Rewind back to the year 2005: your favorite song is the ringtone on your Motorola Razr flip phone, your chunky highlights look amazing, and Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey just started dating. It seemed like a match made in heaven—two hilarious icons in Hollywood that looked madly in love, and they were—for five long years. When the pair broke up in 2010, people speculated as to what could be the reason. Is there any truth behind the rumors? We’ve got the details behind their complicated relationship.
Jenny McCarthy And Jim Carrey Started Dating In 2005
Their relationship all started when McCarthy noticed Carrey in the middle of the room at David Spade’s birthday party. “And she looked at me, and she said, ‘You just looked so peaceful that I had to come and talk to you,'” Carrey said. The two immediately hit it off and began dating.
Both McCarthy and Carrey had children of their own when they began their relationship: McCarthy has a son named Evan from her previous marriage to John Mallory Asher and Carrey has a daughter named Jane from his previous marriage to Melissa Womer. They both embraced each other’s children as their own despite never having a biological child together. Carrey was known to have quite the connection with Evan, helping McCarthy provide the best care for his special needs.
Despite the couple having a seemingly beautiful life together, they never made the plunge into marriage. Each of them had previous marriages and didn’t feel the need to walk down that path again, they felt confident enough in each other without making it legal. “I’ve done it. I’ve been there. My particular view on it is I don’t need that piece of paper of commitment to prove my love,” McCarthy told People. (McCarthy eventually changed her stance and married Donnie Wahlberg in 2014.)
They Called It Quits In 2010
Even though their relationship was thriving, or so it seemed from the outside, things weren’t exactly as they seemed. In 2010, the power couple broke up. Each of them took to Twitter to break the news to all of their fans and admirers. “Jenny and I have just ended our 5yr relationship,” Carrey tweeted. “I’m grateful 4 the many blessings we’ve shared and I wish her the very best! S’okay! ?;^>”
McCarthy followed up, saying “I’m so grateful for the years Jim and I had together. I will stay committed to Jane and will always keep Jim as a leading man in my heart.”
But what exactly happened to cause their adorable relationship to come to a screeching halt? Some have speculated that it could have been Carrey’s battle with depression taking its toll. Others suspect that McCarthy’s son Evan’s autism may have caused a strain on their relationship.
However, their relationship could have simply just fizzled out. According to People, the Masked Singer judge told Oprah Winfrey, “You know, the simple word I can give—and there’s a few, so let me say a few. The first thing is, when it’s not fun anymore, you need to start investigating and do an inquiry into the relationship.”
McCarthy’s Son Didn’t Take The Break Up Well
In 2012, a couple of years after the breakup, McCarthy appeared as a guest on Howard Stern’s radio show. It was here that revealed how much the separation hurt her son. Even though Carrey had bonded and advocated for Evan over the five-year relationship, the comedian supposedly cut all ties with the young boy. “I’ve tried to ask [Carrey] numerous times [to see Evan], because my son still asks,” the actress told Stern.
Carrey wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear his ex-partner’s confession when the radio show aired. In a release to E! News, he responded to her statements by saying, “I will always do what I believe is in the best interest of Evan’s well-being. It’s unfortunate that Evan’s privacy is not being considered. I love Evan very much and will miss him always.”
Given that McCarthy divulged such hard-hitting words to Howard Stern, it’s easy to assume that there was certainly a strain in the couple’s relationship.
They’re On Friendly Terms Now
Over the years, the Carrey-McCarthy breakup drama has subsided. In fact, the two have even managed to become friends. Things started looking up for the pair back in 2014 when Carrey and actor Shia LaBeouf had a bit of a Twitter feud. According to E! News, LaBeouf insulted the Liar, Liar star’s parenting skills, saying he wasn’t there for his daughter Jane, and McCarthy was quick to defend him.
Later appearing on The View, she made it clear to not only LaBeouf, but the entire world, that family was off-limits. “You can attack [me], but don’t bring my children into it. And I’m sure it’s the same for Jim,” McCarthy asserted. “Jim and I have become friends now since our breakup. We dated for five years and I got to know his daughter, Jane, who is a lovely, lovely girl. It’s completely uncalled for and wrong. Jim is a great father. He loves Jane more than anything in the world. Shia did apologize and Jim did take it, but the whole thing is, do not bring our children into it.”
Given their current trajectory, we hope McCarthy and Carrey continue their path of friendship. It’s admirable that they’ve been able to move on so gracefully from the split and maintain respect for each other’s children.