What Jim Carrey's Exes Have Said About Him

Although best-known on screen for his rubber-faced comedic performances in the likes of "Dumb and Dumber," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "Bruce Almighty," Jim Carrey is best-known off screen for his turbulent love life.

The Canadian-American was more than happy to dish the dirt himself in 2018 book "Memoirs and Misinformation," opening up (via New Zealand Herald) about his pre-fame fling with Linda Ronstadt ("It may have seemed like some ... boy-toy kind of situation to some people looking at it from the outside but she treated me with incredible respect") and his more high-profile romance with Renee Zellweger ("the great love of my life").

But what have Carrey's exes said about their time with the Hollywood funnyman? Well, the likes of January Jones, Anine Bing and the aforementioned Ronstadt don't appear to have said anything at all. But from waitresses and make-up artists to former co-stars and Playboy playmates, here's a look at seven who have.

Jim Carrey met his first wife, and the mother of his only child Jane, Melissa Womer, at the Comedy Store. She was a waitress while he was a performer — the star would regularly strip naked on stage except for a sock covering his manhood, a la the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The pair walked down the aisle in 1987, but sadly headed for the divorce court eight years later. Soon after, Womer told Rolling Stone that her husband was an "extremely depressive person" who she'd often have to "sit up counseling him through it until four or five in the morning on many, many nights."

In the end, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" proved to be their ultimate downfall. "I yelled and screamed a lot," Womer admitted, referring to the late-night conversations they'd have during its filming, adding, "I have my problems." And she also argued that being a leading man in a major Hollywood movie completely changed her husband's belief in commitment: "The day he first walked on that set as Mr. Carrey, he decided he wanted to enjoy success from the perspective of a single man."

It's not clear exactly what the nature of Courteney Cox and Jim Carrey's relationship was. But the fact that she completely dodged a question about a possible romance during an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" suggests that the pair were more than just one-time colleagues.

Cox, who was joined by her former "Friends" castmates Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston at the time, admitted to having a crush on her "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" co-star in the interview. But she suddenly became all coy when asked whether she and Carrey ever became more than just friends: "I don't ... I'm going to go the bathroom," she replied (via People).

The actor, who played Melissa Robinson in the comedy that launched Carrey to worldwide fame, did, however, have no qualms about singing his praises: "He was so funny; it was just about cracking up all the time. I remember when we first rehearsed, he was just playing it straighter. And then he turned it on when we started filming and I thought, 'Oh my God, he's the funniest person.'"

Lauren Holly, who met Jim Carrey on the set of 1994 comedy "Dumb and Dumber" before walking down the aisle with him two years later, has been one of the exes most vocal about her time with the funnyman. Luckily, for the comedian, most of what she's said has been positive.

In 2019, Holly told Closer that despite filing for divorce just nine months after tying the knot, she has maintained a good relationship with Carrey: "I'm still in touch with Jim. I only have the best memories of working with him because we were boyfriend and girlfriend. We just laughed and laughed — he's constant entertainment."

However, while appearing on "George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight" six years earlier, Holly hinted that the press stories surrounding their split weren't exactly the whole truth: "I always felt like everybody knew my personal business, not to mention the fact that I was going through a heartbreak. So, I would go and get a coffee and I would swear the person giving me coffee was like, 'Ooh so sorry, and you're a gold digger,' you know, or whatever it was. I would just feel so terrible so that was hard."

British actor Charlotte Lewis is perhaps best-known for playing young Tibetan princess Kee Nang in 1986 Eddie Murphy flick "The Golden Child." But she also became a tabloid fixture back in the 1990s thanks to her romances with several high-profile figures, including Mick Jagger, Dodi Fayed, and Jim Carrey.

Lewis, who took a 16-year break from the industry before making her comeback in 2019 neo-noir "Lost Angelas," reportedly began dating Carrey around the turn of the century, a period in which the funnyman was also said to have courted future "Mad Men" actor January Jones and his "The Majestic" co-star Laurie Holden.

But while Jones and Holden have kept schtum about any dalliances with Carrey, Lewis was happy to confirm that she did indeed briefly go out with the comic during a candid 1999 interview with News of the World (via La Règle du jeu). "He was kind, charismatic, funny and unbelievably gorgeous," the Londoner remarked, before confirming that their relationship never went to the next level: "But I wouldn't sleep with him."

During a 2020 appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," Jim Carrey declared his "Me, Myself and Irene" co-star Renee Zellweger the "great love of [his] life" (via Us Weekly). But how does the Academy Award winner, who dated the funnyman for a year at the turn of the century, feel about him?

Well, like many of Carrey's exes, she's remained fairly tight-lipped about her time with the comic. However, in a 2003 chat with Cosmopolitan, she did refute the rumors that they were ever engaged: "The English papers wrote that I was proposed to in a West End restaurant with a ring, and they included the size and cost of the ring. But it was all made up. ... I'd only been dating him for three months. As if I would consider marriage after only three months!"

Zellweger then got a little cryptic, revealing that she's still best friends with one of her unnamed exes. Could this have been Carrey? Or could she have been referring to the star when asked about her ultimate icks? Her answers: "To be dismissive of my dog [Woofer, a collie-golden retriever mix]. If she has to be sent away from the table, well, then he can't be across the table ... If he's disrespectful of the waiter or the busboy, because it clearly means that his kindness is conditional and he divvies it up when it serves him to be nice."

Jim Carrey spent the second half of the 2000s playing happy family with former Playboy favorite Jenny McCarthy. But two years after their split, the latter revealed that the funnyman had completely abandoned her then-10-year-old autistic son Evan from her marriage to John Mallory Asher.

During an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2012, McCarthy revealed (via Daily Mail) that Evan still asked about Carrey on a weekly basis, and despite numerous requests, the "Man on the Moon" star had failed to get back in touch: "I tell [Evan] that someday you'll cross paths, meet again. It's hard. He's been in therapy. It's a process, he's working on it."

A clearly emotional McCarthy also revealed that despite Carrey's lack of interest, she still holds a torch for him: "I think that sometimes people need to take a real break from each other. ... But I still love him. I think you can love people from a distance and respect him. But as a mother, you just hope when you have a relationship with someone, it has nothing to do with the child when you break up."

Two years after calling Jim Carrey out for ignoring her autistic son Evan in the wake of their break-up, Jenny McCarthy appeared to confirm that all was forgiven. Indeed, the "Singled Out" host leapt to the defense of her ex-boyfriend in 2014 after Shia LaBeouf attempted to shame him for his apparent lack of concern.

The drama began when Carrey made a rather innocuous jibe about LaBeouf at the Golden Globes, with the latter responding on Twitter (via E! News), "At least I don't get arrested for indecency on major LA highways! Or abandon love child's." While hosting "The View," McCarthy argued that the "Transformers" star was way out of line: "Jim and I have become friends now since our breakup. We dated for five years and I got to know his daughter, Jane, who is a lovely, lovely girl. It's completely uncalled for and wrong. Jim is a great father" (via Mirror).

In fact, the pair are now so cordial that it's apparently caused problems in McCarthy's marriage. Radar Online reported that New Kids on the Block star Donnie Wahlberg is irritated by the amount of time that his wife spends on the phone with Carrey.

In 2015, Cathriona White, a make-up artist who'd been dating Jim Carrey on and off for three years, took her own life via prescription drug overdose. And the damaging claims she made about the Hollywood star in her suicide note changed the public's perception of him forever.

"Before you, I might not have had very much but I had respect, I was a happy person," White wrote (via Mirror). "I loved life, I was confident and I felt good in my skin and was proud of most decisions I made, I met you, you introduced me to cocaine, prostitutes, mental abuse and disease." The latter was referring to the various STDs she believed had been contracted during her time with Carrey.

White went on to add, "I was promised Jekyll and instead I got Hyde. Because I love you I would have stuck out Hyde all year and done everything he wanted to be with Jekyll for five of those but you threw me away when you absorbed anything worthwhile that was left of me." Both White's husband and mother filed wrongful death lawsuits against "The Truman Show" star, both of which were dismissed in 2018.