Courtney Stodden

Courtney Stodden
Stodden in Santa Ana, California for Josway on April 27, 2013
Born	Courtney Alexis Stodden (1994-08-29) August 29, 1994 Tacoma, Washington, United States
Occupation	Model
Years active	2010–present
Known for	Couples Therapy Celebrity Big Brother UK The Mother/Daughter Experiment on Lifetime
Spouse(s)	Doug Hutchison (m. 2011)
Website	Official website

Courtney Alexis Stodden (born August 29, 1994) is an American reality show contestant. In 2011, then 16-year-old Stodden received widespread media attention after marrying then 50-year-old actor Doug Hutchison.

Early life

Courtney Alexis Stodden was born on August 29, 1994, in Tacoma, Washington,^[1] to Alex John Stodden^[2] and Krista Kay Keller Stodden. She is the youngest of three girls.^[2][3] Stodden describes her childhood as "beautiful and fun", stating that she was "extremely spoiled, in a good way".^[4]

Stodden says that she dropped out of high school because she was bullied over "the way she looks",^[5] and continued her education by being home schooled through an online private Christian academy.^[4][5]

Career

Stodden began in the entertainment industry by competing in a beauty pageant, the Miss Teen Washington USA pageant in 2010. She then ventured into modeling. As of 2011, her measurements are listed as 36-23-35, and she is 5 feet, 4 inches (162 cm) in height.^[6] Stodden's mother, Krista Keller, initially served as her manager but Keller quit in the spring of 2015, citing "creative differences".^[7][8] Stodden is currently managed by Hutchison.^[8]

In July 2012, Stodden and Hutchison were interviewed about their relationship on the Fox talk show Father Albert,^[9] in an episode of ABC's Good Morning America,^[10] and E! News.^[1][11]

The couple appeared as cast members in the second season of the VH1 reality television series Couples Therapy, which premiered in October 2012. The series features publicly known couples receiving therapy for relationship problems. According to Stodden, the couple enrolled in therapy in order to resolve issues that arose in their marriage from their age difference.^[12] Despite the criticism leveled at the couple, and her own reservations about the dynamic of their relationship,^[13] Dr. Jenn Berman, the marriage counsellor who worked with the couple during their appearance on the show, stressed that she does not believe that Hutchison is, or was, seeking out young people, saying, "He's not a predator. He's not someone, who if Courtney left him, would be trolling the Internet or high schools for underage girls. That's not his m.o. This is not a guy who was seeking out teenagers. He was teaching a class, she wanted to be an actress, it was an acting class... And that’s how it started."^[14]

Though Berman was eventually surprised by the dynamic between the two, she commented on her initial hesitations about working with the couple, saying, "I believe it was the wrong decision to let a 16-year-old marry a man in his 50s. It’s uncomfortable to see... [at first] I said to my producer, ‘I think this guy is a pedophile...I don’t know if I can work with these people.’ I don’t condone it, but I do see that this is a married couple that is genuinely married and they have marital issues that needed to be worked on. I came in saying, 'She's a victim, he's a predator.' What I found out was that she has a lot more power in this relationship and he is far more powerless than I expected. His family has completely disowned him... He unfortunately has nothing besides her." Hutchison was also defended by Stodden's mother, Krista Keller, who praised Hutchison for the kindness with which he treats Stodden.^[14]

In August 2013, Stodden became a housemate on the twelfth season of the British version of Celebrity Big Brother but was evicted on Day 21, two days before the season finale, after receiving the least amount of votes to save against Carol McGiffin, Louie Spence, Mario Falcone and Vicky Entwistle.^[15]

On March 18, 2014, the video for 50 Cent's "Don't Worry Bout It" was released, featuring a cameo appearance by Stodden.^[16] That August, Stodden appeared in an episode of the Reelz reality television series Hollywood Hillbillies.^[17]

On May 14, 2015, Vivid Entertainment released a solo sex tape created by Stodden. Stodden stated that she would donate what she was paid to charity.^[18]

On August 19, 2015, Rich Kid Mafia (RKM), a Los Angeles-based entertainment company whose primary services include artist management, digital marketing and music production, signed Stodden to an exclusive international management and development deal.^[19]

Personal life

Stodden is a vegetarian, having chosen the diet because she "never felt right eating animals before", and because of lactose intolerance, as she explained in a Couples Therapy bonus clip.^[20][21] She later clarified, when responding to this information in her Wikipedia article in a June 2014 video on The Wow Report that she is not lactose intolerant, and that her empathy with animals was her sole reason for her dietary beliefs.^[22] She began the diet a month prior to filming "Playing By The Rules", an October 2012 episode of Couples Therapy's second season.^[20] Stodden has attempted to follow a vegan diet, but chose instead to follow a vegetarian diet due to fewer food restrictions.^[21] She has promoted the vegetarian lifestyle on PETA's behalf.^[23] In June 2013, Stodden had breast augmentation surgery to increase her breast size from a size C to a size DD.^[24][25]

Relationship with Doug Hutchison

At age 16, the aspiring pop music singer^{[5][26][Note 1]} signed up on the Internet for an acting workshop taught by actor Doug Hutchison,^[5][14] on the recommendation of a friend of her maternal aunt, who worked in Hollywood, and knew Hutchison. Hutchison, who did not realize that she was a teenager, began a courtship with her over the Internet that lasted between four and six months,^{[Note 2]} during which they fell in love before having met in person. After Hutchison became aware of Stodden’s age, he told her mother, Krista, who had monitored their online exchanges, and was aware of their relationship and their age difference, that he would cease his relationship with Stodden if her parents disapproved. Her parents, citing Stodden’s "devout Christianity", allowed her to make her own decision.^[3][5]

On May 20, 2011, Stodden married Hutchison in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[2][5][26] Stodden was his third wife.^[9][27] Their relationship drew controversy and criticism, as Stodden was 16 when she married 51-year-old Hutchison,^[12] who has been labeled a "pedophile"^[28][29] and "predator". It was also reported that Stodden's father was four years younger than his son-in-law Hutchison. According to Hutchison, as a result of his marriage to Stodden, his agent quit, his family disowned him and he received death threats.^[28]

On November 1, 2013, the media reported that Stodden and Hutchison were ending their marriage of two and a half years.^[30] Stodden later told Fox News that their 34-year age gap was a primary contributing factor for their divorce.^[31] In a subsequent interview, Stodden said that the split and impending divorce was amicable, that Hutchison was continuing to co-manage her career, and that the experience of their marriage didn't sour her on older men.^[32] On November 9, 2013, the two signed a legal separation document.^[33] The document said though they confirmed terms of their legal separation, they would continue to live together at their residence.^[33] In August 2014, the couple announced that they had reconciled,^[34] with plans to renew their wedding vows later that year.^[35]

It was announced on May 17, 2016 that the couple was expecting their first child.^[36] In mid July, around three months into her pregnancy, Stodden announced she had suffered a miscarriage.^[37] On May 20, 2016, the pair celebrated their fifth anniversary by renewing their wedding vows.^[38][39]

Discography

Singles

• "Car Candy" (2010)^[5][40]
• "Don't Put It On Me Girl" (2010)^[5]
• "Reality" (2012)^[5]
• "Asphalt" (2016)

Music videos

• "Car Candy" (2010)^[5]
• "Don't Put It On Me Girl" (2010)^[5]
• "Reality" (2012)^[5]

Televison work

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Courtney Stodden.

• Official website
• Courtney Stodden at the Internet Movie Database