Ashton Kutcher Addresses Spilt With Ex Demi Moore And The Blunt Way Mila Kunis Called Him Out

Demi Moore is 15 years older than Kutcher, and their age difference raised some eyebrows and summoned the paparazzi to follow their every move... until 2011, Moore separated from Kutcher. How did the story unfold? The public were aware that something wasn’t right with the superstar couple, and it wasn't long before the press released a shocking accusation.

Us Weekly reported allegations in 2011 that Kutcher had cheated on Moore. Before the year was out, the couple were finished. Moore confirmed it herself, saying in a statement, “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage.” The news was devastating to their fans, and naturally drew intense media attention.

She then added, "As a woman, a mother and a wife, there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life.” Further details would emerge, particularly in 2019 when Moore released her candid memoir, Inside Out. She stated that Kutcher had cheated on her twice.

Kutcher chose to address the matter on social media, and he posted a message that Hello described as “cryptic”. Itching to tell his side of the story, Kutcher crafted a tweet that revealed how he really felt about Moore's claims. But as it turns out, he held back at the last minute. “I was about to push the button on a really snarky tweet,” he posted. “Then I saw my son, daughter, and wife and I deleted it.” 

This appeared to be a sign of maturity, and Kutcher was entering his 40s. He'd certainly engaged publicly with the press in the past, but the maker of Punk’d and actor in Dude, Where’s My Car? obviously didn’t want things to get heated. He also mentioned his family, something that's as important to him now as it was back when he married Moore.   

In her memoir, Moore wrote that their marriage was a little more fluid than a typical relationship. In other words, people were invited in to join them. Moore writes that the experimentation was Kutcher's idea, and that she felt pressured into fulfilling his fantasy. In a 2023 interview with Esquire, Kutcher gave his own opinion on the relationship. 

“I don’t want to open anything up in that realm,” he told the publication about his former marriage generally, probably feeling that the past should remain in the past. Naturally, when they first got together, Kutcher and Moore were blissfully happy. According to some accounts, it was a match made in heaven. Their connection was said to be immediate when the pair first crossed paths in New York.

The year was 2003. A dinner was being held in the city and the host was friendly with both Kutcher and Moore. The Mirror writes that they “hit it off instantly." In fact, he accompanied her home where it’s said they “talked all night until they fell asleep together.” Moore’s memoir reveals that she and Kutcher “were totally in sync, from our very first conversation.”

The controversy? Kutcher was 25 and Moore was 40. He was just getting started as a household name; she’d been famous for over two decades. But both shared a background of finding fame at a young age, and they bonded over their shared experiences. So after meeting in 2003, they tied the knot on September 24th, 2005. The pair endured their share of heartbreak along the way: Moore became pregnant but tragically suffered a miscarriage at 42.

 Moore’s previous partner was also a big name — Bruce Willis. They were married between 1987 and 1998. They have three daughters, including Rumer, who’s now a high profile actress. Things were reportedly friendly between Ashton Kutcher, Bruce Willis, and family when he and Moore started a relationship. Willis attended their wedding and Kutcher has been supportive of the clan’s projects. 

Kutcher has spoken of his love for children, and Moore’s background didn’t faze him, it seems. So when the fateful day of their separation came, the couple seemed to part fairly amicably, even with the cheating rumors. The divorce was finalized in 2013, as noted by Us Weekly, and Kutcher’s reaction was to get away from it all. He revealed what he did post-divorce on Armchair Expert, a popular celebrity podcast.

The podcast is hosted by Dax Shepard, who used to work with Kutcher on Punk’d. Undergoing what sounds like the ultimate detox, Kutcher revealed that he headed to the mountains after the break up. He consumed only tea and water, and wrote letters in a notebook, cutting himself off from technology. Kutcher had former flames on his mind.

“I wrote down every single relationship that I had where I felt like there was some grudge or some anything, regret, anything,” he said. “And I wrote letters to every single person, and on day seven, I typed them all out and then sent them.” Certainly a gutsy move from someone who apparently wanted to confront his demons head-on.

He also experienced a sense of crushing defeat over how his marriage had turned out. In the 2023 Esquire interview, Kutcher described feeling “like a wholesale freaking failure." After so many years, with various trials, it was understandably depressing for him to see the relationship end. Demi Moore says that she has warm feelings toward her ex, despite the tough material covered in her memoir. 

 “Whatever pain we went through together enabled both of us to grow into the people we are today,” she wrote. Meanwhile, Kutcher was aware of the book before its release. “This is Demi’s truth,” an anonymous source told Us Weekly at the time, “and he always felt sympathetic toward her.” Some of this mutual understanding was surely forged in the heat of publicity. 

Coverage of the couple’s relationship was always going to be relentless. After all, they didn’t initially seem like the perfect couple. Moore had a string of critically acclaimed — and some not-so-critically acclaimed — movies on her resume. By comparison, Kutcher possibly seemed like a lightweight, not least because of his hit show Punk’d. The prank-based reality series ran for nine seasons starting in 2003, and it brought him a different fan base than Moore had.

You see, Punk'd arguably wasn’t the most radical idea on the block, with famous faces finding themselves in the middle of made up schemes devised by the team. Of course, this didn’t come without some trouble, as Kutcher discovered when developing the concept. Originally he worked on a show called Harassment. 

A $10 million legal bombshell was dropped on Kutcher and producers MTV by a couple who were pranked at the Hard Rock Hotel. The hotel also got sued as part of the fallout from a misfiring joke in which a “dead body” provoked outrage instead of hilarity. From there on out, it was celebrities rather than civilians in Kutcher’s crosshairs. 

Frivolous though it may have been, Punk’d helped make Kutcher’s name. The show ended in 2007, though it has since been revived three times. Currently, Chance the Rapper is master of ceremonies, in a redo that’s been on air since 2020. Initially on failed short-form streaming service Quibi, the series moved to The Roku Channel. Kutcher, meanwhile, went on to bigger and better things.

Kutcher has taken some major roles in the years following Punk’d and his relationship with Demi Moore. Between 2011 and 2015 he took over from Charlie Sheen as the lead in hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. This doesn’t sound like the most relaxing job of Kutcher’s career, with Sheen no stranger to airing his views in public.

Comedy has always played a part in Kutcher’s creative output. His most famous small screen role is that of Michael Kelso in That '70s Show. He appeared on the series between 1998 — 2006, with a certain actress playing the role of Jackie Burkhart — Mila Kunis! Their characters were romantically involved, a situation that would mirror itself in real life years later. They also made a comeback in That '90s Show.

The obvious onscreen chemistry Kutcher had with Kunis blossomed into real life love in 2012. She had previously been in a long-term relationship with another star who hit the big time whilst growing up, Macaulay Culkin. 2015 saw Ashton and Mila get married. They went on to have two children. Kunis reportedly gets on well with Demi Moore, so much so that they did a commercial together.

In 2022 they teamed up for an AT&T Super Bowl ad. The set-up has Moore and Kunis sharing an awkward moment onstage during a high school reunion. Yes, it transpires the women went to the same Los Angeles school, Fairfax High, as well as marrying the same person. Kunis has always been brutally honest when it comes to her relationship with Kutcher... and her feelings about his past.

She wanted to tell him how she really felt about how he’d been living before they got together. As mentioned in Esquire, Kunis reportedly told Kutcher, “You were a jerk. Yeah, you were a jerk for a good two years.” Kutcher comments that he was reassured by Kunis’ approach. “I knew that she didn’t need me,” he said. “And she knew that I didn’t need her.” 

Kunis had her own relationship woes with Culkin, and doesn’t consider herself beyond reproach. Kutcher seemed happy to take the tough love. “I was a jerk in my 20s and I’ll be the first to admit it,” he says. Kutcher acknowledges that it “took me a long time to come out and be like, ‘Yeah, you know what? I was a jerk,’ and accept it."

The post-breakup flak from his marriage to Moore stung Kutcher badly. The gossip machine was in full flood while they were together, and it continued to bombard him even after they split. From the looks of it, it appears Kunis has given him a sense of grounding. But Kutcher still recalls feeling crushed whenever he'd overhear people talking negatively about his past mistakes.

So when his career continued to thrive, it helped him overcome the whispers. Kutcher’s acting career received a boost through black comedy Vengeance in 2022. The film received good reviews, reminding audiences that Kutcher was not just someone you saw in romantic comedies. A decade earlier, he’d taken the title role in biopic Jobs. Ironically this was more successful than the subsequent high-profile movie starring Michael Fassbender. 

He also starred in Your Place or Mine opposite Reese Witherspoon. The Netflix production placed Kutcher back in romcom territory, and Mila Kunis wasn't shy about offering her opinion on the end product. Both Kutcher and Witherspoon have mentioned Kunis commenting on their publicity photos. Kutcher revealed what happened whilst appearing on the podcast Chicks in the Office.

 “My wife called me,” he said. “She texted Reese and I together and she’s like, ‘Guys, you gotta act like you like each other.’ And I’m like, ‘What is going on?’” For Kunis, the pair looked a little awkward on the red carpet. Kutcher put this down to not wanting to appear too friendly. As he’d learned from bitter past experience with Moore, it’s easy to spark rumors! 

Witherspoon noted that she and Kunis are old friends, so this forthrightness didn't bother her at all. Things certainly seem to be a lot calmer in Ashton Kutcher’s life these days. While his diagnosis of vasculitis was no doubt a setback, his business interests, acting career, and, of course, his relationship with Kunis seem to keep him going. That's not to say, though, that Kutcher hasn't made plenty of mistakes in his marriage to Kunis...

In 2019, for instance, Kutcher thought that he’d found the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for Kunis. But it turned out that the actor’s surprise wasn’t quite as well received as he may have hoped. In fact, the Valentine's Day flub really threw a wrench into the works for the lovebirds' already-unconventional romance.

During a 2016 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Kunis recalled the moment that she and Kutcher suddenly realized they were made for each other. She said, “He just turns around, and it was literally like if we were in a movie, the music would start playing, and the violins would go.” The adorable incident to which Kunis was referring took place at an awards ceremony.

Kunis then elaborated on how it had felt to see Kutcher that day. “I think, for the first time ever, he took my breath away,” she said. “I was like, ‘He’s good-looking.’” After that, the actress revealed, Kutcher had asked her to join him at his place for a party, and she had ended up staying the night. “[It was the] first time I ever slept over while I was single,” she admitted to Stern.

Then, after attending various family weddings as a couple, Kunis and Kutcher decided that they, too, wanted to walk down the aisle. In early 2014 E! News went on to confirm that the long-time pals had gotten engaged. And by the end of the same year, the couple welcomed their first-born daughter, Wyatt, into the world.

What’s more, the lovebirds shared the screen once again in 2014 when Kunis guested on Kutcher’s hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. In a very meta scene, Kunis’ character Vivian jokes, “I bet you only date hot actresses.” And Kutcher’s Walden replies, “God no, I’d never date an actress. They’re all crazy.”

But, of course, Kutcher was more than happy to be with Kunis. And this was proved in 2015 when the two became husband and wife at a ceremony that was shrouded in secrecy. Kutcher told Ellen DeGeneres, “We really didn’t want helicopters at our wedding, and it’s a legitimate concern. I was, like, posting things on social media that were in different locations to avoid that, because we didn’t want to be screaming our vows at each other.”

However, it’s perhaps a wonder that Kutcher and Kunis ever got hitched at all, given the pair’s previous opinions on the subject. Kunis explained to Stern, “We started dating with the idea [that] we were both never going to get married. A year later, we were like, ‘Tomorrow, let’s [get married].’”

Moreover, Kunis revealed that she and Kutcher have always been “incredibly open” about their feelings toward each other. And she admitted, too, that she’s glad they took the time to transform their relationship from a platonic bond to a romantic connection. She added to Stern, “We would never be together based on the people that we used to be.”

In 2016 Kutcher and Kunis added to their family with the birth of a son, whom they named Dimitri. And when Kutcher appeared on Ellen that year, he revealed that their firstborn couldn’t have been more delighted with the new arrival. He said, “Wyatt thinks the baby is her baby, and at some point, I’m going to have to explain to her it’s not really her baby. I don’t know how I’m going to do that. She loves the baby so much.”

Plus, during the same interview, Kutcher decided to pay tribute to his wife’s natural abilities as a parent. He told DeGeneres, “She’s the greatest mom. Like, I go to work every day, and I come home, and she’s just perfect, and it seems like everything went amazing [with the baby].”

But Kutcher and Kunis haven’t just told various talk show hosts how in love they are; they’ve proved it in public, too. Yes, it’s fair to say that the Hollywood couple isn’t afraid of a bit of PDA. In 2014, for instance, Kutcher and Kunis shared a smooch after the famous Kiss Cam had selected them from the crowd at a Los Angeles Clippers game.

In fact, Kutcher and Kunis can’t seem to attend a sporting event without showing the cameras just how much they adore each other. In 2016 the pair were the picture of romance as they enjoyed the Dodgers’ game. And two years later, the Kiss Cam found the couple once again during a game at the Los Angeles Kings’ home arena.

Plus, Kutcher and Kunis aren’t averse to the odd romantic gesture, either. Take Kunis’ first pregnancy, for instance, when Kutcher ensured that his partner’s unusual cravings would always be catered to by filling a “secondary fridge” with weird and wonderful food items. Kunis explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2014, “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I need a pickle.’ [Kutcher] was like, ‘Hold on a second’ and disappeared in the backyard and came back with the most amazing dill pickle of all time.”

However, not every act of romance may bowl the recipient over, as the Hollywood couple probably know. Take the RV that Kunis purchased as a birthday surprise for Kutcher, for example, which the pair had decided to use for their post-nuptials getaway with Kutcher’s parents. Said choice of transport turned the newlyweds’ first vacation as a married couple into a disaster resembling a National Lampoon movie.

Yes, just a few hours into the journey – and when the outside temperature was 110 degrees – the RV’s air conditioning went kaput. Then, on day two, the couple had to walk three miles while Kutcher’s father drove, and Apple Maps took them onto a mountainside fire road. And if that wasn’t enough catastrophe for one trip, Kutcher’s mother also accidentally sent the group to an RV park that was an hour away from their intended Napa Valley destination.

Another romantic mishap occurred in 2019. Kutcher decided to treat his wife of four years to a thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift, but he had no idea just how much it would backfire! During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in February of that year, Kunis revealed that her husband had presented her with a couple of lovebirds on the special day – or what he believed to be lovebirds, at least.

While a pair of birds may seem like a curious Valentine’s gesture, the gift does have particular significance when it comes to the Kutcher-Kunis clan. Kunis told DeGeneres, you see, that she and her two kids, Wyatt and Dimitri, had spent time together birdwatching from the window in their kitchen. The star explained, “It was the most beautiful thing. We were fascinated with these little birds.”

It’s perhaps easy to see why Kunis was delighted and touched by Kutcher’s thoughtful gift, then. However, it turns out that the Hollywood actor perhaps hadn’t done as much research as he should have before heading to the pet shop. And the couple found this out the hard way when they visited a “bird lady” whom their long-time friend DeGeneres had suggested to them.

Hilariously, Kunis explained that the expert had informed her and her husband that the so-called lovebirds weren’t actually lovebirds at all. They were, in fact, parakeets. And DeGeneres didn’t exactly come to Kutcher’s defense when she learned of his mistake. She told Kunis, “[Parakeets are] like $10. Lovebirds are more expensive.”

Yes, DeGeneres was spot on about the disparity in cost between the animals. Anyone looking to take home a parakeet should expect to pay anywhere between $10 and $35 at the average pet store. Lovebirds, meanwhile, are far pricier, with values starting from $80 and going right up to a whopping $500 each.

To be fair to Kutcher, though, the type of parakeet that he had accidentally ended up bringing home – the budgerigar – does look rather similar to the lovebird that he had meant to buy. That said, the lovebird is in fact a variety of small parrot. And its real name is one that appeared to tickle Kunis as she recalled the story: the Agapornis.

But Kutcher’s well-intentioned trip to the pet store wasn’t entirely in vain. After all, Kunis told DeGeneres’ audience that she still very much appreciated the effort to which her loving husband had gone. She said, “It’s the thought that counts, guys. And it’s such a beautiful thought.”

Plus, by the sound of it, Kunis is actually just as enamored with the budgies as she would have been with a pair of lovebirds. The Bad Moms star explained, “So, now we have [two] really beautiful little parakeets, and one’s, like, teal, and one’s blue. But they’re not lovebirds, guys, ’cause that’s not what lovebirds look like, we learned.”

Incidentally, the pets that Kutcher acquired purely as a result of a lack of research aren’t entirely inappropriate for an occasion such as Valentine’s Day. That’s because trust and loyalty are two characteristics parakeets are said to possess. Plus, the birds are thought to be strictly monogamous creatures.

What’s more, Kunis and Kutcher have certainly had fun with the not-so-romantic Valentine’s gift. Kunis told DeGeneres that she and her husband often joke about how affectionate the two parakeets are with each other, for example. While laughing, the actress said, “They’re so friendly! We’re like, ‘Oh, look, they’re so in love.’”

It’s also fair to say that the mishap wasn’t all Kutcher’s fault. The actor had received some poor advice from the pet store that he had chosen to visit, after all. Kunis told DeGeneres, “[Ashton] called a Petco-like store and they were like, ‘Yes, come in. We have lovebirds.’ So, he walked in, and they’re like, ‘These are lovebirds!’”

But, of course, Kutcher may well have avoided the entire misunderstanding if he had just stuck to the type of Valentine’s treats that Kunis had requested earlier on in their relationship. During a 2013 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Ted actress explained that although the holiday isn’t a massive deal for her, she still appreciates a good, old-fashioned gesture. “I love flowers,” she hinted.

Kunis continued, “So, flowers are nice. Chocolates — who doesn’t like chocolate? Super stereotypical.” And, fully embracing the true spirit of the romantic holiday, the Black Swan star also added, “I want the biggest bear and a thousand roses. If we’re going to do it, we might as well do it full out.”

However, Kutcher’s Valentine’s Day gift fail doesn’t appear to have affected his relationship in the long run. Less than two weeks after the February holiday, he and Kunis attended a highly exclusive post-Oscars bash that had been organized by the Queen of Pop, Madonna. And the pair still looked very much in love as they posed for photos with each other.

Perhaps, then, the lovebirds – or rather parakeets – seem to have done the trick, since the Oscars party marked Kutcher and Kunis’ first official public appearance together in 15 months. The A-list pair had last smiled for the assembled cameras at the Breakthrough Prize Awards back in 2017 – only the second time ever that they had graced the red carpet as a couple.

Of course, the TV-couple-turned-real-life-couple is still going strong and even returned to their TV roots in 2023. The duo made an appearance on That '90s Show, a sequel to the sitcom that made them famous, as their original characters, Jackie and Kelso. And their romance thrived even in TV land: on the show, the characters celebrate their second wedding. Kunis and Kutcher truly took "life imitating art" to the next level!