Lauren Holly gained recognition for her portrayal of Director Jenny Shephard on NCIS, but long before she landed the role, the actress had already become a major Hollywood star. Back in 1994, Lauren joined the cast of the comedy classic, Dumb and Dumber, and it was during this time that she met and fell in love with her former husband, Jim Carrey. Keep reading for all the details on their romance…
After meeting on the set of Dumb and Dumber, Lauren and Jim started dating, but in the early days of their relationship, rumours quickly spread that the co-stars had engaged in an extra-marital affair. Months before the couple had crossed paths, Jim was in the process of divorcing his first wife, Melissa Carrey. Speaking to Rolling Stone about the ongoing speculation, in 1995 Lauren said: "They keep calling me a home wrecker. I feel for Melissa, but they were completely apart when Jim and I met."
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Jim also spoke about his relationship with Lauren during the interview, telling Rolling Stone: "I am absolutely head over heels in love right now. It's wonderful. Lauren Holly is absolutely the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth to me right now, and she is brilliant, talented, selfless, caring, loving, the best combination of everything you could ever think of."
The couple eventually tied the knot in September 1996, but after nine months, Lauren filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Despite their decision to split, however, the former spouses have remained friends. "I'm still in touch with Jim. I only have the best memories of working with him because we were boyfriend and girlfriend," Lauren told Closer in 2019. "We just laughed and laughed – he's constant entertainment."
The NCIS actress has also opened up about their divorce. During a 2013 appearance on the George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, Lauren recalled: "When we got divorced, I had a really hard time because no one ever really had the story right and I always felt like everybody knew my personal business, not to mention the fact that I was going through a heartbreak. So, I would go and get a coffee and I would swear the person giving me coffee was like 'ooh so sorry and you're a gold digger' you know, or whatever it was. I would just feel so terrible so that was hard."
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