‘Final 24': Nicole Brown Simpson and OJ Simpson shared a ‘passionate, obsessive' love, only to end in tragedy
Nicole Brown Simpson is known for her tragic death more than her life, but who was she when she was alive and what was the relationship with OJ Simpson like? Born on May 19, 1959, in Frankfurt, West Germany, she was brought up by a German mother and an American father. In her earlier years, the family moved to the US where she studied and graduated in 1977.
Reflecting on her earlier life, teacher Bill Prestridge told the Times, "Nicole was bubbly, always happy and smiling," and added that she seemed eager to start life beyond school "and go on to bigger and better things." Nicole worked for two weeks at a clothing boutique before getting a job at Daisy, a Beverly Hills private club.
Brown was barely 18 years old when OJ Simpson first locked eyes with her while she was working as a waitress. Simpson had been married to his first wife, Marguerite, for 10 years at that time. Nicknamed "the Juice", OJ was a pretty famous football running back, broadcaster and actor. Despite his marital status, the two started dating. A few months later, she moved in with him and dropped out of school, because OJ "required that she be with him," Nicole later stated in divorce papers.
Four years later, OJ divorced his first wife, Marguerite, with whom he had three kids, Arnelle, Jason and Aaren. Their daughter, Aaren drowned in the family's swimming pool in August 1979. In the year 1985, Simpson and Brown got hitched in the backyard of the Rockingham estate, five years after his retirement from professional football.
Describing the relationship, Cathy Lee Crosby — who had been close to OJ for 15 years and had spent time with the couple — told LA Times that it was "passionate, volatile, obsessive," on both sides. Kris Jenner wrote in her 2011 memoir, 'Kris Jenner...and All Things Kardashian', that Nicole "had really fallen for OJ by then," Kris also said, "The two of them were madly in love and had this obvious chemistry that you could feel when you were in the same room with them...they absolutely could not keep their hands off each other. He was already incredibly possessive of Nicole. Even when she would go to the bathroom, OJ would wonder out loud when she was going to come back."
The couple had two children, Sydney and Justin, and the marriage lasted seven years. Her trophy wife image concealed the serious domestic violence through all the years even though she was allegedly investigated multiple times by the police for domestic violence and pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989. Even though their friends remember the couple as "fun, frequently hosting parties," a close friend of Nicole told the LA Times after her death, "The truth is, no one really knew her during her marriage," and added, "She was never free to be herself or have friends. She wasn't available for that kind of intimacy."
In 1992, Brown filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. But later, the couple got back together. A close friend of Nicole told the Times, "She called me up and said, 'I want my husband back.'" But, by 1993, things took a violent turn. Brown called 9-1-1 on October 25, 1993, crying and her shaky voice could be heard saying, "He [Simpson] is going to beat the shit out of me. Could you just send somebody over here? He's f**king going nuts." After that incident, the relationship ended for the second time, only to be shrouded with tragedy forever.
One Sunday evening in 1994, Brown was stabbed seven times to death at the age of 35 outside her home along with her 25-year-old restaurant waiter-friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was taken into a trial for both the murders. After nine months, he was acquitted in October 1995. Brown is buried in Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California. Remembering her, a friend told CNN, "She was nothing but a woman who put other people in front of herself," adding, "She cared so much about her kids, Sydney and Justin, and her family. She was such a warm woman."
‘Final 24’ airs every Wednesday at 9 pm ET on AXS TV. More weekly episodes will feature the lives of several other iconic celebrities like Jim Morrison, Tupac, John Belushi and more.