Whatever Happened To Courtney Stodden After Their Shocking Marriage To Doug Hutchison?

The following article includes mention of a predatory relationship, sexual assault, and suicide. 

Doug Hutchison shocked the world when he married 16-year-old Courtney Stodden in 2011 — and heartbreakingly, it was often Stodden who got the short end of the stick, despite their husband being in his 50s at the time of their nuptials. Hutchison and Stodden ultimately divorced in 2020, and the latter has since been very open about seeing their marriage in a different light. That is, a very disturbing one. 

Some may remember that both Hutchison and Stodden — who came out as non-binary in 2021 — regularly tried to defend their relationship while married, making appearances on ABC News, "Dr. Drew's Life Changers," and "Access Hollywood Live," among others, in a bid to destigmatize their disturbing union. Shockingly, Stodden often said they genuinely believed they were in a legitimate relationship at the time. However, in the wake of the split, one incident in particular set off alarm bells for them. In an interview on "Call Her Daddy," Stodden explained that they'd learned of Hutchison's private messages with a 15-year-old girl. Harrowingly, the emails exchanged were exactly the same as the ones Hutchison had sent them when they first started speaking. "It just clicked that I was with a predator. And I never, I never ... I was just so groomed, I never wanted to believe it," they told Alex Cooper. 

At the time of the interview, Stodden shared that it was still difficult to talk about everything because the realization was still so fresh for them. However, they did mention that they'd decided to do everything in their power to protect the young girl on the receiving end of Hutchison's emails. "I just helped with the attorneys there, get this little girl away from him. It just became my mission because I know exactly what he was doing," Stodden said. 

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Given that Doug Hutchison met and married Courtney Stodden when the latter was so young, it goes without saying that he had a lot of power over them, and since their divorce, Stodden has spoken very candidly about that. For starters, on "Call Her Daddy," they explained that they'd actually left Hutchison a few times, but with truly horrific consequences. Stodden explained that during more than one separation period, they were sexually assaulted. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hutchison used the ordeals as sick "teaching moments" for his wife. Post-assault, they recounted, "I go back to him and he's just kind of like, 'Well, what do you expect? You know, you left me.' Like, you know, 'I'm the one who loves you, I'm the one who takes care of you.'" Stodden explained that it was because of that emotional abuse and the dependency he created that they took so long to officially end the marriage.

Even after divorcing, getting out of that dependent mindset has proven difficult for Stodden. Some may remember that amid their separation, Stodden made an appearance on the "Just Trish Podcast" and admitted that they still loved Hutchison and even kept in contact with him. Over time and through therapy, though, that has changed. In 2022, Stodden told InTouch Weekly that they'd blocked Hutchison. However, even then, they admitted to unblocking him on occasion. "I think there's this psychological tug-o-war that I go through, where, you know, if he says something to me that makes sense, of why he did this," they tearfully explained. 

By the time of Stodden's "Call Her Daddy" interview, which took place two years after the InTouch Weekly interview, they shared that they'd blocked Hutchison completely, and were resolute in never letting him in again.

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).

Another development since Courtney Stodden's divorce from Doug Hutchison? They've called out the disgraced actor's claims that he hadn't realized how young his bride was when they first began talking over email. 

Stodden made the bombshell claim about their ex-husband on "Call Her Daddy," telling Alex Cooper, "He claims that, you know, he's never known my age, never knew my age. It's not true. He did." Stodden pointed out that it was actually their mother who made sure Hutchison knew, right at the start. "My mom received a call from him and he said, 'You know, so I really want to start teaching your daughter acting.' And she goes, 'Okay, well ... she just turned 16,'" Stodden recounted. Pretty damning, considering Hutchison had previously claimed in numerous interviews that he'd had no idea. On ABC News, he claimed he'd been gutted when he heard the news, implying that he'd only been told after establishing a deep emotional bond with the then-teenager. "You can imagine, my world turned upside down ... It didn't make me want to walk away, but it definitely was a struggle inside my heart at that point in time, because I had already started falling for her," he said. Yikes. 

So great were his feelings that he arranged to meet Stodden's parents and get things signed off so he wouldn't need to end the relationship. Horrifyingly, past joint interviews with the former couple made it clear that Stodden had been told their then-husband needed the paperwork done to avoid trouble. Asked why they couldn't wait until Stodden was 18 to marry, they said on "Dr. Drew's Life Changers," "Because that's dangerous. If we dated, he could get put in jail." Indeed. 

While there's no question that Doug Hutchison was (correctly) criticized by the media for marrying a 16-year-old, in the time since his and Courtney Stodden's divorce, the latter has spoken about the amount of bullying they endured at the hands of public figures during their marriage. 

Of course, most are well aware of Stodden's feud with Chrissy Teigen, which began after the latter sent Stodden DMs encouraging them to commit suicide (this, in addition to very public death wishes posted to X, then known as Twitter). Speaking on "Call Her Daddy," Stodden shared that they'd been shocked by Teigen's hatred and clarified that despite the model's public apology several years down the line, they wished Teigen had reached out personally, too. Nevertheless, they also conceded that she may well have changed in the time since the bullying.

Others who picked on Stodden during their marriage to Hutchison included Anderson Cooper. Some may remember that Stodden was a regular feature on the longtime CNN personality's "Ridiculist" insert — and speaking to Business Insider in 2021, Stodden admitted that it left a mark. "Being mocked by Anderson Cooper night after night on CNN's 'Ridiculist' only furthered the mockery that was made of a child trapped inside an abusive situation," they said. At the time of writing, Cooper has not responded. However, Jason Biggs, who also poked fun at Stodden during their marriage, sent a DM taking accountability and apologizing for hurting them — and suffice it to say, Stodden was very appreciative. "Everyone makes mistakes but not everyone takes real accountability. Jason, I felt this. I wish you love and immense success to you and your family," they wrote in an Instagram caption beneath a screenshot. Here's hoping more people follow in Biggs' footsteps.

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Even though Courtney Stodden was thrust into a much more adult lifestyle than they should have been as a minor, they're the first to admit that there are a ton of things they never got to do the conventional way. Speaking to Page Six in 2022, Stodden joked, "It's like a 'Benjamin Button' thing."

Expanding on the things they'd been able to do since leaving their marriage, Stodden shared that they were in the process of getting their driver's license for the first time. They also revealed that they were studying real estate and making an effort to get their finances in order. Given that Stodden is thought to be worth way less than some may think, and even compared their lack of access to money they made during their marriage to Britney Spears' conservatorship, that's certainly a move in the right direction. Granted, it's also a slightly anxiety-inducing one. However, as they told Page Six, the fear was worth it. "I'm just in this place of burgeoning and rising and really finding that fiery Phoenix within me, and it's scary. It's really scary, but I'm grateful that I'm alive to be able to try to get myself to where I deserve to be," they mused.  

A great outlook to have, no doubt — and we couldn't be happier for them. 

Many were glad to see Courtney Stodden seemingly pave the way for a new, happier ending when they announced their engagement to producer Chris Sheng in 2021. Unfortunately, it wasn't to last — and around a year after Page Six confirmed that the engagement was off in 2023, TMZ published a video of Stodden flushing their engagement ring down the toilet, cooing "Toodle-oo" as they did so. 

That Stodden didn't want a reminder of the past relationship isn't super shocking when taking into account that they'd moved on with someone else. In June 2024, Stodden announced their engagement to Jared Safier, and they wed a few months later after Thanksgiving weekend. Speaking to Us Weekly of their nuptials, Stodden explained that the spur-of-the-moment wedding came about when both they and Safier realized their families would be with them for the holiday. "Our family was like, 'Are you guys crazy?' and we're like, 'Yeah!' It just felt like the right time," they recounted. Even so, Stodden did acknowledge some nerves going into their second marriage. "I think that it's only natural for me because of my story to feel nervous about this because I really do want my happy ending," they said. 

Nerves aside, though, it is worth mentioning that Stodden also pointed out, "My gut is telling me this is where I belong right now." It's a far cry from their mental state at the time of their wedding to Doug Hutchison, which they described on "Call Her Daddy" as a "strange feeling." There's no question that Stodden has come a long way since their first marriage, and we have no doubts that they'll continue to grow as they remain committed to therapy. Here's wishing them everything of the best.