Success is something that can make an ordinary human being a role model for millions of people. We can find successful men in each and every profession. The normal populace forms a notion that a famous person with a huge name in the world is infallible. Of course, successful people are millionaires and can buy anything that tempts them, but there is something money cannot buy, and that’s called “good conduct”. Some of the world’s most successful men have serious drinking issues, some are drug addicts, while other have a ruined personal life because of their errant behavior. So to sum it up, they’re not infallible. 

The well-known businessman Charles M. Schwab was right when he said, “Money is often a matter of chance or good fortune and is not the mark of a successful life. It is not the thing that brings a throb of pleasure or a thrill into my life. And I would not pose as a successful man if that were to be the measure.”

Here we have a list of 15 eminent personalities who have been tormented by serious personal problems because of their mega success and money. Don’t be surprised if your role model is also included in the list.

15. Tom Cruise

This actor needs no introduction, being the heartthrob of women all over the world. Tom has had a stellar acting career, but his personal life has been riddled with hundreds of controversies. Tom married actress Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987, who introduced him to a religious philosophy called Scientology. And ever since, Scientology has been the cause of major changes in Tom’s lifestyle. Mimi’s father Phil Spickler was one of the prominent leaders of Scientology and it’s believed that Tom got excessively immersed into Scientology. This is the fact which precisely disturbed his marital life. Consequently, the couple got separated from each other and Tom tied the wedding knot with the gorgeous Nicole Kidman in 1990. After divorcing Nicole, Tom married Katie Holmes and the couple welcomed a cute little baby girl Suri. According to media reports, Tom’s craze for Scientology resurged and it led him to separate from Katie. It is even said that now he has no interest in visiting his little daughter who lives with her mother, Katie.

14. Michael Jackson

The “Beat It” superstar entertained the world for more than a decade with his outstanding talent. Although he is with us no more, his contribution to dance has been inspiring countless youngsters. Jackson had money, fame and a huge fan following, but as fate would have it, his personal life was pathetic. The “King of Pop” was not fortunate enough to enjoy a great childhood. “I always used to cry from loneliness. There is all the success and then there is the other side, rehearsals and all where you give up yourself. You don’t get to do things that other children do,” Jackson told in an interview.

Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse that made him a villain in the eyes of people. He married twice, but did not get the happiness that he was looking for. He underwent multiple plastic surgeries to get perfect features, but it did not work out well. According to media reports, Jackson converted to Islam, but he never spoke about it. It’s believed that Jackson died of an overdose of the drugs propofol and benzodiazepine, but his fans have considered his death as an unsolved mystery.

13. Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods, the name that had become synonymous with golf is now used as a synonym for philanderers. His gentlemen image was completely destroyed due to his sex scandals which got exposed leaving the world shell-shocked. As a result, his wife divorced him. A publication carried the story about Woods’s extramarital relationship with a New York City nightclub manager named Rachel Uchitel. Later, several women claimed that they had sexual relations with Woods, also commenting about his weird sexual behavior. “He would engage in sex from 9 p.m. until the sun came up the next morning. He wasn’t a healthy guy. He couldn’t sleep and would stay up all night,” Loredana Jolie, who had an alleged affair with Woods, told the media. The eleven times PGA Player of the Year award winner is a billionaire but now, he leads a miserable and lonely life. Clearly, money can’t buy you happiness. 

12. Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt’s name is taken in the same breath with Tom Cruise and Bradley Cooper. However, the most wanted hunk of Hollywood is also popular for his unsuccessful marriages. Boxing legend Mike Tyson’s ex-wife Robin Givens was Pitt’s first love, but the relationship did not last for a sufficiently long time. Brad then started dating actress Jill Schoelen in 1989 and they too got separated within a very short period. Later he went on to date Christina Applegate, Sinitta, Juliette Lewis, Jitka Pohlodek and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few.

Brad tied his wedding knot with Jennifer Aniston but divorced her after 6 years of married life. While shooting for the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Brad fell in love with the most talented and beautiful actress in Hollywood, Angelina Jolie. “Brangelina” created a hype all around the world. They dated for a long time and married in the presence of their four kids. They shared common interests and passion for social service, however, the couple ended their marriage in 2016. According to the rumor mill, Brad’s extramarital relationships and Angelina’s excessive involvement in charity work seem to be the reason for the divorce.

11. Sean Penn

Sean Penn is popular in the US as an actor, filmmaker and politician activist. This academy award winner was married to the pop singing sensation, Madonna, and spent a few days behind the bars for beating her. According to media, Madonna’s police complaint revealed the cruel acts of Penn, however, it was withdrawn later on. Madonna did not accept the media reports and after few months the couple got separated from each other. Sean Paul was also sent to police custody for assaulting a photographer. Later on, Penn was married to Robin Wright. But she too filed for divorce since they had a painful relationship.

10. Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby is one of the all-time favorite comedians of America. Alas, the person who made millions laugh is not happy in his own life. He was accused of sexual assault and is facing a trial. Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee revealed how she was cheated by Cosby in 2002. She had visited Cosby’s house at his request and because of his assurance that he would provide her with some help pursuing a new career. He also gave her some pills when she told him about her mental stress, and after consuming those pills she started feeling dizzy before Cosby sexually assaulted her. Her lawsuit mentioned all these details and it destroyed his public image. After this a deluge of confessions came in, with 57 women coming forward and claiming that they are also the victims of Cosby’s sexual assaults. Cosby now has lost all his professional fame due to this.

9. Tommy Lee

Tommy Lee is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful musicians the world has ever seen. He made headlines several times for his controversial private life. Lee was in police custody for physically assaulting his third wife Pamela Anderson who was a lactating mother during that time. A distraught Pamela sought the legal custody of her kids and on the legal papers she had mentioned that Lee showed violent videos to her children and also made them call their mom a “freak”. “Tommy freely uses disrespectful and obscene language and does so in front of our children,” Pamela’s legal papers read. After getting separated from Pamela, Lee had to deal with a damaged public image.

8. Tony Parker

 

Tony Parker is one the finest basketball players of all time. His hard work and dedication to the game earned great points for his home team. However, Tony Parker’s personal life isn’t as good as one would imagine it. He was married to actress Eva Longoria in 2007, but his hidden affairs ruined his marriage. On his phone, Eva found some intimate messages of a woman and that wrecked his marriage. Finally, Eva filed for a divorce. The woman who used to send messages to Tony was his own teammate’s spouse! After divorcing him Eva underwent depression. Somehow she saved herself from the haunting memories. According to the tabloids, Tony married a French journalist a couple of years after his divorce.

7. Bill Clinton

The former president of the US, Bill Clinton has contributed a lot to the economic development of United States during his tenure. But he miserably failed in handling his personal life and it affected his career to a large extent. He had a secret affair with a White House intern Monica Lewinsky despite having a beautiful married life with Hillary Clinton. His sex scandal reached the court and Clinton’s involvement was proven. In 2016, Gennifer Flowers, a 66 year old woman, told the media that she too indulged in a sexual relationship with Clinton for 12 years. She became pregnant with Clinton’s baby and Clinton gave her $200 to get an abortion! Clinton’s name was heard with several women, but Hillary did not divorce him.

6. David Boreanaz

As an actor, producer and director David Boreanaz is a household name known all over the United States. But he is not a gentleman in his personal life David admitted in 2014. He confessed that he was unfaithful to his wife Jaime Bergman. “Our marriage has been tainted with my infidelities. I just want to be open and honest. I was irresponsible. I was associated with a woman who I was involved with and had a relationship with,” David admitted. As per the media reports, David was dating Rachel Uchitel, Tiger Woods ex-mistress when his wife was pregnant with his second baby. David tried his best to save his marriage from his secret affair and he was successful in it. Later, he revealed that he and his wife worked on their marriage and protected it.

5. Dean McDermott

Dean McDermott’s personal life was never on the right track from the word go. This well-known reality television personality married actress Mary Jo Eustace and also had a baby boy with her. Later he fell in love with actress Tori Spelling and tied the wedding knot with her after a few months. But his first wife’s lawsuit arrived like a bombshell. What really happened? Mary Jo Eustace had approached the court with a complaint that Dean owes child support payments to her. This legal conflict dragged Dean to the court several times, and Eustace has asked him to pay a sum of $100,800 in monthly instalments by July 2020. In between this family tension, Dean and present wife Tori welcomed their fifth baby.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio was a teenage heartthrob when he came to the film industry, even today Hollywood has a special respect for darling “Jack”. But Leonardo’s personal life has seen several ups and downs, and till now he has not found a right partner for him despite having such great popularity and prestigious awards to his name. He dated the “Sweet Valley High” actress Brittany Daniel but the lovebirds said goodbye to each other in 1994. He was seriously in love with model Kristen Zang and also called her “the love of his life”, but Kristen could not stay because of his immaturity. His life has seen the entry and exit of many women, Amber Valletta, Natasha Henstridge, Helena Christensen, Bijou Phillips, Eva Herzigova are some of them who are included in the list. Most of his girlfriends left him because he was not committed to the relationship.

3. Jude Law

Jude Law is known for his acting talent. He was also named as 2004’s Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine and grabbed a place in People USA magazine’s list of 50 Most Beautiful People. He spent six years with his wife Sadie Frost and also had three kids, but later they got separated. He fell in love with Sienna Miller, but she rejected his love when she came to know about his secret affair with his children’s nanny Daisy Wright. Sienna did not come back to Law and Daisy added fuel to the fire by revealing more information in front of the media. Later, he came to know that his girlfriend, Sienna was secretly dating his close friend Daniel Craig, behind his back, and the heartbreaking truth left him speechless. As per the media reports, Miller was pregnant with Law’s baby when she broke up with him.

He also dated American model Samantha Burke and they welcomed a baby girl together. After getting separated from Sophia, he dated Catherine Harding and also had his fifth baby, but by that time he was separated from Harding. Now he is with a new girl and his love story goes on!

2. Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson stole the hearts of girls with his cute looks. In a very young age, Pattinson reached great heights of his career and got a wax statue in his name at Madame Tussauds. Yes, girls are gaga for Pattinson, but he is a family guy with a deep commitment to his profession. At the sets of the Twilight movies, he fell in love with his co-star Kristen Stewart. The couple was seen together at various occasions and Pattinson was madly in love with her. However, Stewart betrayed him by having a secret affair with director Rupert Sanders. Some secret photographs revealed Sanders and Stewart’s intimate moments. No one had predicted that Kristen would cheat the innocent Pattinson. Later she released an apology to all those who were hurt because of her behavior: “This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I’m so sorry,” Stewart’s statement read. The post-breakup period was very pathetic for Pattinson, but now he is in a relationship with singer FKA Twigs.

1. James Cameron

If you someone asks you to name the most successful director in the world, whose name will you take? Of course, it’s none other than James Cameron, the winner of the prestigious Oscar award. As everyone knows Cameron is a perfectionist and his films convey that. However, he lacks this perfection when it comes to his personal life. He has been married five times!

Cameron was married to Sharon Williams and got separated in 1984. Later he tied the knot with Gale Anne Hurd (1985–1989), Kathryn Bigelow (1989–1991), Linda Hamilton (1997–1999). Now he is living with his fifth wife Suzy Amis. When his film Titanic was looting the box office all over the world, Cameron’s personal life was looting him of his peace of mind. His then wife Linda Hamilton had filed a divorce during the same time. He had also fallen in love with Suzy Amis by then. “It’s interesting because while he was making ‘Titanic,’ Suzy at that time was the gargoyle on the end of my bed, waiting to swoop in. Now I’m the gargoyle on her bed because for Jim, the one who doesn’t end up with him is always the one he wants. I’m the one who got away, and she has to live with that,” Linda Hamilton was quoted in an interview. Cameron’s workaholic attitude has also been blamed for his disarray.

Sources: Huffingtonpost, Daily mail, Complex, Business Insider, US Magazine