Many were shocked by Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie’s unexpected 1999 marriage, which made headlines.

The couple’s considerable 20-year age difference and the fact that they were both seeing other partners at the time added to the mystery.

Billy Bob’s fiancée, actress Laura Dern, was one of those caught off guard. Laura claims that the news

of her partner’s marriage to Angelina caught her off guard and caused a detour in her relationship plans.

Laura and Billy Bob started dating in 1997, not long after Laura separated from Jeff Goldblum and Billy Bob was still divorcing Pietra Dawn Cherniak,

his fourth wife, according to E! Online. Billy Bob and Angelina met on the set of Pushing Tin in 1999, and two years later they were engaged and getting ready for marriage.

Their brief courtship resulted in an impromptu marriage in Las Vegas in May 2000, which took Laura by surprise.

Laura reflected on the sudden turn of events and said, via InStyle: ‘My boyfriend got married while I was away working on a movie,

and I haven’t heard from him since.’ She was left feeling bewildered and suddenly lost in the situation, with no end in sight.

Billy Bob expressed regret in a 2001 interview, as reported by the Mirror, although never having openly admitted to any crime.

He said, ‘Others may say that you left our girl and married someone else.’ However, it pleased both me and the other person. Sorry if that hurt you.

As Yahoo revealed, Laura and Angelina had previously bonded when Laura babysat Angelina when they were younger, adding a strange turn to the story.

Bruce Dern, Laura’s father, recollected that period. Bruce remarked, alluding to the 1978 film Coming Home,

‘Jon Voight’s a friend of mine, so I remember Laura babysat one night for Angelina when Angelina was 2 and Laura about 8.’

‘They invited [Laura] to come over [to watch Angie] since they were staying at [director] Hal Ashby’s house.’

Laura’s friend Melissa Etheridge provided her with support after they broke up, and she told of assisting Laura move out of their shared house with Billy Bob.

Melissa claimed (via the Sun) in an interview with Andy Cohen on his SiriusFM radio show: ‘I was around when Angelina was not doing nice things with Billy Bob to Laura Dern.’

I experienced that myself before learning about Jennifer and Brad’s other side. I assisted Laura in moving

out of her home with Billy Bob; the place was so filthy that I felt like breaking in to remove their belongings.

Everyone concerned carried on with their lives after that. Laura eventually wed Ben Harper, with whom she had two children. Since then, she has been connected to Baron Davis, a former NBA star.

After Billy Bob and Angelina got divorced in 2002, he stopped dating celebrities out of respect for their privacy.

Later, in an effort to live a more sedate life away from the spotlight, he married a puppeteer in 2014.