COURTNEY Staddon was just 16 when she wed 51-year-old Hollywood actor Doug Hutchinson – and while it sounds like the dream life for many, Courtney’s was a total nightmare.
Opening up about the death threats they received from the public for marrying someone 35 years her senior, Courtney revealed all to podcast host Alex Cooper.
The pair met when Courtney was just 16, and a week later the couple were wed[/caption]
Krista dropped the bombshell she was having an emotional affair with her child’s husband[/caption]
The pair have now divorced and Courtney has revealed all on the age-gap marriage[/caption]
Now Courtney, 30, who identifies as non-binary, is divorced from Doug, they had time to reflect on their relationship and what it was really like growing up in the world of stardom.
Speaking on the podcast Call Her Daddy, Courtney said they and Doug, famous for his role as the villainous cop Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile, met after a mutual friend put them in contact as Doug was offering acting classes, something Courtney was eager to try.
But the conversations over email allegedly soon developed to more than a teacher and student relationship, something Courtney says their mother was aware of despite her being underage.
Courtney explained: “She was aware she was like over my shoulder the entire time practically or having me print out the emails and she was reading them.
“And you know, nothing was sexual but it was definitely not about what it was supposed to be about which was about teaching me acting and you know all of that stuff that you know professionally you’re supposed to be doing and then as a child, I didn’t really see it as anything predatory.”
The aspiring actor had photos sent to Doug, which wasn’t uncommon in the profession, but said he claimed he didn’t know their age, something Courtney disputes as mum Krista had told him over the phone.
The pair spoke on the phone and over email for six months before finally meeting in person, which Courtney says was his ‘loophole’ to marrying them.
“I believe it was obviously to see his child in person,” they claimed.
“Verify the parents are on board. ‘I’m not gonna go to jail and I can get that free pass to molest a child. I just need that paperwork signed for me to get married because it’s a loophole right.’
“Then a week later we got married. So I basically just met him in person one week and then a week later I’m married.”
Going back to the day they met, Courtney remembers their parents picking Doug up from the airport – before they had even sat down for lunch, their dad had given his blessing for Doug to marry Courtney.
Courtney adds that their strict Christian upbringing was a drive for them to get married quickly instead of just date, and said Krista truly believed Doug loved Courtney and would take care of her child.
But that wasn’t the case, claims Courtney who claims they suffered years of emotional abuse from their husband.
Their dad, Courtney recalls, seems to have had some reservations, and after Doug and Courtney wed their parents split up and he disowned Courtney due to Krista wanting to follow along with Courtney’s new life.
Courtney and Doug’s relationship timeline
Throughout their relationship, Courtney and Doug faced considerable public scrutiny and media coverage, largely due to their significant age gap and the circumstances of their marriage.
- May 2011: Courtney Stodden and Doug Hutchison got married. Courtney was 16 years old at the time, and Doug was 51. Their marriage attracted significant media attention and controversy due to their age difference.
- November 2013: Courtney and Doug announced that they had separated. Despite the separation, they continued to live together and maintained a close relationship.
- August 2014: The couple reconciled and decided to renew their wedding vows, reaffirming their commitment to each other.
- May 2016: Courtney announced that she was pregnant with their first child. However, in July 2016, she revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage.
- January 2017: Courtney and Doug separated again, with Courtney filing for divorce in March 2018.
- March 2020: Courtney finalised the divorce from Doug, officially ending their nearly nine-year marriage.
And it seems her mum wanted more than just to see her child’s marriage play out.
Courtney revealed that they was forced to do multiple reality TV shows to keep the money coming in such as Couples Therapy, Celebrity Big Brother and The mother and Daughter Experiment.
“Another misconception is people thought I was a gold digger. I married him for money. I’m the one who was taking care of him,” Courtney said.
Despite not talking to their mum for two years, the pair went on the reality show The mother and Daughter Experiment, where Courtney found out Krista and Doug were allegedly having an emotional affair.
It also was alleged that Doug had sexual fantasies about the three of them together.
On the show, Doug was later asked if he ‘had an emotional affair’ with Krista, he insisted ‘absolutely not’ and looked at her as he added: ‘I never felt that we were friends, obviously we were not lovers, and I think that that’s your delusion.’
And to hammer the point home, he told her: ‘I have never been attracted to you, I am not now and I never will be – sexually, emotionally or otherwise. Ever.’
Courtney admitted they had never heard Doug say these fantasies to them, but admitted Krista was in love with her husband.
“My mum has had her own experiences in life,” Courtney explained.
“I really, you know, have seen her fall in love with my husband through me. So it was like this.
“I mean she even told me, you know, we you and I are like Siamese twins Whatever you feel I feel.”
Courtney added that they had no idea if their mum and husband had a sexual relationship and wasn’t ready to find out more.
While the pair did split up multiple times until their divorce was finally finalised in 2020, Courtney says they always found their way back to him due to their trauma bond – a term described as a connection between an abusive person and the individual they abuse.
But abuse wasn’t just going on behind the scenes, in public, Courtney was hurled with hateful comments from other celebrities.
Courtney Love branded them a ‘wh**e’ while Chrissy Teigen publicly said Courtney should be dead.
They admitted the public hate was a lot to bare, but has since moved on from the whole ordeal and is now happily engaged and looking forward to starting a new life.
Doug previously said to Fox News he had no regrets about the relationship, which he described as a ‘bittersweet journey’.
“I don’t believe in living a life of regret,” he said. “I think that every choice we make, we make them for a reason… I have absolutely no regrets in my life.
“Do I wish I would have handled certain aspects of my life differently or said… some things differently? Yes — like everybody else. But my marriage to Courtney is not one of them. I regret none of it. It was a beautiful and powerful journey. A bittersweet journey with Courtney.”
The Sun has reached out to Doug Hutchinson for comment.
