Eddie Murphy dating history: From Whitney Houston to ex-wife Nicole, a look at comedian's love life
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Eddie Murphy, 61, has been a comedy icon for four decades now. Murphy rose to fame through his stand-up comedy, hilarious 'Saturday Night Live' sketches, and movies like 'Trading Places', 'Coming to America', and more. He is also known to have had several relationships throughout his career and has welcomed ten children with different partners.
While Murphy has had many children and a number of romantic partners, he has been legally married only once. Murphy was with his ex-wife Nicole Mitchell Murphy for 13 years before getting divorced in 2006. He has six daughters and four sons and has said that there's no greater joy than fatherhood. "Things happen in cycles, and right now, I'm in a cycle where there's no higher blessing than having a child," he said in January 2020, just months after his son Myles welcomed a daughter, as reported by People Magazine. "There's no sweeter blessing than seeing your grandchild," Murphy added.
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Whitney Houston
Murphy reportedly dated Whitney Houston during the mid-1980s. The singer, who was popularly known by her nickname "The Voice", died in 2012, at the age of 48. Before getting married to Bobby Brown in 1992, Houston is rumored to have dated Murphy, though they never confirmed the rumors, as reported by Metro. However, Robyn Crawford, Houston's closest friend, shared the details of their alleged romance in her memoir, 'A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston'. Crawford wrote that even while being pursued by Brown in 1989, Houston "was more interested in Eddie Murphy, but he was elusive.” Crawford further adds that Houston “lost herself” in the pursuit of the comedian, as reported by People Magazine. Crawford also wrote that Houston received a phone call from Murphy on the morning of her wedding to Brown. "[That day] Eddie Murphy called to say she was making a mistake," Crawford wrote.
Nicole Murphy
Murphy and model Nicole Mitchell's relationship began in 1988, after the pair met at the NAACP Image Awards, where Murphy was nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his work in 'Coming To America'. They started a relationship soon after and lived together for nearly two years before getting married in 1993, as reported by Heavy. They were married for 12 years before Nicole filed for divorce in August 2005, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on April 17, 2006. The couple had five children together, daughters Bria, Shayne, Zola and Bella, as well as son Myles.
Murphy issued a small statement after the divorce saying, “The welfare of our children is our main concern and their best interest is our first priority." In August 2012, Nicole told Radar Online that the two share a good relationship, saying "Eddie and I are friends." She added, "He's my babies' daddy so we speak to each other and have a great relationship and I think that's important when you have children involved. We can be in the same room and hang out, it's all good!"
Paulette McNeely
Little is known about Murphy's relationship with Paulette McNeely. They reportedly started dating sometime in 1989, the year the couple welcomed their son Eric, who is Murphy's oldest child. However, their relationship was shortlived as Bria, Murphy's daughter with Nicole, was born in the same year, according to New York Post.
Tamara Hood Johnson
Murphy and Johnson started dating in 1990 and welcomed their son Christian Murphy in the same year. In 2013, Johnson sued a production company for allegedly stealing the idea for 'Hollywood Exes' from her, as reported by TMZ.
Melanie Brown
Melanie Brown, aka Spice Girl Mel B, met Murphy in 2006 at a Beverly Hills party, following his divorce. Mel claimed that it was "love at first sight" and in her 2018 memoir, wrote, "It was as if a 2,000-volt electric current had passed between us," according to Metro. However, soon after Mel got pregnant, her relationship with Murphy began to unravel. Their daughter Angel was born on April 3, 2007, on Murphy's 46th birthday. Two months after Angel's birth, Mel announced that a DNA test had confirmed that Murphy was the father.
Tracey Edmonds
TV producer Tracey Edmonds and Murphy started dating in the fall of 2006 and got engaged in 2007. The pair got married in January 2008 in a symbolic ceremony on a private French Polynesian island. However, a split was announced just two weeks after their marriage. “After much consideration and discussion, we have jointly decided that we will forego having a legal ceremony as it is not necessary to define our relationship further,” said the announcement, as reported by People Magazine. The statement added, "While the recent symbolic union in Bora Bora was representative of our deep love, friendship and respect that we have for one another on a spiritual level, we have decided to remain friends."
Paige Butcher
Murphy began dating Australian model Paige Butcher in 2012 and they have been together for over a decade now. The pair welcomed their first child together, daughter Izzy Oona, on May 3, 2016. Later in 2018, the couple welcomed their son Max Charles Murphy. It was also the year when Butcher and Murphy announced their engagement, as reported by Hollywood Life. Recently, the couple turned heads with their appearance at the Golden Globes on January 10, 2023.
