‘I wouldn't wish my childhood on anyone’: Celebs who still struggle with their parents' divorce

Celebs rocked by divorce

Mary-Kate and Ashley were on camera pretty much from birth and went on to be at the centre of a movie-making empire before their 10th birthday. However, their parents got divorced when they were just nine years old. Apart from dealing with mom and dad’s separation, the sisters experienced a tough childhood as being superstars at a very early age. In 2009 Ashley told Marie Claire: "I look back at the things that we did and the clothes that we wore, and I think, 'Wow, we really were troupers.' It was almost like I was in the army. School, work, homework, fly to New York, get in at 2 in the morning, do a morning show at 5 a.m.” Then Mary-Kate told the same outlet in 2010 that she "wouldn't wish [her] upbringing on anyone."

Pop star Jessica Simpson endured the divorce of her parents when she was in her 40s and noted that because she was older the experience was "so bizarre.". During an episode of ‘Tamron Hall’, Jess opened up about how she experienced their split. She said: “I think when your parents are divorced when you’re older, it’s so bizarre. I didn’t really know what to do with it. I didn’t know what was friendship, what wasn’t.”

Without revealing too much information about it, the ‘Cry Me a River’ hitmaker opened up about his parents’ split, during an interview with Elle magazine and admitted that although it happened when he was just three years old, he has been left with "a lot of issues" because of it. has had such a significant impact in his life. He said: “My parents divorced when I was three. I’m humbly and honestly finding out that I have a lot of issues with that.”

‘Bad Boys’ star Martin Lawrence had a complicated childhood, as their parents decided to divorce when he was eight years old. Following their split, he only saw his father a couple of times more, while his mother had to get multiple jobs to support her family. He would later go on to marry Shamicka Gibbs and have two daughters with her but when they got divorced that they would remain friends. He said: "Out of love and respect for one another we will continue to remain friends and raise our two beautiful daughters together."

In a 2020 interview on ‘The Oprah Conversation’, 'Always Be My Baby' hitmaker Mariah Carey opened up about her tough childhood, revealing that her parents got divorced when she was only three years old. She said that her relationship with her mother has never been easy, as she has always thought she used to neglect her when she was little. However, she also stated: “I’ll always take care of her. There’s been a huge role reversal in our relationship since the beginning, since I first started [singing].”

During Johnny Depp and ex Amber Heard’s legal battle, a series of documents involving his parents resurfaced. Betty Sue Depp and John Depp divorced when the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star was only 15 years old. The actor once told Splash News: “I recall hearing my parents argue and thinking, ‘Come on, this is torture. Just split!’ They stuck it out until I was 15, but I’d seen it coming for years. When they finally did divorce, I thought, ‘OK, this is the right thing.’”

Former Disney actress and pop star Selena Gomez had to endure her parents' divorce when she was just five years old and claimed that she would "blame" her mother a lot for the split. She told E! News:: "I blamed my mom a lot [for the divorce] because I wanted a family so bad. I wanted to have my mom and dad together. I remember just being angry with my mom. I still feel really bad about that."

‘The Revenant’ actor’s parents Irmelin and George, got divorced when he was only a baby but the Hollywood star seems to only have good things to say about them. In a 1994 interview with Interview magazine, Leo said: "My parents . . . were so good at keeping my environment strong and keeping everything around me not focused on the fact that we were poor. They got me culture. They took me to museums. They showed art to me. They read to me. And my mother drove two hours a day to take me to University Elementary School.”

Former One Direction member-turned-global megastar Harry Styles was very confused when they parents separated. According to The Daily Mail, he said: “When I was seven my mum [pictured above] and dad divorced and that was quite a weird time. I remember crying about it. I didn't really get what was going on properly - I was just sad that my parents wouldn't be together anymore.”

Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis were two prominent Hollywood figures, and also parents to 'Freaky Friday' actress Jamie Lee Curtis but they divorced when Jamie was just three years old. In an interview on ‘The View’, Jamie opened up about her childhood struggles, revealing never-heard-before details. She said: "My parents hated each other my whole life. I was raised in a house of hatred. And as a child of famous people going through divorce, I beg you — do not buy magazines with these children on it, do not support the public shaming of people who are public figures going through divorce because I'm a child of it. And I will tell you it's heartbreaking and painful enough without having a public scrutiny to it."