How it Ended

Their relationship ended abruptly and shocked in 1999 when Thornton left Dern to marry Angelina Jolie upon his return from filming. Dern later spoke publicly about how she was blindsided, claiming she went away to film a project and returned to find Thornton had moved on without warning.

The sudden breakup made headlines, and Dern described the experience as a painful betrayal. Thornton and Jolie quickly married, leaving Dern heartbroken and sparking public curiosity about what had gone wrong in their seemingly strong relationship.