Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

Before they tied the knot in 2006 and divorced just a few months later, actress and activist Pamela Anderson and musician Kid Rock (born Robert "Bob" James Ritchie) seemingly had what it took to go the distance. You could say that after crossing paths backstage at a concert in 2001, these two formed an instant connection. The '90s icon and her fedora-wearing beau both appreciated and understood how to balance headline-grabbing shenanigans (more on that ahead) and a grounded family life.

"We're coming at it from the same perspective," Rock told Orlando Sentinel in 2001. "We both love our kids very much, and we want to be parents. I didn't think there were any girls left out there — especially with what I do — who want to be moms anymore, who want to do the sewing and cooking and have me go out and fix the car and throw the kids around the yard." 

Rock continued, "But that's what we have in common. And then when the kids aren't there, we like to whoop it up." 

Here's a look back at Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock's relationship.

April 10, 2001: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock first meet

The Barb Wire actress and the Grammy-nominated musician met backstage at a VH1 Divas Live tribute to Aretha Franklin in April 2001. 

"It was right around Easter," Rock recalled in a 2007 interview with Rolling Stone. "The next day, she sent me Easter eggs and a ton of shit." He then invited her to visit him in Detroit.

"It was weird when we met," Rock told Spin (via People) of his introduction to Anderson. "I was thinking, 'Wow, here's someone who kinda thinks like I do. Let's go out and have a great (expletive) time and party like animals. But there's a time and a place for that, and a time and a place for family.'" 

Family was crucial, as both parties were parents to young boys — Anderson shared sons Brandon and Dylan with ex-husband and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee; Rock and ex-girlfriend Kelley South had welcomed son Robert James Ritchie Jr. in 1993. That said, Anderson and Rock weren't exactly eager to publicly personify a Norman Rockwell painting. 

"No one will ever see us hanging out with the kids and barbecuing all day," he said. "You only get what's flashy."

September 8, 2001: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock are first spotted together

Although Michiganders may have caught a glimpse of Anderson in Detroit visiting Kid Rock in April 2001, the couple's first official outing came in September for the PETA Humanitarian of the Year Awards at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

April 11, 2002: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock get engaged

One year after the pair's serendipitous meeting, People reported that Rock proposed to the Baywatch star in Las Vegas. However, the following summer, Anderson began dropping hints that she and Rock were no longer together. 

"The word that best describes me now is 'free,'" she later told People. 

Rock revealed to Rolling Stone that Anderson's reluctance to move to Michigan and issues surrounding the prenup were the reasons behind their split.

In July 2006, the former couple reconnected on a friend's yacht in the South of France. Things reignited between the exes and, as Rock described to Rolling Stone, "It was like, 'Let's just f—kin' get married and get it over with.'"

On July 18, Anderson said she was "in love" with Rock, and they planned to marry.

"I'm finally getting remarried … it's been a whirlwind … spontaneous but well thought through," she wrote on her website, as confirmed by People.

She added, "I've raised my kids alone in hope of a miracle. Well my miracle came and went. And came back and came back because he knew that I'd wake up one day and realize that I was waiting for nothing. I'm moving on … I feel like I'm finally free … I'm in love. I'm happy."

July 29, 2006: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock get married in St. Tropez

Later that month, the two wed aboard a yacht in St. Tropez — Anderson clad in a white string bikini and captain's hat; Rock shirtless and accessorizing with his signature fedora, according to People. The marriage was considered illegitimate under French law, so the two made it official in a Beverly Hills courthouse the following week.

November 27, 2006: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock file for divorce

After Anderson and Rock's spontaneous wedding, the Scary Movie 3 star announced that she and the "All Summer Long" singer were going their separate ways. 

"Pamela filed for divorce last week," the actress's rep confirmed to People in late November 2006. "It wasn't a happy Thanksgiving."

The New York Post reported that Anderson's cameo in Borat was responsible for tension between the newlyweds, according to CBS News. Rock allegedly had an outburst following a private film screening at Universal Studios President Ron Meyer's house.

"It was the first time Bob had seen the movie, and, well, he didn't like it," an anonymous friend of Anderson's told the Post. "Bob started screaming at Pam, saying she had humiliated herself and telling her, 'You're nothing but a whore! You're a slut! How could you do that movie?' — in front of everyone. It was very embarrassing." 

Rock denied the Borat rumors and called his ex "psycho" for spreading them, reported TODAY.

Sacha Baron Cohen added to the narrative when he went on The Daily Beast's podcast, The Last Laugh, in 2019 and said he'd texted with Anderson after Rock first screened the film. After asking her what her new husband thought of the film, he said Anderson replied, "'He's getting divorced.' I was like, 'Why?' She goes: 'The movie.'"

The musician presented alternative reasons for the split to Rolling Stone. He and his son ended up uprooting from Michigan and moving to Los Angeles following the wedding, and the teen was less than thrilled with the West Coast culture, telling his dad, "All these kids do here is ride skateboards and do drugs."

October 2007: Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock open up about their marriage following split

The singer shared his thoughts on marriage with Blender magazine ahead of its November 2007 (via People). 

"Getting married is a ball," he said, adding, "Getting married is the most fun you can have in life. Being married sucks."

According to Rock, the marriage took its final bow while Anderson was shooting in Vancouver. 

"She's in Vancouver shooting a movie, and I have Lakers seats on the floor, and I'm gonna go to the Lakers game with my friend Jesse James," Rock explained to Rolling Stone. "I could tell something was up — it was like she didn't want me to have fun when she wasn't around. She's trying to get me to come to Vancouver, and I'm like, 'Baby, I got these tickets. I'll see you on the week­end there,' and that leads into her say­ing, 'You don't care about me, blah blah blah.'" 

Then, the conversation took an unexpected turn: "She finally comes up with this: 'I just had a miscar­riage, and you don't even give a fuck,' and hangs the phone up." 

Rock claimed not to have known that his wife was pregnant in the first place.

"Being the dumb fuck I am, I char­ter a $60,000 plane and fly to Vancouver," he told Rolling Stone. When I get there, she's partying at this restaurant, drinking champagne, jump­ing on the tables. I'm thinking, 'That's a quick recovery from a miscarriage.'"

When asked to provide a response to Rock's claims that she'd lied about having a miscarriage, Anderson told the publication, "I hope his album does well. I hope he's happy in life. We were married for four months. If he has nothing nice to say about me, then please tell him to stop talking about me." (Spoiler: he didn't).

In 2011, he said he didn't regret marrying Anderson during an appearance on Piers Morgan Live, saying, "It was a blast. You know, getting married is some of the most fun I've ever had in my life … We loved it so much, we got married like four or five times. It was that much fun." 

Anderson later told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018 that she and Rock hadn't spoken since their split, but she was surprised by the musician's seemingly newfound MAGA-stumping conservatism.

"When he was with me, he didn't hunt," she said. "I don't think he was very Republican, but now he is. Oh well."