He’s a celebrated actor and director, greatest recognized for his main position as Patrick Jane on the CBS drama collection The Mentalist.

And away from the digicam, Simon Baker’s love life has been simply as vibrant as his bustling profession. 

From courting a woman youthful than his daughter to being linked to a Actual Housewives of Sydney star his love life has been something however easy.

Earlier this month, the actor, 56, sparked romance rumours along with his Scarpetta co-star Nicole Kidman, 58, after they have been seen holding arms on the present’s New York premiere. 

It is mentioned to have ‘shocked and confused’ Simon’s ex-wife Rebecca Rigg, who has been shut mates with Nicole for greater than 40 years.

But whereas Simon’s newest ‘romance’ could be turning heads, it is just the floor of a narrative full of twists and turns. 

In 2017, The Actual Housewives of Sydney star Melissa Tkautz revealed she had an on-and-off relationship with Simon in 1991.

Talking to Nova FM’s Fitzy and Wippa, the Learn My Lips singer mentioned she gave Simon his large appearing break by introducing him to the creator of E Avenue, who later gave him a small half on the cleaning soap collection.

The 2 met on the set of Melissa’s video clip for Learn My Lips in 1991, the place Simon seems as a greased-up boxer.

The mannequin and the pop singer then noticed one another romantically ‘on and off for a yr and a half’.

‘I dated Simon,’ she mentioned. ‘I used to be infatuated with him, he was attractive.’

Melissa additionally claimed to have given the then-struggling actor a leg up in his profession, telling Nova she launched Simon to the creator of well-liked cleaning soap E Avenue, on which she additionally starred.

‘I launched him to Forrest Redlich, and he put him on,’ she revealed to the radio hosts.

Simon went on to marry actress Rebecca in 1998 and obtain breakout worldwide success in US TV collection The Guardian and The Mentalist.

Rebecca, 58, and Simon first crossed paths on a blind date in 1991, and introduced their romance to the display screen as co-stars within the 90s cleaning soap E Avenue.

The actor beforehand opened as much as Folks about his marriage, explaining why he and Rigg by no means celebrated their marriage ceremony anniversary.

‘We have by no means actually been large on it. Anniversaries, they’re an odd factor, aren’t they?’ he mentioned in 2018. 

‘More often than not, 99 per cent of the time, we’re actually nice mates.’

After seven years collectively, they tied the knot and remained collectively for 22 years earlier than splitting quietly in 2020.

They share three kids: Stella, 32, Claude, 27, and Harry, 24. 

They publicly confirmed their divorce in January 2021, telling Folks: ‘We stay shut as mates and our three kids will at all times be crucial focus of our lives.’

However based on Fox Information, they really separated 9 months earlier.

Simon additionally put his household house within the leafy Californian enclave of Santa Monica in the marketplace for for $6.3million.

Following their cut up, Simon rapidly went on to this point active-wear designer Laura Gibbs, 41.

They first sparked relationship rumours after they have been noticed frolicking within the waves of Australia’s Byron Bay collectively in March 2021.

The pair are mentioned to have met in Byron, the place Laura’s sustainable style design studio relies close to his farm in Nashua.

In November that yr, Laura joined a whole bunch of anti-vaxxers at a rally to protest Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates.

The protest was a part of a collection of rallies throughout the nation in opposition to obligatory Covid-19 vaccinations for sure industries and occupations.

‘For people who could not attend a gathering in your space I’ll share a few of the speeches from individuals in our group standing up for everybody’s freedom,’ she wrote subsequent to a video of a heaving crowd of protesters.

Following the protest, a spokesperson for The Mentalist actor advised Each day Mail Australia that he and Laura quietly parted methods.

In 2022, Simon was revealed to be courting a a lot youthful girl, girlfriend Bridgette Clark – who’s 25 years his junior.

The north Bondi native is a couple of months youthful than Simon’s daughter, Stella, who turned 31 in August 2024.

She initially hails from Melbourne and is a well-liked style and way of life photographer.

She can also be the co-founder and inventive director of Terry, a resort-wear label impressed by ‘European summers and 70s poolside apparel’.

The pair dated on and off and have been final seen collectively in June as they moved furnishings into Simon’s van at his house in Tamarama in Sydney’s east.

They have been thought to have been going sturdy till romance rumours started to swirl between Simon and Nicole.

Nicole and Simon, who play a married couple within the new Amazon Prime collection Scarpetta, have been seen holding arms and beaming collectively earlier this month on the present’s New York premiere.

On the occasion, Nicole admitted that their chemistry ‘simply vibrates’, whereas Simon, 56, cheekily added: ‘I do not kiss and inform.’

On Wednesday, the pair fulled courting rumours after sharing a flirty video on-line.

The Aussie actors have been featured in a clip, uploaded by Amazon MGM Studios, with their Scarpetta co-stars Jamie-Lee Curtis and Bobby Cannavale.

Nicole stood very near Simon, together with her hand flirtatiously resting on his shoulder.

When Jamie-Lee made the season two announcement, Nicole let loose an excited ‘woo’ and did a little bit dance, turning to face Simon.

The Mentalist actor then gave Nicole a cheeky smile and a sly raised eyebrow as she continued to specific her pleasure.

Now, it has been reported that Simon’s ex spouse Rebecca, who’s a childhood buddy of Nicole’s after rising up in the identical space of Sydney, is ‘shocked and confused’ in regards to the romance rumours.

‘She loves Nicole like a sister, they have been via a lot through the years so it is extraordinarily stunning for her to get her head spherical this,’ an insider advised New Thought.

The supply added that Rebecca was mentioned to be sad that neither Nicole, nor Simon had reached out to her relating to the wild hypothesis after the pair held arms on the pink carpet at their Scarpetta premiere.

‘Rebecca is completely at the hours of darkness about Nicole and Simon’s present standing. A variety of their mutual mates assume their hand-holding was a tacky stunt for the present,’ they mentioned.

‘However the best way they’re evading questions on their standing after which spending all this cosy time collectively is giving much more validity (to the rumours).

‘They (Simon and Rebecca) cut up a few years in the past. They’re nonetheless co-raising their youngsters and delight themselves on having a completely clear relationship. For Nicole to behave all coy is de facto breaking the woman code.’

Nicole can also be the godmother of one in all Rebecca and Simon’s daughters, The Republic of Sarah actress, Stella.

In the meantime, Nicole’s ex-husband Keith City is claimed to be devastated by her rumoured romance, given how rapidly she seems to be transferring on from their separation final yr.

‘Seeing Nicole and Simon holding arms was the equal of seeing his greatest mate along with his missus, and it did a quantity on him,’ an insider advised this week’s Lady’s Day journal.

‘He knew it was pure for her to lean on Simon – he was additionally there for Naomi Watts after her cut up from Liev [Schreiber].’

The supply added that Keith was critically hoping that Nicole and Simon have been simply having enjoyable for the cameras, as a real romance between them would devastate him.

‘Keith is hoping they’re simply hamming it up for headlines. However even then it feels to him prefer it’s a betrayal as a result of each Nicole and Simon understand how a lot even the trace of a romance between them will harm him,’ they mentioned.

‘He already suspected they have been getting shut whereas filming. This has turn into his worst nightmare.’