a San Diego-based woman name Sara Leal told Us Weekly that she’d slept with the actor that September (on his and Moore’s six-year anniversary).
Scott Eastwood backed up Leal’s claim on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen four years later, revealing that Kutcher had slept with one of his ex-girlfriends, clarifying, “but she was my current girlfriend at the time.” He told Cohen, “I think it was the catalyst that broke him and Demi up.”
In a new profile written ahead of the release of Moore’s memoir Inside Out, it was revealed that the Ghost star had suffered from a miscarriage early in her and Kutcher’s relationship. The couple continued to seek out fertility treatments, but nothing took. At the same time, Moore sunk deeper into a pattern of drug and alcohol abuse. This was exacerbated when the cheating rumors began.
Though outwardly Moore seemed confident in her status as “the older woman,” a People source recently revealed that she “was always very insecure about their age difference and it was devastating that Ashton left her. She had so much self-blame and resentment towards herself after the split. She was really struggling mentally and didn’t take care of herself.”
Where They Are Now: Shortly after splitting from Moore, Kutcher reconnected with his That ‘70s Show co-star Mila Kunis. They welcomed their first child in 2014 (daughter Wyatt, 4), wed in 2015, and welcomed son Dimitri, 2, the following year.
Last year, Kunis combated speculation that Kutcher and Moore’s relationship was all for show, telling WTF podcast host Marc Maron, "They had a normal, real relationship. They had three kids they were raising. It was a normal life. Yeah, he was younger but he loved those kids.”
Kutcher currently stars on Netflix favorite The Ranch.
Moore’s new film, Corporate Animals, opens this Friday, her memoir Inside Out will be released Sept. 24. She’s also currently working on a serial adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
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