Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Charles's mistress
July 29, 1981, became a holiday and a happy occasion for millions of people around the world - Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married. But despite being one of the most lavish and anticipated weddings of the century, there was nothing glamorous or romantic about the union. According to Diana's friend and astrologer Penny Thornton, the couple knew their relationship was not a fairy tale. The night before the wedding, Charles told her that he didn't love her," Thornton said in the ITV documentary "The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess".
Throughout their 10 years together, there was speculation of trouble in the royal paradise, all of which was later confirmed: Diana was infamously deeply unhappy, so much so that she harmed herself. 1992 saw the release of Andrew Morton's revealing biography of the princess, which Diana later admitted she had worked on, and the couple's initial separation. In 1994, Charles declared his marriage to Diana "loveless" and admitted to being unfaithful. Obscene phone calls between him and his mistress Camilla Parker Bowles have been released to the public. Diana reportedly referred to Camilla as "the Rottweiler," and saw the other woman as the reason her marriage to Charles was so unhappy. In an infamous interview, Diana said, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." By '96, a year before Diana's death, her divorce from Charles was finalized.
The new prince Will Smith clashed with his aunt Viv
It wasn't all fresh and fun behind the scenes of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In 1993, Janet Hubert, the original actress behind the tough-loving Aunt Viv, was abruptly replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid, from season 4 onwards. In an interview, the show's star, Will Smith, stated, "I can say bluntly that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be the 'Auntie Viv of Bel-Air' show" (via Jet Magazine). Initially, Hubert denied knowing anything about the recast, but she speculated that Smith had something to do with her firing.
Hubert continued to have negative things to say about Smith. In 2013, she told Yahoo! during his 'OMG! Insider Segment, "[Smith] did some heinous and horrible things to me." During this interview, he stated that the cast needs to have a reunion to squash all the drama when just two years earlier he refused to attend a luncheon with his former cast members. When Alfonso Riberio posted a photo of the cast in 2017, he took it to Facebook, saying that he "had no interest in seeing any of these people (via Variety).
Despite all of that, Ella Hubert attended the 2020 reunion special, where she changed her original story of her. She said that she chose to part ways with the show because she was offered a bad deal and claimed that she "was never fired from it. That misconception was always exposed" (via News Week). The two apologized to each other and seemed to have made amends.
Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan's rivalry gets physical
If you've ever heard someone say they're going to "do a Tonya Harding," this is their origin story. On January 6, 1994, ice skater Nancy Kerrigan was struck in the knee with a cane, forcing her to withdraw from the US Championships on Day 8, for which Harding won gold. The aggressor? A contract killer named Shane Stant was hired by Tonya Harding's ex-husband and bodyguards Jeff Gillooly and Shawn Eckhardt respectively.
Before the assault, Harding and Kerrigan had a well-known rivalry as two rising figure skaters. In 1991, Harding bested Kerrigan when she received a perfect score with her historic triple axel. And while Harding was technically solid, Kerrigan had the upper hand when it came to public image. But despite their differences and their shared desire to be the best, Kerrigan believed their relationship was professionally polite.
According to testimony, Gillooly paid Eckhardt's associate Derrick Smith to attack Kerrigan and secure Harding's victory at the 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships and Winter Olympics. During the FBI investigation, Harding continued to practice and unexpectedly shared a lead with Kerrigan, who was wearing the costume she was wearing when she was attacked. Kerrigan told the press: "The humor is good. Empower” (via Biography). On February 25, Harding placed eighth, and Kerrigan won silver. Stant, Smith, Eckhardt, and Gillooly went to jail. Harding pleaded guilty and was banned for life from the USFSA.
