Carmen Electra has opened up about the reasons behind the end of her 1998 marriage to Dennis Rodman. The 54-year-old actress and the former Chicago Bulls star, 65, were married for five months following a spontaneous Las Vegas wedding.
Wild Lifestyle Took Its Toll
Nearly 28 years later, Electra admitted that her then-husband's wild lifestyle proved unsustainable. 'It was just too hard to continue to keep up with him and his friends. It was constant drinking,' she said on the Legally Goff podcast this week.
The couple tied the knot at the Little Chapel of the Flowers in November 1998, but Rodman sought an annulment just nine days later at his wife's request. However, they reconciled and remained married for almost six months.
Self-Realization and Breaking Free
The heavy partying took a toll on the model. She recalled, 'I just remember looking at myself in the mirror, I was at home, and I didn't recognize myself. I had bags under my eyes. My face was puffy. I'm in my 20s! I thought, "It's got to stop. It has to stop."'
Electra received a self-help book from a friend, which helped her realize she needed to leave the marriage. She was inspired to continue reading and would visit bookstores, letting intuition guide her to what she needed. 'I just thought, "I've got to get away from him because what good is going to come out of this?"' she shared.
Real Love, But It Had to End
Despite the difficulties, Electra emphasized that her short-lived romance with Rodman was genuine. 'It wasn't a made-up story. It wasn't a publicity stunt. It was real love,' she told host Brooke Goff. 'It's sad but it had to end.'
The marriage officially ended when Electra filed for divorce in April 1999. She noted that after the separation, Rodman occasionally tried to reconcile, being 'really sweet and cute.' She would return his gifts, except for those from their time together, but ultimately had to 'move and change my number' to fully cut ties.
'He would just come to my house and not leave,' she claimed. 'He'd threaten to get naked again outside. I just didn't want the police [to come]. I didn't want it to turn into a big thing.'
Electra later married musician Dave Navarro in 2003. Rodman had previously been married to Annie Bakes from 1992 to 1993 and later to Michelle Moyer from 2003 to 2012.
