Pamela Anderson & Jon Peters: How A 30 Year Friendship Turned into Surprise Marriage
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Pamela Anderson and Jon Peters’ marriage was over 30 years in the making. He’s been in love with her for decades, and she finally realized that her longtime friend was really her true soul mate.
It took over 30 years after first meeting at the Playboy Mansion in the mid 1980’s for Pamela Anderson, 52, to finally fall deeply in love with movie producer friend Jon Peters, 74. She surprised fans by marrying him in a private ceremony in Malibu on Monday, January 20. She had a heartbreaking split from French soccer player Adil Rami in June of 2019 after two years together, calling him a “monster” and implying he cheated on her. Jon finally got his chance, and now he’s won the woman of his dreams.
“After Pam’s relationship [with soccer star Adil Rami] ended she was rock bottom, she came back home to Malibu feeling like she would never love again. She was very, very hurt and felt very betrayed. And Jon, who has been in her life for so many years, was there for her. He helped her pick up the pieces and helped her find her happiness again,” a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY, adding, “Jon has always wanted to marry her. He really has been in love with her all these years, so it’s quite the fairytale and exactly what she needs after so many disastrous relationships.”
Pamela has definitely been unlucky in love. She was married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, 57, for three years, from 1995-1998. They wed after only knowing each other for four days. The union produced two sons, Brandon Thomas Lee, 23, who currently stars on The Hills and is a model and actor, and Dylan Jagger Lee, 22, who is currently one half of the music group Midnight Kids. Their split came after Tommy was arrested for assaulting Pamela. He pleased no contest to domestic abuse and did six months in county jail.
Pam was married to singer Kid Rock, 49, from 2006-2007, after dating on and off since 2001. Their split was pretty ugly, and she went on to marry poker player Rick Solomon not once, but twice. They wed on October 6, 2007 and split in Feb. 2008. Their marriage was annulled after they both cited “fraud.” Yet in Jan. 2014, Pam revealed that she and Rick had married again, though six months later in July 2014, she filed for divorce. In a June 2019 Instagram post, Pam called her two years of living in France with Adil, “A big lie” and he was “leading a double life,” apparently with another woman.
“Obviously things have moved very quickly no one really saw this coming. But it’s very good news and it really makes a lot of sense for Pam. Jon absolutely adores her, there is no hidden agenda. She knows who he is through and through and she can trust him. Pamela is very happy and her loved ones are happy for her. She has everyone’s support. Her boys are very protective of her, but they’ve given this their blessing because they can see how happy Jon is making her,” our insider continues.
“Their friendship turned romantic only a few months ago and as cliché as it sounds, it really all came down to timing. She was finally ready. Jon has wanted to make her his wife since they first met, but the timing just wasn’t right. Jon’s been there for her through thick and has always been in love with her but she just wasn’t open to it,” our source explains.
Jon recalled how he first met Pamela at the Playboy Mansion in the mid 1980’s in a Hollywood Reporter tribute to the late Hugh Hefner, published in 2017. “I walked in and saw this little angel sitting at the bar. It was Pammy. She was like 19. I knew she would be a big star,” he said at the time. “We ended up living together. Of course, Hefner loved her and saw her beauty. Pamela was a girl who with no makeup was gorgeous. She was very smart and very talented.” Jon said he paid for her acting and voice lessons that helped launch her TV career and eventually her star-making role on Baywatch. He told the publication he even proposed to Pamela, but she said no. He recalled telling her at the time, “In 30 years, our age difference won’t mean so much.” Turns out, he was totally right! He told the publication after his wedding to Pamela that, “There are beautiful girls everywhere. I could have my pick, but — for 35 years — I’ve only wanted Pamela. She makes me wild — in a good way.”
Jon was one of Hollywood’s original “bad boys,” but he’s since toned down his life. He was Barbara Streisand‘s hairdresser turned boyfriend and became her business associate as well. Their relationship lasted from 1973-1982. He was credited as a producer on her 1976 remake of A Star is Born. Their romance helped launch his legendary movie producing career, and he gained a reputation as ladies man. While waiting on Pamela, he dated actress Kim Basinger, 66, from 1988 – 1989, model Vendela, 53, from 1992-1995, and Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones in 1996, four years before she married her current husband Michael Douglas, 75. Like Pamela, he also has been married four times. His last union to ex-wife Mindy Peters, 52, was from 2001-2004, so waiting on Pamela for all of these years to become his fifth wife was worth it!
“What changed? She changed. Certain life experiences that she’s been through in the past few years woke her up and made her see what sort of things she really values in a partner. Sometimes the hard things in life are really a blessing, because they make the good things in life stand out. Pamela says she feels like her blinders finally came off and suddenly she was able to see the truth, that her soul mate has been right there this whole time waiting for her,” our insider continues.
“They are madly in love, but it’s a love that has depth. The kind of depth that can only come from a 30-year-friendship. She’s positive Jon is the one she’s meant to spend her life with, so why wait to get married? They’ve already waited 30 years. She’s very proud to be Pamela Peters now, and to be able to finally make John’s dream of marrying her come true,” our source adds. “It doesn’t really get much more romantic than this love story and Pamela’s nothing if not a romantic.”