A Look Inside Billy Baldwin And Chynna Phillips' Private Marriage

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Despite their fame and instant name recognition, William "Billy" Baldwin and Chynna Phillips may be among the most private marriages in Hollywood. Phillips is the only child of the Mamas & the Papas members John and Michelle Phillips, and, as such, the half-sister of actors Mackenzie and Bijou Phillips. She is also one-third of the pop group Wilson Phillips, a Grammy-nominated band that has been active on and off since 1989. 

Baldwin, meanwhile, is one of the lesser-known Baldwin brothers — the younger brother of actors Alec and Daniel Baldwin, and the elder brother of Stephen Baldwin. Recognized for his leading roles in films such as "Flatliners," "Silver," and "The Squid and the Whale," Billy Baldwin also starred in the Netflix series, "Northern Rescue," in 2019. 

However, many fans of the Baldwin and Phillips clan may wonder what the nearly 30-year-long marriage between Baldwin and Phillips is really like. Well, despite some trials and tribulations over the years, they do seem to be among Hollywood's strongest couples. 

Billy Baldwin and Chynna Phillips first met in 1991 and got married in 1995. They've been together ever since, and over the years they'd had three children together: daughter Jameson in 2000, son Vance in 2001, and daughter Brooke in 2004, per People. But the couple's long-term stability wasn't always guaranteed. Billy Baldwin and Chynna Phillips have been through serious turmoil. 

Per a Hollywood Life article from 2010, Phillips filed for divorce in a Santa Barbara courthouse in February of that year but withdrew the papers only three days later. She told Hollywood Life at the time that as far as she and Billy went, "things have never been better. Sometimes you have to walk through the dark side to get to the light side." She added that they felt like a "brand new refreshed and invigorated couple. There's a lot more excitement and good energy."

The divorce filing occurred around the time Phillips checked herself into a rehabilitation center for anxiety, which may have played a role in her initial decision. And all of this came a few months after her half-sister Mackenzie Phillips publicly alleged that she and their father, Mamas and Papas singer John Phillips, had a years-long "consensual" sexual relationship, which began he raped her while she was unconscious in a hotel room (via ABC News). Mackenzie was 18 at the time. Chynna defended her half-sister, but the shocking admission caused major fractures within the Phillips family. 

In June 2010, Chynna Phillips opened up to Us Weekly about her decision to file divorce papers only a few months prior, in which she basically said that she knew it was a mistake almost instantly. 

"I just felt hopeless," she said of filing the divorce papers, "like there was not going to be the change I was looking for. Trust me, Billy has his own issues too. I'm not the perfect princess here. It's not a one-sided story." However, she added, "the truth is that we love each other so very much. We are best friends." As she put it, "I've learned that my husband is indispensable and that my role as a mother and a wife is absolutely the most important role I will ever play in my life."

In a 2021 interview with Page Six, Phillips reflected on the first time she met her husband, in 1991. Apparently, they were in the airport, boarding the same flight back to New York, and she immediately thought he was "gorgeous" at first sight. "I was smitten," she said. "He asked me out by the time we got to baggage claim." She said after years of marriage it is Baldwin's "stability" that continues to be the foundation of their strong relationship and a key factor to their marriage's longevity.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).