When one thinks of legendary wrestlers in WWE, Bret Hart‘s name comes to mind almost immediately. The Hitman is one of WWE’s most famous Superstars from the 1980s and 1990s, and although over the years he and the company have had several differences, his Hall of Fame career can never be forgotten.
Most fans hold Bret Hart in high esteem as he is regarded as one of the best technical wrestlers to ever step foot in the squared circle. However, many fans may not know that his personal life was not as glorious as his WWE career.
Bret Hart’s First Marriage In Particular Was Bumpy
Wrestling On The Road Full-Time Put A Strain On The Hitman’s First Marriage
- Bret Hart married his first wife, Julie, back in 1982, with Bret joining WWE soon after.
- Hart detailed in his book, ‘Hitman’, that he had trouble staying faithful while on the road.
- After going back and forth, the pair finalized their divorce in 2002.
Bret Hart is one of the most widely respected professional wrestlers in the world. However, at the peak of his abilities as an in-ring performer, The Hitman faced a bumpy road in his personal life. That includes his first, nearly-two-decade-long marriage having some severe ups and downs.
Hart felt his first wife Julie picked fights and created drama, including tarnishing his night following WrestleMania 10. However, it’s also worth noting that The Excellence of Execution was certainly no saint. Rather, he has confessed he was responsible for some issues in this marriage, including being unfaithful while he was out on tour with WWE.
Bret Hart Has Been In Two Failed Marriages
Bret Hart’s First Two Wives Were Named Julie And Cinzia
- Bret Hart’s current wife, Stephanie Washington, is the third woman he has married.
- The Hitman married his first wife, Julie, in 1982. They filed for divorce in 2002.
- Bret Hart’s second marriage was the shortest, as they got married in 2004 and divorced in 2007.
Bret Hart is currently married to a woman named Stephanie Washington. The couple got married in 2010 and have been together ever since. However, Stephanie is Bret’s third wife. Hart’s first wife was a woman named Julie and Bret was married to her for the majority of his wrestling career. He married Julie in July 1982, and they have four children together. His marriage with Julie is his longest one, lasting for nearly two decades. Although they separated in May 1998, the couple had several reunions over the next four years until they finally filed for divorce in June 2002.
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Hart had an affair with an Italian woman named Cinzia Rota and the two eventually got married in September 2004. However, their marriage was short-lived as they got divorced in 2007. This would lead to him marrying his current wife in 2010, but the reasons his previous two marriages ended were surprising to say the least.
Bret Hart’s First Marriage Had Its Sore Spots
Despite The Length Of The Marriage To Julie, It Didn’t Seem Like The Hitman’s Happiest
- Hart’s marriage was strained under the weight of being away from home so much in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Bret Hart’s family joined him for WrestleMania 10 weekend.
- A fight left Bret Hart alone and despondent hours after winning the WrestleMania main event and the WWE Championship.
In his 2007 book Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, Bret Hart was open about the toll that life on the road–particularly when WWE was touring so aggressively in the 1980s and 1990s–took on his personal life. His marriage was just one casualty of the lifestyle WWE imposed on its talents in that era.
Beyond the infidelity (we’ll get to that), Bret also recalled many instances in which his marriage was rocky during the brief periods of time he did get to spend with Julie.
In one revealing anecdote, Hart shared that his wife Julie and his kids joined him in New York for WrestleMania 10. Particularly from a modern perspective, it seems fitting that top talent would have his family around for one of the biggest nights of his career, as he won back the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 10 in Madison Square Garden. At that point in WWE history, that meant Hart joined only Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior as men to leave The Showcase of the Immortals as the new world champ.
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Hart didn’t get to relish the moment, though, as he recounted in his book that his wife grew angry with him for a perceived slight and walked out on him, leaving him sad and alone in his hotel room on a night when he should have felt like he was on top of the world.
Bret Hart Admitted To Being Unfaithful To His Wife Julie
Bret Wasn’t Without Blame For The Failure Of His First Marriage
- Bret Hart missed a lot of family events because he was on the road so much with WWE.
- In his book, The Hitman explained that he abstained from substance abuse and other vices a lot of wrestlers fell into, but did succumb to engaging with other women.
- Hart expressed shame about the choices he made during his first marriage.
Bret’s marriage with Julie, his first wife, was tumultuous at best, as he was at the time a full-time wrestler. WWE stars are known to have a very hectic work schedule that involves a great deal of travel. They have to make a lot of sacrifices when it comes to important family events like birthdays, anniversaries, and even simple quality time with family. And it seems like Bret also fell victim to the industry’s work culture as his marriage with Julie faced long distances and all the problems that come with that distance.
In his book, The Hitman made some shocking revelations, including the fact that he cheated on his then-wife with several women throughout his career. He wrote:
My release, my amnesia, or maybe my anesthesia, was women. Sex seemed like the lesser of all the sins that lay in wait for us. I knew for certain that this was going to be a long road ahead. I was 27 and I was never going to survive it if I didn’t find some female company. I felt truly terrible about being unfaithful. It was so weird: I was on top of the world but ashamed of myself at the same time.
Bret was married to his first wife at the time and his constant adultery eventually led to their divorce after a long marriage. While he griped about his failure to stay faithful, one line from his book sums up why he went down the road he did.
My lust was always stronger than my guilt.
During one of his escapades, he went to Italy, where he met his second wife, Cinzia.
Just two years after his divorce from his first wife, Bret married Cinzia. However, their marriage only lasted three years, and the reason for their divorce seemed trivial to most fans. The couple reportedly divorced due to their inability to decide where to live. Rumors suggested Cinzia wanted to live in Italy, but that Bret had other plans.
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Shawn Michaels Stirred The Pot In Bret Hart’s Personal Life
Shawn Michaels And Bret Hart’s Professional Rivalry Became Personal
- Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had a rivalry that blurred the lines between kayfabe and reality.
- Shawn Michaels insinuated Bret Hart was having an affair with Sunny in a televised promo.
- Bret Hart was not sleeping with Sunny, but the comments nonetheless heightened existing tensions between The Hitman and his wife Julie.
It’s no secret that Bret Hart had backstage tensions with Shawn Michaels as they failed to coexist as WWE main eventers. Michaels infamously cut a promo in which he referenced The Hitman having some “sunny days,” hinting that Hart was having an affair with Sunny.
With the rivals building up to what was supposed to be a match at King of the Ring 1997, with the stipulation being that Bret would never wrestle in the United States again if he couldn’t beat HBK in under 10 minutes, Michaels threw out the infamous line:
Bret, believe me, you couldn’t go 10 minutes in any situation, if you know what I mean. Even though lately you have had some ‘Sunny days’, my friend, you still can’t get the job done.
HBK’s suggestion was not only false, but especially frustrating for those in the know, given that HBK himself was having an affair with Sunny around that time. Hart’s wife was justifiably suspicious about the extracurricular activities her husband got up to on the road. This promo added to the issues with his marriage. Michaels making this point on national TV embarrassed Julie and deepened the rift growing between her and Bret.
Bret Hart’s Current Marriage With Stephanie Washington
The Hitman Has Been Remarried For 14 Years
- Bret Hart remarried in 2010, and the marriage continues to this day.
- There is a 26-year age gap between Bret Hart and his current wife, Stephanie.
- Hart now has four grandchildren via children from his first marriage.
After two failed marriages, it seems like Bret finally found the woman of his dreams. Even though there is a glaring 26-year age gap between the two, Hart and Washington have been happily married for 14 years now. To put their age gap into perspective, Stephanie wasn’t even born when The Hitman started his wrestling career in the 1970s. She was a teenager when he won his first Intercontinental title with WWE. Many fans have criticized the startling age gap between Hart and his wife, but the couple has been proactive in dismissing such toxic claims.
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Bret Hart’s only kids came from his marriage with his first wife, Julie. The 66-year-old does not have any kids with either his second wife, Cinzia, or his current much younger wife, Stephanie. Bret is also a grandfather and, through his kids, he has four grandchildren.
With Bret Hart Now Happily Retired, His Current Marriage Appears To Be Going Strong
Stephanie Was By Bret Hart’s Side Through A Cancer Scare In 2016
- Following his 2010 return to WWE, Bret’s appearances have been sporadic, content with life in Calgary.
- Hart was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016, but beat it thanks to early detection.
- Now 14 years into their marriage, Hart and Washington seem happy.
Hart’s current marriage comes at a different chapter in his life than his previous two. While he still shares very blunt opinions on how he feels about modern-day wrestling and certain wrestlers, overall he is very happy with where he is in his life.
He did undergo a health scare back in 2016 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. However, thanks to early detection and a bit of luck, he was declared cancer free by late 2016 after successful surgery.
He wrote in a special piece to Sports Illustrated:
On my last visit with my doctor, he told me my PSA level was zero and I’d had a one-in-ten recovery. He said I was a miracle. One of the difficult aspects of my fight with prostate cancer was the decision to go public. Prostate cancer has killed a lot of people and I like to think my coming out and talking about it would encourage other men to get checked.
Hart’s last appearance on WWE programming came back in September when RAW went to Calgary and the Hitman was in very high spirits, as life at home is good, and he appears to have made peace with the past.
