Real-Life Celebrity Breakup: Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson

Ted Danson has been happily married to actress Mary Steenbergen for almost 25 years, but the Cheers actor had been through his fair share of Hollywood relationships, including one with Oscar-winner and future The View co-host, Whoopi Goldberg.

Though their relationship was full of ups and downs — and a little controversy — it was certainly memorable. From how they met to their eventual split, find out more about this once great celebrity romance.

How Did Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson Meet?

The two stars first met in 1988 on The Arsenio Hall Show. Though nothing happened between the pair at the time, they did sit next to one another during the episode and became good friends. They even went on to co-host Help Save Planet Earth in 1990, which was a video guide to saving the environment.

Co-Stars
Danson and Goldberg then went on to star in the romantic comedy Made in America together, which was filmed in April of 1992 and released in 1993, and this is where the future-couple started to develop a strong connection.

Clearing The Way
Danson was still married to his wife Casey Coates while filming Made in America, but that reportedly didn’t stop him from having an affair with Goldberg. In fact, Danson and Coates divorced in 1993, not long after his romance with Goldberg began, and Coates allegedly received a $30 million payout in the split.

The Controversy

Danson got into some serious trouble after he came out in blackface during Goldberg’s Friars Roast in 1993. The incident took the world by storm and the actor found himself in very hot water. Goldberg defended her man and revealed she helped him come up with the act and wasn’t offended by it.

Parting Ways
On November 5, 1993, Goldberg and Danson released a statement confirming the end of their relationship. Danson quickly moved on with his Pontiac Moon co-star, Mary Steenburgen, whom he married in 1995.