Billy Bob Thornton Says Sixth Wife Connie 'Drug Me Out of the Gutter' When They Met 22 Years Ago: 'I Needed Somebody'

Mar. 15, 2025

Billy Bob Thornton and wife Connie Angland on Nov. 12, 2024.Photo:UNIQUE NICOLE/AFP via Getty

UNIQUE NICOLE/AFP via Getty

Billy Bob Thorntoncredits wifeConnie Anglandfor lifting him up when he needed someone most.The actor, who currently stars onthe new seriesLandman, appeared onThe Drew Barrymore Showfor the Tuesday, Nov. 19 episode, at one point recalling how he met his wife.Thornton has been with Angland for 22 years, married for 10 of those, and they share daughter Bella, now 20. (He’salso dad to Amanda, William and Harryfrom previous relationships.)He and Angland met on the set of his 2003 comedyBad Santa, he recalled, at a time “when I needed somebody to meet me, because I was going through kind of a lost weekend, you know what I mean?“Host Barrymore, 49, replied, “I spent like two decades in a ‘lost weekend.’ I totally understand. Maybe three.“Connie Angland and Billy Bob Thornton on July 13, 2022.David Livingston/WireImage"Well, her sister Carrie was a makeup artist onBad Santa, and she said, ‘My sister’s gonna visit, and I got a feeling that you’re really gonna like her.' And, sure enough, I did. And we were together within probably a couple of months maybe. Yeah, she kind of drug me out of the gutter, which was awesome.“He added with a laugh, “We’ve been together longer than if you totaled up all the other five [marriages], it’s more time….“Thornton was previously married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams, Pietra Dawn Cherniak, andAngelina Jolie. He was also previously engaged toLaura Dernin the late ’90s.Billy Bob Thornton and Connie Angland on May 19, 2004.Pascal Le Segretain/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“You wanna hear something that really freaked me out? Because it’s six for me,” he said to Barrymore. “So one time, I don’t know how I got there, but you know when you go on the internet to look something up and then it leads you to like a bunch of other stuff and you don’t really wanna look at it, but you do anyway?“He continued, “So I’m looking at it one day and they had the people with the most marriages in Hollywood. And I was the only person who was alive on it.It had, like, Mickey Rooneyand Elizabeth Taylor and all these people— I mean, people from like, you know, that started in the ’30s!” (Taylor, who died in 2011 at age 79, and Rooney, who died in 2014 at age 93, both got married eight times.)The Drew Barrymore Showairs weekdays (check local listings).Landmanis streaming exclusively onParamount+.

Billy Bob Thorntoncredits wifeConnie Anglandfor lifting him up when he needed someone most.

The actor, who currently stars onthe new seriesLandman, appeared onThe Drew Barrymore Showfor the Tuesday, Nov. 19 episode, at one point recalling how he met his wife.

Thornton has been with Angland for 22 years, married for 10 of those, and they share daughter Bella, now 20. (He’salso dad to Amanda, William and Harryfrom previous relationships.)

He and Angland met on the set of his 2003 comedyBad Santa, he recalled, at a time “when I needed somebody to meet me, because I was going through kind of a lost weekend, you know what I mean?”

Host Barrymore, 49, replied, “I spent like two decades in a ‘lost weekend.’ I totally understand. Maybe three.”

Connie Angland and Billy Bob Thornton on July 13, 2022.David Livingston/WireImage

“Well, her sister Carrie was a makeup artist onBad Santa, and she said, ‘My sister’s gonna visit, and I got a feeling that you’re really gonna like her.' And, sure enough, I did. And we were together within probably a couple of months maybe. Yeah, she kind of drug me out of the gutter, which was awesome.”

He added with a laugh, “We’ve been together longer than if you totaled up all the other five [marriages], it’s more time….”

Thornton was previously married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams, Pietra Dawn Cherniak, andAngelina Jolie. He was also previously engaged toLaura Dernin the late ’90s.

Billy Bob Thornton and Connie Angland on May 19, 2004.Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“You wanna hear something that really freaked me out? Because it’s six for me,” he said to Barrymore. “So one time, I don’t know how I got there, but you know when you go on the internet to look something up and then it leads you to like a bunch of other stuff and you don’t really wanna look at it, but you do anyway?”

He continued, “So I’m looking at it one day and they had the people with the most marriages in Hollywood. And I was the only person who was alive on it.It had, like, Mickey Rooneyand Elizabeth Taylor and all these people— I mean, people from like, you know, that started in the ’30s!” (Taylor, who died in 2011 at age 79, and Rooney, who died in 2014 at age 93, both got married eight times.)

The Drew Barrymore Showairs weekdays (check local listings).Landmanis streaming exclusively onParamount+.

source: people.com