Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman has been working on the stage and screen since the 1970s. In addition to his decades-long acting career, Freeman is known for his distinctive voice and calm demeanor. While these are the traits that have made him so famous, Freeman has also had a surprisingly tumultuous personal life—his two marriages both ended in divorce and were followed by rumors of infidelity. Read on to learn more about Morgan Freeman’s first and second wives.
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Morgan Freeman Was First Married To Jeanette Adair Bradshaw
Morgan Freeman dated his first wife, Jeanette Adair Bradshaw, for five years before they got married in 1967.
When they married, Freeman already had two children from brief affairs in his past who Bradshaw raised with him. His oldest son, Alfonso Freeman, was born from Freeman’s brief relationship with Loletha Polk-Adkins. His second son, Saifoulaye Freeman’s, mother is unknown. Bradshaw also had a daughter, Deena, from a previous relationship. Freeman adopted Deena, and later, the couple had a biological daughter, Morgana.
When they first met, Freeman was struggling to make his acting career take off. However, shortly after they tied the knot, Freeman’s career started to really take shape.
By 1979, the pair filed for divorce. Both Freeman and Bradshaw were private about what ended their 12-year marriage. Nonetheless, many tabloids suggested their split was the result of Freeman’s infidelity.
His Second Wife Was Myrna Colley-Lee
In June of 1984, Freeman was ready to remarry to his new love, Myrna Colley-Lee. They never had biological children of their own, but the two raised Freeman’s other children together. The couple remained together for 26 years.
Their marriage came to an end shortly after a scandal involving Freeman. In 2008, Freeman was in a car accident that seriously injured both him and his passenger, Demaris Meyer. Meyer then sued Freeman, claiming that he was driving drunk when the accident took place. Not long after the accident, Colley-Lee decided it was time to call it quits from their marriage. Rumors swirled that the divorce was a result of the car accident because Freeman had been having an affair with Meyer. Meyer vehemently denied these claims. The alleged affair was never confirmed.
Freeman Hasn’t Remarried Since His Second Divorce
Freeman hasn’t taken any more walks down the aisle since his second divorce. However, he has been the subject of quite a long string of scandals in recent years.
In 2015, Freeman’s 33-year old step-granddaughter, E’Dena Hines, was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. Hines was the daughter of Jeanette Adair Bradshaw’s daughter, Deena. In the wake of Hines’s horrific death, rumors resurfaced about a sexual relationship that had occurred between her and Freeman.
These rumors had existed for years, but both Freeman and Hines claimed they were false. Back in 2012, Freeman released a statement, saying, “The recent reports of any pending marriage or romantic relationship of me to anyone are defamatory fabrications from the tabloid media designed to sell papers. What is even more alarming is that these fabrications are now being picked up by the legitimate press as well.”
Hines backed this up in a statement of her own, saying, “These stories about me and my grandfather are not only untrue, but they are also hurtful to me and my family.”
However, in the wake of Hines’ murder, an attorney for her murderer reignited the speculation, saying that Hines had confirmed the rumors to the defendant in the week before her death. The allegations were never substantiated further.
Sexual Harassment Allegations
Unfortunately, the news about Freeman’s inappropriate behavior didn’t stop there. In 2018, accusations arose about Freeman’s history of sexual harassment and lewd behavior. An investigation ensued, and ultimately, 16 people spoke to CNN about their experiences with Freeman’s alleged pattern of inappropriate behavior. Eight of these people said that they had been victims of either sexual harassment or inappropriate comments.
Three reporters claimed that Freeman had behaved inappropriately with the press. Chloe Melas, who was the co-author of the CNN piece, was one of these reporters. She interviewed Freeman for his comedy movie, Going in Style when she was six months pregnant. While shaking Melas’s hand, Freeman said “Boy, do I wish I was there… You are ripe.”
A production assistant on Going in Style recounted a similar experience with Freeman on the 2015 set. She experienced months of harassment during the movie’s filming. She said that on one occasion, Freeman “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear.”
Freeman made a statement in response to the mounting allegations against him, saying, “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected – that was never my intent.”