Dark Details You May Not Remember About O.J. Simpson & Nicole Brown's Relationship
From star-studded romance to grisly double murder, O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown's tumultuous relationship has notoriously captivated the public for decades. Before Brown was found stabbed to death alongside her friend Ron Goldman at her Los Angeles home in 1994, she had a whirlwind romance with the former football star. While the former spouses were known for their socialite status and celebrity "it factor," a far more grim story was playing out behind the scenes.
Several domestic abuse allegations against Simpson and reports of his nasty temper made him an easy target as suspect No. 1 in Brown and Goldman's double murder. After a high-speed chase on the San Diego freeway, the former NFL star was taken into custody, and "The Trial of the Century" was set to begin. In the most-watched trial of its time, the entire world watched as Simpson's team of lawyers managed to cast enough doubt on the jury. The defense, also dubbed the "Dream Team," relied on racist Los Angeles cops and the famous "If the glove don't fit, you must acquit" rhyme to sway the jurors in their favor. Ultimately, Simpson was acquitted of all charges.
The Juice died in April 2024 after a battle with prostate cancer, leaving a question mark on the 1994 double murder that many feel will never be answered. He and Brown's former relationship continues to be analyzed by those who don't feel justice was served on the day of Simpson's acquittal. Here's a look at all the dark details you didn't know about O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown's relationship.
Nicole Brown was unimpressed with O.J. Simpson's impressive football career
Nicole Brown was just 18 years old when she met her husband, O.J. Simpson, and she had no idea about his famous football career. Brown was working as a waitress in Beverly Hills when Simpson swept her off her feet and into a tabloid-filled media frenzy of a relationship. His star power was already solidified as a Heisman Trophy winner, but Brown couldn't care less.
Former New York nightclub owner Michael R. Militello was one of Simpson's former best friends, and he was there when the former football star laid eyes on the young waitress. "She came up to our table — this bright, smart and funny girl," Militello told The Buffalo News. "She wasn't at all impressed by O.J. being a football star because she didn't follow sports. But they fell in love, almost immediately."
A large age difference stood between them, with Simpson being 11 years Brown's senior, but their instant connection seemed to override any obstacles. Simpson recalled meeting his ex-wife at a Los Angeles restaurant in an interview with TMZ, saying, "When we walked in this vision turned to me and said 'Where do you want to sit?'" Not long after running into her a second time at the restaurant, Simpson and Brown's relationship began.
O.J. Simpson started dating Brown while he was still married
O.J. Simpson may have had his eye on the stunning blond waitress who served him in Los Angeles, but he wasn't exactly a single man at the time. The former Buffalo Bills player was still married to his ex-wife Marguerite Whitley, who he studied with in high school. The two tied the knot in 1967 and shared three children, Arnelle, Jason, and Aaren (the latter died before his second birthday in a drowning accident).
Their marriage began to crumble as Simpson shot to fame with his impressive NFL career, and the two ultimately called it quits in 1979. "There were times in our marriage as in all young couples, we were both bullheaded," Whitley told Barbara Walters in 1995 (via StyleCaster). "We were testing the ground with each other. We had young children. We had an amount of money that no one told us how to invest it. There was an immaturity on our part."
Usher in Nicole Brown, who met Simpson when his divorce had not yet been finalized. "Before it went to a point, I had to explain to her that I was married," Simpson told Fox. "But I wasn't married, it sounded like a lie," he said, adding, "After we talked I think she believed me and we were together ever since." The Juice and Whitley finalized their divorce in 1979, two years after he met Brown.
Brown kept a diary of O.J. Simpson's abuse
Nicole Brown documented 17 years of abuse claims at the hands of O.J. Simpson, according to her diary. Personal accounts of at least 60 alleged beatings by her ex-husband were later recovered, with Brown claiming that she was first physically assaulted by her then-husband in 1978.
Brown's harrowing journal entries paint a picture of a battered woman fighting for her life. "1st time he beat me up after Louis + Nanie Mary anniversary party. Started on the street corner of NYC 5th Ave at about 9," she wrote in one diary entry (via The Sun). "Threw me on the floor, hit me, kicked me. we went to the hotel where he continued to beat me for hours and I continued crawling for the door." In another retelling, she claimed, "O.J. threw me against walls in our hotel and on the floor," adding, "Put bruises on my arms and back. The window scarred me — thought he'd throw me out."
Nearly two decades of abuse were detailed in Brown's chilling diary, including her decisions to fake biking accidents to hide the true nature of her injuries. In one instance, Brown recalls being two months pregnant with their son Justin when Simpson allegedly called her a "fat pig," pointed a gun at her, and demanded she get an abortion. The diary entries were not included as evidence in the trial as the out-of-court statements were ruled inadmissible as hearsay concerning the 1994 double murder.
Cops were called to Brown and Simpson's house multiple times during their relationship
Nicole Brown called 911 multiple times while living with O.J. Simpson, but little was ever done about her numerous claims of domestic abuse. According to police reports obtained by The Los Angeles Times, Brown hid in the bushes outside her and Simpson's former home in 1989 while she begged officers to do something about the football star's pattern of violent behavior.
"You guys never do anything," Brown told officers at the time (per E! News). "You never do anything. You come out. You've been here eight times. And you never do anything about him." Simpson was arrested over the incident, with documents reporting that he had punched, kicked, and slapped his wife; his slap reportedly left a hand-print mark on her face. The former San Francisco 49ers player tried his best to prevent officers from intervening. Documents from the incident quoted him telling police officers, "The police have been out here eight times before, and now you're going to arrest me for this? This is a family matter. Why do you want to make a big deal out of it when we can handle it?"
Simpson ultimately pleaded no contest to spousal battery charges but was given unprecedented leeway at his sentencing. The former NFL star was given zero jail time and was instead required to complete a year-long treatment program for abusive husbands. Simpson hand-picked his counselor at the time and received his therapy sessions over the phone, to the dismay of the prosecutorial team.
Brown reportedly had an affair with Simpson's best friend
Nicole Brown claimed to have had an affair with O.J. Simpson's former friend Marcus Allen, resulting in a he-said-she-said controversy that has since made its way to the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Brown wrote in her diary about seeing the former football star after her and Simpson's divorce while Allen was married to his then-wife, Kathryn Edwards. [Marcus makes me feel] beautiful and sexy and smart" she wrote in her diary (via Daily Mail), later adding, "I wasn't married — should have thought about Kathryn."
Allen denied Brown's claims, testifying that he never had a sexual relationship with Simpson's ex-wife. But "RHOBH" star Faye Resnick stood by her former friend's account in her 1994 tell-all "Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted." In the book, she wrote (per Us Weekly), "Nicole told me O.J. threatened her, saying 'If you're ever with Marcus again, I'll ... I don't know what I'll do, but it will be bad. I won't be able to control myself." Brown's father disputed those claims in an interview with The Los Angeles Times, however, saying his daughter "wasn't that close to Nicole" calling Resnick's claims "misinformation."
Resnick and Edwards bumped into each other during Season 6 of the "RHOBH," with Edwards admitting, "In the book she referenced me and said that I was just some kind of 'turn the blind eye, look the other way' kind of wife. There's a lot of things you can say about me. That is not one of them."
O.J. Simpson cheated on Nicole Brown
O.J. Simpson was anything but the ideal husband. The father of five opened up about some of his past regrets in the documentary "O.J. In His Own Words," which was released in 2014 by his former manager, Norman Pardo.
"I was unfaithful to both of my wives, and it's what I've regretted most in my life," he says during the film (per Daily Mail). While Simpson didn't go into details, it's reported that his year-long affair with model Tawny Kitaen led to Nicole Brown's decision to file for divorce in 1992. Robin Greer, a former friend of Brown's, witnessed the affair firsthand, and she recalled the details in the documentary "OJ: Made in America." In the film, she said (via Daily Mail), "[Nicole] knew he had affairs and it drove her crazy." She also added, "He was pretty darn brazen. He blamed his affair with Tawny Kitaen on the fact that Nicole got fat when she was pregnant and he didn't want to have sex with her." Greer also claimed that Simpson made sexual advances at her as well, though she refused his attempts.
Simpson's wandering eye caused a strain in their relationship even before the two walked down the aisle. A former friend of Simpson, Thomas McCollum III, witnessed the football star's unfaithfulness in the late 80s. "He went out of his way to almost rub it in her face. We'd be in Las Vegas at a show and he'd be holding hands with another woman," he said in "OJ: Made in America."
Brown claimed Simpson was 'stalking' her after she filed for divorce
Seven years after they said "I Do," Nicole Brown filed for divorce from O.J. Simpson in 1992. While their love story may have ended on paper, Simpson's jealous temper remained. While Brown had moved out of her and the football star's Los Angeles home and into a Brentwood mansion, her problems involving her ex-husband didn't disappear. Several witnesses claim to have seen The Juice peering inside the window of her Brentwood home after their breakup in a complete invasion of privacy.
According to Jeffrey Toobin's 1996 book "The Run of His Life" (per E! News), a journal entry written by Brown painted a picture of Simpson's alleged unyielding control of her life. "You hang up on me last nite, you're gonna pay for this b*tch...You think you can do any f–king thing you want, you've got it comming [sic]..." she wrote in her diary in June of 1994.
Brown attempted her ex-husband's advances by seeking help at a battered women's shelter. She called a Santa Monica center to complain about her ex-husband's alleged stalking that same month, but she was found killed just five days later. Brown's sister, Tanya, says her sister may have kept a journal because she predicted the end of her relationship with Simpson could be deadly. In the documentary "OJ and Nicole: An American Tragedy" (per The Sun), she said, "Maybe subconsciously she knew something was going to happen. Maybe that's why she kept real detailed diary entries."
Brown tried to get Simpson back after filing for divorce
Even after years of abuse that she claims she suffered at the hands of her ex-husband, Nicole Brown was still willing to give him another chance. While the mother of two filed for divorce from Simpson in 1992, a recovered letter shows she may have regretted that decision.
In the "OJ and Nicole: An American Tragedy" documentary, Brown's sister Tanya reads the letter written to the former NFL star by his ex-wife. "I want to put our family back together! I want our kids to grow up with their parents. I thought I'd be happy raising Sydney & Justin by myself — since we didn't see too much of you anyway," Tanya read (per Daily Mail). "I want to be with you! I want to love you and cherish you, and make you smile," she added.
Despite a finalized divorce, group therapy, and what her former friends claim was a new Brown emerging post-Simpson, the former model still had eyes for her ex-husband. "She called me up and said, 'I want my husband back,'" a friend told The Los Angeles Times in 1994. The pair began an on-again-off-again reconciliation after their divorce, fueled with volatility and toxicity. In a 911 phone call from 1993, Brown said, "He broke the back door down to get in," adding, He's f—— going nuts. . . . He's going to beat the s— out of me." Brown told officers on the call that Simpson was triggered after going through photos of her with an ex-boyfriend.
Simpson claimed his ex-wife's bruises were due to makeup
Before O.J. Simpson's civil trial for the murders of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown, the former NFL star underwent 13 days worth of deposition. In since-released tapes of Simpson with attorney Daniel Petrocelli, the father of five made some shocking statements about his slain ex-wife.
When Simpson was shown photos of Brown with a cut lip and visible bruises, the NFL star denied ever physically assaulting his ex-wife. He even claimed that the "bruises" Petrocelli was showing him weren't bruises at all. "You don't see anything?" the attorney asks Simpson (per ABC News), to which he replies, "No, I mean, I see this eye thing." When Petrocelli asked Simpson where the marks on Brown's face came from, he replied, "It reflects doing a movie that we're doing and we're doing make-up."
Simpson ultimately confessed to being physically violent with his wife during the questioning. "I think any marks that's on her, I take full responsibility for. I don't know what else you want to do. I take total responsibility," he stated, responding "Yes" when asked if he had hit or bruised Brown in the past. The former Buffalo Bills player claimed he was physical with his ex-wife only once, despite her numerous contradicting statements. "I've—all my life with Nicole, no matter what was going on, I handled it without being physical with her," Simpson said in the pre-trial deposition. "And that time I got physical with her and I'm ashamed of it. I wish it not had happened."