Brigitte Nielsen’s pregnancy announcement at 54 is just the latest surprise in the star’s rollercoaster life.
The Danish-Italian actress is expecting her fifth child with 39-year-old Italian husband Mattia Dessi. The twohave been been married since July 2006 when they tied the knot in Malta, Italyafter first having an unofficial ceremony in February 2005.
Nielsen has been married five times and is a mom to four sons: Raoul Meyer Jr., 23, Douglas Meyer, 25, Killian Gastineau, 28, and Julian Winding, 34.
After thehighly-publicized split, Nielsen starred inBeverly Cops IIalongside Eddie Murphy before her career began to take a turn. She moved to Rome two years later, earning some attention from the Italian press, but over the next decade, she appeared in nearly a dozen B movies, like976-Evil 2andSnowboardAcademy.She also released three Euro-dance albums during that time.
In the late ’80s, Nielsen began a relationship with NFL star Mark Gastineau of the New York Jets, who left his wife to be the actress. The duo, who were engaged for a short time and had a son Killian, sparked controversy when Gastineau announced his abrupt retirement from football,claiming Nielsen was ill(she told the New York Times she had “cancer of the uterus”).His ex-wife Lisa weighed in to debunk Gastineau’s storyat the time, telling reporters, “She’s not gravely ill.” “He’s using it as an excuse—it’s typical of Mark to exaggerate things,” she claimed. The once beloved football player’s career never recovered.
After splitting with Gastineau, she was married to director and photographer Sebastian Copeland, who’s a cousin to Orlando Bloon, from 1990 – 1992. She then had two sons with her fourth husband Raoul Meyer, Douglas Arron (born in 1993) and Raoul Jr. (born in 1995).
In 2004, Nielsen appeared on VH1’sThe Surreal Life, where she met rapper Flavor Flav. Their romance was documented on the spinoff reality show,Strange Love.
The actress has also admitted to having several alleged affairs with famous men, including director Tony Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sean Penn.
Nielsen entered rehab for alcohol abuse in 2007, telling PEOPLE after her treatment, “I feel like a new-born person. I just came out of rehab. I made a choice about a new life. It’s not been easy but it was definitely time.”
She made her first post-rehab appearance on the Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav, revealing it was the first time she’d been sober on television in three years. She also joined VH1’sCelebrity Rehabin 2008.
Later that same year, Nielsen starred in the German reality showAus alt mach neu,which documented the head-to-toeplastic surgeryshe underwent for nearly three weeks. “A lot of women say, ‘I look good thanks to magic creams,’ but that’s a joke,” she told PEOPLE, explaining why she went public with the surgeries. She later appeared on the cover ofPlayboyfor the first time since 1987.
TheBeverly Hills Cop IIactress also opened up at the time about her years-long battle with alcohol addiction and consequent rehab stay, including how it has affected her parenting.
“I’ve been a bad mum at times – when you take the bottle over your kids, you’re a bad mum,” she said. “But I love them and there has always been a close bond.”
Added Nielsen, “I’ve been affectionate, caring. It’s unfortunate they’ve seen me in a bad way. Butkids are great, they’re themost unconditional, forgiving people.”
Also on Wednesday, she sharedanother bump picture, writing, “Happy time positive vibes.”
source: people.com
