Highlights
- Jean-Claude Van Damme has been married five times and has had a tumultuous love life, including affairs and on-set relationships.
- He faced rumors of an affair with Kylie Minogue during the filming of "Street Fighter" in Thailand, while he was married to his fourth wife.
- Van Damme battled drug misuse due to struggling career and personal issues, which stemmed from his undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was one of the most successful action stars of the 1980s and 1990s. While he was known for doing the splits on the camera, he is also known for his often messy love life. And though he was a successful action and sci-fi star during his tumultuous life and career, he has since faded into the direct-to-DVD bin.
The Belgium-born actor has been married multiple times, had on-set affairs and has burned many bridges in Hollywood. The actor, who was a former ballerina and martial arts has had many highs and lows over his 35-year-old career.
How Many Times Has Jean-Claude Van Damme Been Married?
Jean-Claude Van Damme has been married five times. The Expendables star's first marriage was to Venenzualan-born Maria Rodriguez. They wed in 1980, a year before he ended his martial arts career and moved to Los Angeles. They divorced in 1984.
The following year, Jean-Claude married Cynthia Derderian, but their marriage was short-lived as his Hollywood career started to take off. In 1987, he married Gladys Portugues, an ex-bodybuilder, fitness competitor and actress. They had a son, Kris, and a daughter Bianca, together.
Rumors of an affair ended his marriage to Gladys in 1992. He married Darcy LaPier in 1994 (the one he was rumored to be having an affair with) and they had a son Nicholas Van Varenberg, a year later. After a personal battle with drugs, he remarried Gladys in 1999.
Van Damme had been in a decade-long relationship with Ulkranian model Alena Kaverina, although he is still legally married to Gladys Portugues.
What Happened Between Jean-Claude Van Damme And Kylie Minogue
For decades there were rumors that Jean-Claude Van Damme had an affair with his Street Fighter co-star, Kylie Minogue. For over two decades, the rumors claimed the actor had an affair with the Australian pop star during filming of the 1994 movie in Thailand.
Van Damme became so annoyed at being asked about his relationship with Kylie Minogue, he would walk out of interviews when asked. Finally, in a 2014 Guardian interview, he confirmed the gossip. "Yes. OK. Yes, yes, yes. It happened. I was in Thailand, we had an affair."
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He had nothing but positive things to say about their connection: "Sweet kiss, beautiful lovemaking. It would be abnormal not to have had an affair, she's so beautiful and she was there in front of me every day with a beautiful smile, simpatico, so charming. I knew Thailand very well, so I showed her my Thailand. She's a great lady."
Van Damme was married to his fourth wife, Darcy LaPier during the time of the affair. She apparently, only learned of the affair when she read the interview. "I was shocked he would talk to the press about this all these years later to gain some notoriety," she confirmed. "I didn't know about it, I have had my feelings hurt and I feel betrayed."
"There is a lot of water under the bridge between us, but the fact is I was pregnant with our son at the time. He's almost 17 now and I wouldn't want him finding out all of this and being hurt by it too."
She also explained that she had been on set with Kylie Minogue, who had a short-lived acting career alongside her more successful music career. "Kylie always seemed intimidated by me, and now I know why," she added. "I speak to (Claude) about once a week so I will say something. This is not cool."
Jean-Claude Van Damme's Mental Health Issues Led To Drug Misuse And Arrest
The end of Jean-Claude Van Damme's marriage to Darcy LaPier and his struggling career led to him turning to narcotics.
The Universal Soldier star has admitted to having a 10-gram-per-day cocaine habit, which cost him around $10,000 a week. By 1999, he had a DUI charge and lost custody of his son. He went to rehab to overcome his issue, but left after just seven days.
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The Double Impact actor's substance abuse problem has been linked to his bipolar disorder, which went undiagnosed for years. Before being diagnosed, he would turn to martial arts training for help. "When I didn't train for a couple of days, I felt so low and nothing could make me happy."
Van Damme was finally diagnosed with Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder in 1998, and started taking a mood-stabilizing drug. "I didn't have any reasons to live ... I was not excited about anything. Then you have to find back your self-esteem. And then, slowly, every piece of yourself becomes precious again ... It's not the drugs, it's a problem with yourself, which you have to cure."
Whilst cleaning his life up and helping his career get back on track, he was helped by his ex-wife. He remarried Gladys on June 25, 1999.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Was Once Blacklisted From Hollywood
Jean-Claude Van Damme let his ego get the better of him after the success of Timecop. He turned down a three-picture deal worth $36 million, feeling like he deserved more money.
He later admitted, "I was completely f*****up and I made a bad mistake and I was on the blacklist in Hollywood for years."
He also gained a reputation for being difficult to work with. He struggled to not make direct contact with his co-stars during filming, reportedly knocking out his No Retreat, No Surrender costar, Peter Cunningham, twice.
He also left Predator after just two days, where he was supposed to play the titular character. He was upset that he was a little more than a stuntman and couldn't do any of his martial arts on-screen. This would have only been his second Hollywood role and something he begged the casting director for.
"My feet were in the cast of the alien. My hands were in the forearms, my head was in the neck. I was moving everything with cables. It was a very unsecure, very dangerous type of outfit."
The end result of his iconic villain looked much different originally. “They said I would be in a tight leotard with half-[human], half-animal makeup on my face,” Van Damme told Starlog magazine in 1989. So he was surprised that the end result looked much more different.
“I like to breathe — and they’re gonna do my head and everything,” the actor explained. “They put in my mouth like a tube [to breathe through]. I was covered in that cast for at least 20 minutes. It was boiling hot. My friend told me, ‘If you cannot breathe, just [wiggle] your finger and I’ll pull that stuff away from you.’ And I did it. I started to panic. And they go, ‘No! Five more minutes!'”
In all worked out for the actor as when he returned from filming in Mexico, he was offered a role in Bloodsport, his most iconic film role.
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