Simon Baker’s colourful love life: From an anti-vaxxer to a woman younger than his daughter to a Real Housewives star – as his ex-wife is left ‘shocked’ by rumours he is ‘enjoying a romance’ with her good friend Nicole Kidman

He is a famous actor and director, best known for his role as Patrick Jane in the CBS drama series The Mentalist.

Simon Baker’s love life away from the camera was as colorful as his vibrant career.

From dating a girl younger than his daughter to being linked to the Real Housewives of Sydney star, his love life hasn’t been simple at all.

Earlier this month, romance rumors were sparked after the 56-year-old actor was spotted holding hands with his Scarpetta co-star Nicole Kidman, 58, at the show’s New York premiere.

This is said to have ‘shocked and confused’ Simon’s ex-wife Rebecca Rigg. Nicole and I have been close friends for over 40 years.

While Simon’s latest ‘romance’ has attracted attention, it’s only the surface of a story full of twists and turns.

After seven years together, Simon and Rebecca Rigg married and remained together for 22 years before quietly splitting in 2020. They have three children (Image: The couple in 2019)

In 2017, The Real Housewives of Sydney star Melissa Tkautz revealed that she had an on-and-off relationship with Simon in 1991.

Speaking to Nova FM’s Fitzy and Wippa, the Read My Lips singer said she gave Simon his big acting break by introducing him to the creator of E Street, who later gave him a small role in the soap opera.

The two met on the set of Melissa’s music video Read My Lips in 1991; here Simon appeared as a greased up boxer.

The model and the pop singer later saw each other romantically ‘on and off for a year and a half’.

‘I dated Simon,’ she said. ‘I fell in love with her, she was amazing.’

Melissa also claimed that she gave the then-struggling actor a career boost, telling Nova that she introduced Simon to the creator of popular soap opera E Street, in which she also starred.

“I introduced him to Forrest Redlich and he hired him,” he told the radio hosts.

Simon married actress Rebecca in 1998 and had major international success in US TV series The Guardian and The Mentalist.

Rebecca and Simon, 58, first crossed paths on a blind date in 1991 and brought their love to the screen as co-stars in the ’90s TV series E Street.

The actor previously opened up about his marriage to People, explaining why he and Rigg never celebrated their wedding anniversary.

‘We never made a big effort in this regard. Anniversaries are strange things, aren’t they?’ he said in 2018.

‘Most of the time, 99 percent of the time, we’re really good friends.’

They married after seven years together and remained together for 22 years before quietly splitting in 2020.

They share three children: Stella, 32, Claude, 27, and Harry, 24.

They publicly announced their divorce in January 2021, telling People: ‘We remain close as friends and our three children will always be the most important focus of our lives.’

But according to Fox News, they actually broke up nine months ago.

Simon has also listed his family home in California’s leafy enclave of Santa Monica for $6.3 million.

The Real Housewives of Sydney star Melissa Tkautz revealed she had an on-and-off relationship with Simon in 1991 (pictured in 2025)

The two met on the set of Melissa’s music video for Read My Lips in 1991; where Simon appeared as a greased up boxer (Simon pictured in the music video)

Following their split, Simon began dating activewear designer Laura Gibbs, 41. However, the pair broke up after attending an anti-Vaxx protest.

In 2022, it was revealed that Simon was dating a much younger woman named Bridgette Clark, his girlfriend who is 25 years his junior (pictured)

Following their split, Simon quickly dated activewear designer Laura Gibbs, 41.

Relationship rumors first sparked in March 2021 when they were spotted enjoying the waves of Australia’s Byron Bay together.

The two are said to have met in Byron, which is located near Laura’s sustainable fashion design studio’s farm in Nashua.

In November that year, Laura attended hundreds of anti-vaccine rallies to protest Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

The protest was part of a series of rallies across the country against mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for certain industries and professions.

“For those of you who cannot attend a rally in your area, I will share some of the speeches of people in our community who defend the freedom of all,” he wrote alongside a video of a crowd of protesters.

Following the protest, a spokesperson for The Mentalist actor told Daily Mail Australia that he and Laura had quietly parted ways.

In 2022, it was revealed that Simon was dating a much younger woman, his girlfriend Bridgette Clark, who was 25 years his junior.

The North Bondi native is several months younger than Simon’s daughter Stella, who turns 31 in August 2024.

He is originally from Melbourne and is a popular fashion and lifestyle photographer.

He is also the co-founder and creative director of resort wear brand Terry, inspired by ‘European summers and 70s poolside attire’.

The couple dated on and off and were last seen together Moving furniture into Simon’s van at his home in Tamarama, in Sydney’s east, in June.

They were thought to be going strong until romance rumors swirled between Simon and Nicole.

Nicole and Simon, who play a married couple in the new Amazon Prime series Scarpetta, were seen holding hands and smiling together at the show’s New York premiere earlier this month.

At the event, Nicole admitted their chemistry was ‘just vibrating’, while Simon, 56, cheekily added: ‘I don’t kiss and tell.’

On Wednesday, the duo was flooded with dating rumors after they shared a flirty video online.

The Australian actors appeared alongside their Scarpetta co-stars Jamie-Lee Curtis and Bobby Cannavale in a clip uploaded by Amazon MGM Studios.

Nicole was standing very close to Simon, placing her hand on his shoulder in a flirtatious manner.

When Jamie-Lee announced the second season, Nicole let out an excited ‘woo’ and did a little dance to face Simon.

The Mentalist actor then gave Nicole a cheeky smile and slyly raised eyebrows as he continued to express his excitement.

Now Simon’s ex-wife Rebecca, who is Nicole’s childhood friend after growing up in the same part of Sydney, is reportedly ‘shocked and confused’ by the romance rumors.

An insider told New Idea: ‘He loves Nicole like a sister, they’ve been through so much over the years it’s extremely shocking for him to put this in his head.’

On Wednesday, Nicole and Simon were flooded with dating rumors after sharing a flirty video with their Scarpetta co-stars Jamie-Lee Curtis and Bobby Cannavale.

Simon’s ex-wife Rebecca, who has been friends with Nicole for 40 years, is said to be ‘shocked and confused’ by the rumors (Rebecca pictured with Nicole and Naomi Watts in 2001)

An insider said: ‘He loves Nicole like a sister, they’ve been through so much over the years it’s utterly shocking for him to dwell on this situation’ (Photo of Nicole and Simon in 2010)

The source added that Rebecca was said to be unhappy that neither Nicole nor Simon reached out to her after the pair held hands on the red carpet at the Scarpetta premiere.

‘Rebecca is completely clueless about Nicole and Simon’s current situation. “Most of their mutual friends think their holding hands is a cheesy stunt for the show,” they said.

‘But the fact that they dodged questions about their status and spent all this cozy time together gives (the rumors) a lot more validity.

‘They (Simon and Rebecca) broke up years ago. They are still raising their children together and are proud to have a completely transparent relationship. Nicole being coy really violates the girl code.’

Nicole is also godmother to The Republic of Sarah actress Stella, one of Rebecca and Simon’s daughters.

Meanwhile, Nicole’s ex-husband Keith Urban is said to be devastated by her romance rumors, given how quickly she moved on from their split last year.

‘Seeing Nicole and Simon holding hands was the equivalent of seeing her best friend with her partner and it made an impact on her,’ an insider told this week’s Woman’s Day magazine.

‘She knew it was natural for her to lean on Simon; He was with Naomi Watts after he broke up with Liev. [Schreiber].’

The source added that Keith seriously hopes Nicole and Simon are just having fun in front of the cameras because real love between them would destroy him.

‘Keith hopes they’re just making it up to make headlines. “But even then it feels like a betrayal to him because both Nicole and Simon know how much even the slightest hint of a romance between them would hurt him,” they said.

‘He already suspected they were getting close while filming. This has become his worst nightmare.’