Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson’s relationship moved incredibly fast. “It really was love at first sight,” Anderson told People. “I only knew him four days before I married him.” The couple met in 1994, and the following year, a disgruntled electrician named Rand Gauthier stole and sold copies of a sex tape they filmed as revenge. Years later, this story was turned into a Hulu miniseries called “Pam & Tommy.”
Unsurprisingly, the tape leak was hard on the then-couple. “Not being able to do anything … about [the tape] was adding so much frustration and stress to our relationship. It was just consuming us,” Lee said on an episode of “20/20.”
The tape was not the only source of conflict in Anderson and Lee’s relationship. As the AP reported at the time, Lee received a six-month jail sentence in 1998 after being charged with spousal abuse. The arrest was the result of an altercation that reportedly left Anderson concerned for the wellbeing of the couple’s two young sons. In his memoir, “The Dirt,” Lee explained he “couldn’t understand” why Anderson pressed charges. “She was probably scared and thought I was some crazy, violent monster; she probably thought she was doing the right thing for the kids, and she probably wanted an easy way out of a difficult situation,” he wrote (via Us Weekly). The couple divorced later that year. The pair had an on-and-off relationship until 2010.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1?800?799?7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
