Many were shocked by Billy Bob Thornton suddenly leaving his fiancé for another woman, which made headlines.

The couple’s considerable 20-year age difference and the fact that they were both seeing other partners at the time added to the mystery.

Billy Bob’s fiancée, actress Laura Dern, was one of those caught off guard.

Laura claims that the news of her partner’s marriage to Angelina Jolie caught her off guard and caused a detour in her relationship plans.

Laura and Billy Bob started dating in 1997, not long after Laura separated from Jeff Goldblum and Billy Bob was still divorcing Pietra Dawn Cherniak, his fourth wife, according to E! Online.

Billy Bob and Angelina met on the set of Pushing Tin in 1999, and two years later they were engaged and getting ready for marriage.

Their brief courtship resulted in an impromptu marriage in Las Vegas in May 2000, which took Laura by surprise.

Laura reflected on the sudden turn of events and said, via InStyle: “I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I’ve never heard from him again.”

She was left feeling bewildered and suddenly lost in the situation, with no end in sight.

Billy Bob expressed regret in a 2001 interview, as reported by the Mirror, although never having openly admitted to any wrongdoing.

He said, “Others may say that you left our girl and married someone else. But it made me happy and somebody else happy. I’m sorry it caused pain.”

As Yahoo revealed, Laura and Angelina had previously bonded when Laura babysat Angelina when they were younger, adding a strange turn to the story.

Bruce Dern, Laura’s father, recollected that period. Bruce remarked, alluding to the 1978 film Coming Home, “Jon Voight’s a friend of mine, so I remember Laura babysat one night for Angelina when Angelina was 2 and Laura about 8 … because Jon and I were doing Coming Home. They were staying over at [director] Hal Ashby’s house, so they asked [Laura] to come over [to watch Angie].”

Laura’s friend Melissa Etheridge provided her with support after they broke up, and she told of assisting Laura move out of their shared house with Billy Bob.

Melissa claimed (via the Sun) in an interview with Andy Cohen on his SiriusFM radio show: “I was around when Angelina was not doing nice things with Billy Bob to Laura Dern. I went through that on a personal level, and then to know the side of Jennifer and Brad. I helped Laura move out of her house with Billy Bob — I like broke into their home to get their stuff out because it was so nasty.”

Everyone concerned carried on with their lives after that. Laura eventually wed Ben Harper, with whom she had two children. Since then, she has been connected to Baron Davis, a former NBA star.

After Billy Bob and Angelina got divorced in 2002, he stopped dating celebrities out of respect for their privacy. Later, in an effort to live a more sedate life away from the spotlight, he married a puppeteer in 2014.