The Shady Side Of Katharine McPhee
American Idol alum Katharine McPhee has had one of the most successful careers of all the show's contestants. Despite coming in second place on the series' fifth season in 2006, she was able to smoothly transition to acting and land starring roles in two big network TV shows, namely 2012's Smash and 2014's Scorpion. But despite reaching her career goals, she has been unable to stay out of the headlines... for all the wrong reasons. Here's everything you need to know about Katharine McPhee's shady side.
She had an affair with her married director
Despite being married to producer Nick Cokas since 2008, Katharine McPhee was spotted smooching another man in 2013. But it wasn't just any man: It was her Smash director, Michael Morris, who himself was married to actress Mary McCormack at the time. The 29-year-old was caught in the adulterous act, which took place outside I Panini Di Ambra in Hollywood, by paparazzi who photographed her kissing her colleague after having had lunch with him inside. As E! News observed, McPhee did not seem to be wearing her wedding ring.
She was allegedly already separated from her husband
After news of her infidelity made headlines, the American Idol runner-up was caught in the middle of a media frenzy, but according to Us magazine, what outsiders didn't know was that she had already been separated from her hubby for "at least six months." Speaking with the outlet, an unnamed source appeared to try to justify the infidelity, saying that McPhee had already split from her husband of five years and that she had "had friends living with her for months." Another source was quoted as adding that "she is SO embarrassed she was caught. She should have known better!"
But then was snapped trying to make it work
Nine months after McPhee was first photographed being unfaithful to her husband, she and Nick Cokas were spotted out together in an apparent effort to try to make their marriage work. The pair was caught by paparazzi walking their three dogs in Los Angeles and appeared to be on good terms, smiling and even taking a coffee break together at Tiago Café. E! News reached out to the actress' rep for comment about the public outing, a first in five months, but received no answer. An anonymous source, however, confirmed that the couple was indeed trying to mend their broken relationship.
Her divorce was finalized two years later
Despite being photographed spending time with her estranged hubby in March 2014, McPhee's marriage was officially over in February 2016. Two years after her cheating scandal first broke, the couple's divorce was finalized and McPhee was ordered to pay her former partner substantial spousal support.
As TMZ reported, the actress claimed that her separation took place in March 2013, but her soon-to-be ex argued it had actually been much later, citing May 2014. The court ended up siding with Corkas, which resulted in the actress having to pay him 50 percent of all the income she made during their time together. This included half of her earnings from Smash, as well as "income from her music rights on all songs made during their marriage, which includes some still unreleased songs."
What's more, the outlet reported that "her $700k contract with Columbia/Epic Records is also getting split down the middle" and while she got to keep a 2012 Mercedes Benz M Class SUV, Corkas walked away with a 2013 Jeep Wrangler.
She dated and split from another co-worker
McPhee continued her pattern of dating co-workers when she and fellow Scorpion actor Elyes Gabel became an item after meeting on set. Their personal relationship first went public when they were seen kissing in August 2014, nearly two years before her divorce from Corkas was finalized. However, the romance wasn't meant to be and the pair called it quits in July 2016 with one source telling Entertainment Tonight, "Elyes is a great guy, but they had their issues, like any couple does. They split on good terms."
She was quoted as saying she had "no regrets" about her past
In August 2016, McPhee sat down for an in-depth interview with Ocean Drive and, in addition to talking about her career, she was asked about her personal life. When journalist Jared Shapiro stated, "You've had quite a journey," the entertainer confessed, "I got married really young, and then divorced, and in the last couple of years, I felt like, 'Wow, this is what I should have been doing when I was 20 instead of planning a wedding.' But I don't have any regrets. All of the choices I made I learned from in a really deep way."
As soon as the cover story ran, outlets began reporting on it, isolating her quote to mean that she had no regrets about her cheating scandal. From the New York Daily News to Page Six to Fox News, everyone seemed to believe that "Katharine McPhee has 'no regrets' over cheating on husband with married man."
She slammed the story
McPhee refused to be portrayed as having "no regrets" about her failed marriage and immediately took to Twitter to set the record straight. "For those who can't take words at the their meaning and need to add meaning for the sake of your headlines.... Let me clarify once more," she wrote, "In the @OceanDriveMag article the "no regrets" comment is clearly referring to having "no regrets" marrying the wonderful man I did marry." She went on to single out some of the media outlets in question, adding, "Anything that is being suggested otherwise is mean spirited & full of lies. I hope ur headlines were worth it. @FoxNews @nypost @NYDailyNews."
She's reportedly dating someone twice her age
McPhee's newest relationship is once again making headlines, but this time, it's because the 33-year-old is allegedly dating someone three decades older than her: 68-year-old music producer David Foster. "We're very close friends, and we've been friends for a long time," the actress told Health magazine in 2017, playing coy. "I'm really, really fond of him, and I think he's an incredible person. I've known him since I was 21 years old, you know?" she added. "He produced my first single. So he's been really good to me. People can say whatever they want."
The pair were first photographed having a seemingly romantic dinner at Nobu in Malibu in May 2017, then began being spotted together more and more regularly. McPhee isn't kissing and telling, though, despite David's daughter Erin posting a Snap of the couple, which she cheekily captioned, "Excited about my new stepmom."
"I'm pretty single," McPhee concluded in her interview. "I had a relationship with my lead actor on my show [Elyes Gabel] that was almost two years... It's definitely not the easiest thing to get over someone you see every day! It's still an adjustment. But I haven't had anything super serious since."
She was at the center of a nude photo hacking scandal
In August 2017, McPhee was one of a number of celebrities affected by a nude photo leak. After her phone got hacked, X-rated photos of McPhee appeared online and she wasted no time firing back. "The photos that are mine I am not ashamed of. I love my body and they were taken for a man I was deeply in love with, or for no one but myself," she told People. "But what is also truly disgusting is that these sites include photos that do not belong to me, and are not of my body, and I've learned this happens continually."
"These sites, which TMZ (thank you so much) brings more light and attention to by calling them out by name (shame on you), should be shut down. Period. The end," she continued. "Even if you aren't the one hacking, if you have taken stolen photos and put them on your site, you are an accessory and should be shut down. Laws need to be changed. No one deserves this kind of intrusion," she concluded.
She crashed a wedding, got kicked out and dissed the bride
McPhee cannot seem to stay away from controversy! In December 2017, she and a close Hollywood friend, movie producer Hilary Shor, crashed a wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and when they were asked to leave (by the bride, no less!), they made quite the huff on social media.
As Page Six reported, Shor took to Instagram to call out the bride in a series of videos, dubbing her a "loser" and a "bride bitch." McPhee appeared in one clip, asking, "What bride does her own wedding security? If you're doing your own security, you have a problem." In another, her friend declared, "She could have had a Page Six, New York Post [article] of us coming and dancing the night away... That bride voted for Trump I can feel it. She should be so lucky to dance with me, I got moves."
Little did they know, they did in fact become a Page Six story, but for different reasons. After the outlet reached out to Shor for comment, she quickly made her account private and claimed, "Katherine did not say anything like that. Do not run that, it's not true."