Red Flags In Pink & Carey Hart's Relationship

Sometimes the ups and downs of a celebrity relationship come as a shock. Other times, one can't help but wonder how they didn't see it coming. The red flags in Pink and Carey Hart's relationship, for example, were a pretty good indicator that their journey would not be smooth sailing. But despite their issues, pop's rebellious princess and the former motocross competitor have somehow managed to weather the storms and come out battered but not quite broken. Together for more than two decades, the Grammy-award winning artist once told People that the secret to their strength was in the fact that they've "really grown up together." The couple share two children and have experienced the many challenges that couples face when it comes to working and raising a family. Those hardships, and Pink's willingness to be open about them, are part of what makes her marriage seem as normal-ish as anyone else's. 

Known for keeping things real, Pink's relationship with Hart has provided the often outspoken singer with plenty of song material, but it's also given her fans with a lot of inspiration. "I've been with you longer than I haven't," she captioned a photo on Instagram in celebration of the couple's 19th wedding anniversary. "You've been my one constant. You have loved me, hated me, and loved me again. I love our story no matter what gets written. It is gritty and sweet. Thank you for being by my side all these years. I love you forever." Who wouldn't raise a glass to that? 

Love was in the air at the 2001 ESPN Summer X Games in Philadelphia. That's where Pink met the man who would become her husband, the father of her children, and the subject of a few of her hit songs (like "So What" and "Just Give Me A Reason"). According to Hart, it was love at first sight. "I knew within the first few weeks after meeting her that I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life," he told People. But even though the platinum blonde pop star got the cyclist's engine revving, it wasn't long before they slammed on the breaks. Just two years into their relationship, they called it quits. Neither would say why, but during their time apart, Pink reportedly dated bad-boy rocker Tommy Lee. 

The singer, who's real name is Alecia Beth Moore, also released her "Try This" album during the split, which featured the track "Love Song." Some speculate that a hint about the breakup lived within the song's lyrics, which speak to the fear of falling in love and getting hurt. Apparently, she got over it because the couple reunited after just one year and started a love story that, although flawed, would continue to flourish for years to come. 

Rather than wait for a romantic proposal on bended knee, Pink grabbed the bull by the horns and popped the question herself. There was no candlelight, soft music, or champagne on ice. Instead, against the backdrop of a dirt motocross track in Mammoth Lakes, California, with roaring engines serving as the soundtrack, the singer held up a large sign that read, "Will you marry me?" When that failed to pull Hart's attention away from the Pro 250 class finals, Pink held up a second sign that simply read, "I'm serious!" Hart hit the brakes on his bike and went full speed ahead on a wedding just six months later. 

A wedding that starts with such a non-traditional proposal is sure to be a unique event, and Pink and Hart's nuptials did not disappoint. The couple got the party started with a small, intimate beach ceremony at the Four Seasons in Costa Rica. "We wanted it very fun and non-traditional," Hart told People. "We're spiritual, but we're not religious. It was about being with our closest friends and family and having a very fun and loose party." "We just love the beach, so we knew we wanted it to be at the beach," Pink added. The love the couple shared seemed obvious to everyone, including their wedding planner, Kara Keaney, who called them "perfect for each other." "They're so in love, and they're best friends," she said.

Pink and Carey Hart may have been best friends, but it wasn't enough to sustain them when they hit another rough patch in their relationship. Just two years into their union, the "I Am Here" singer announced that the couple was splitting up. In a statement released by Pink (per People), she explained their situation and described it as amicable. "The most important thing for you all to know is that Carey and I love each other so so much," she said. "This breakup is not about cheating, anger, or fighting. I know it sounds like cliché [expletive], but we are best friends, and we will continue to be." 

Pink revealed to Redbook that their hectic schedules were a big reason for the split. Pink was in the studio making a new album, while Hart had ventured into the nightclub business and was working on the opening of Wasted Space, a live music venue in Vegas. There was never time to work anything out, and the problems kept building. The couple eventually filed for divorce during their almost year-long split. "Carey would see me for five days and be gone for six weeks," Pink explained. "We'd try to fix everything in those five days — you just can't do that. And it builds and builds and you don't even know what to say or fight about anymore, and there's no middle ground, and it's like, f*** it, we're not getting anywhere." 

In the statement following her separation from husband Carey Hart, Pink mentioned that infidelity was not part of the reason for the split. But while it may not have been the cause of the breakup, it might have been the result. While they were apart, Hart allegedly had an affair with Michelle "Bombshell" McGee,  the same woman who had a fling with Jesse James while he was married to movie star Sandra Bullock. According to McGee's ex-husband, Shane Modica, she told him about the tryst. "I knew about her fling with Carey Hart, Michelle told me that she had slept with him," he allegedly told tabloid RadarOnline. "She flew out to Las Vegas to see him but she was upset that they never got to spend as much time together as she expected too." Modica also said Hart visited McGee, a stripper at a San Diego club, to see her performances. 

According to her ex, McGee was a gold-digger whose affair with Hart occurred before her affair with James. "It is so typical of Michelle because she always goes for the guy who she thinks has the deepest pockets," he said. "It's horrible because she sleeps with anybody who she believes can help her out." While neither Hart nor Pink commented on the alleged incident, a source close to the couple allegedly confirmed to RadarOnline that the dancer and the motocross racer "hook[ed] up at a private house." 

"You gotta get up and try," or at least that's what Pink says in one of her most famous hits. Taking her own advice to heart, she reconciled with her estranged husband Carey Hart less than one year after announcing their separation and filing for divorce. It happened in a hotel room in Vegas on New Year's Eve with the pop star wearing nothing more than lingerie.

"I had made him a photo album of all the cards he had ever given me, of all the photos of our entire relationship," she told Redbook. "I spent months on this album. On the last page, I pasted a photo of me from a really bad movie I made years ago with my neck slit and blood everywhere. Next to it I wrote, 'This is me without you.'" Pink, who was in town at Hart's request to perform at his club, said she included a photo of a baby with the caption, "The rest is unwritten," and she placed the unsigned divorce papers behind it. "I was like, 'the rest is up to you,'" she said, and added, "I did all of this in his favorite bra and panties."

The strategy worked, and not only did the power couple rip up their divorce papers and reunite, they announced not long afterward that they were expecting their first child, daughter Willow. "People are always like, 'Why did you get back together?'" Pink said. "Well, we weren't done. And now we have Willow, so we'll never be done." 

Ask anyone in a long-term relationship and they'll tell you that it's not always butterflies and fireworks. Even the happiest couples experience dry spells when work, kids, and life get in the way of romance. Celebrities are no exception, and Pink has been very candid about the fact that she and husband Carey Hart have experienced issues in the bedroom. In an interview with The Guardian, the "Whatever You Want" singer talked openly about the struggles of marriage and monogamy. "Then you'll go through times when you haven't had sex in a year," she said. "Is this bed death? Is this the end of it? Do I want him? Does he want me? Monogamy is work! But you do the work and it's good again."

On "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" show, Pink regaled the crowd with a story about how her husband often fell asleep putting their daughter to bed when she wanted to be intimate. "The other night I said, 'Are you going to stay up tonight,' and he said, 'I would like to," she shared, adding that she wasn't sure what he meant. "Should I light candles and open wine and put on a show? Are we going big here or are you going to fall asleep again?" After setting the stage to "go big," the singer said she once again found herself watching "Homeland" while her husband snoozed. What parent can't relate to that? 

"Walk Me Home" may be one of Pink's biggest songs, but it might have been the words uttered by her husband Carey Hart when the singer slashed his tires in a fit of rage. Known for her brash, loud, and often in-your-face persona, Pink slashing tires might not be that hard to believe. But as she shared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the temper tantrum backfired and cost her a trip to the E.R. 

The incident occurred around Thanksgiving, and the platinum blonde pop star only managed to slash one tire before injuring herself. "I got clean through the first one," she told DeGeneres during a segment titled "Burning Questions." "He has a raised F250 and those tires are thick, thank you very much. And the second one I lost a little steam and I hit the metal part and my hand just went straight down the knife." The mom-of-two wound up getting 13 stitches in her hand with no anesthesia, claiming she "couldn't feel a thing." She laughed about the experience, telling DeGeneres, "The holidays are stressful." Pink's ability to joke about the real ups and downs in her marriage is part of her charm, and it's what makes other people in similar situations feel a little less alone.

Being a working parent is hard, even if you have a  super cool job like being a Grammy-award winning recording artist or a motocross racer-turned-actor. Yes, both Pink and her husband Carey Hart have successful careers, but that doesn't make finding the balance any less stressful. In an interview with Redbook, Pink shared the insecurities she faced while trying to record an album shortly after giving birth to her first child: "Do I have anything to write about? We're going to tour? How is it going to work? Do we take the Pack 'n Play?" 

Every parent, famous or not, is faced with those choices eventually, and how they handle them can be a lesson for the next generation. Pink's daughter, Willow Sage, is following in her footsteps, and the singer shared a pivotal moment when she and her daughter had a heart-to-heart when a touring schedule conflicted with a school performance. "I told her, 'It's going to s***, and I won't go longer than 10 days without you ... or I'll quit. I'll walk away tomorrow,'" the singer told People. Her daughter discouraged her from quitting and told her, "I love what you do." Even so, Pink acknowledged that she struggles with trying to do it all, and she still feels less than perfect. "But I love being a mom, I love music, and I'm dumb lucky I get to do all of these things. I count my blessings every single day."

Both Pink and her husband Carey Hart come from broken homes, and they both were committed to doing everything they could to not to repeat the pattern. "We love being a family," she told Extra. "And we both come from families that gave up, and that's okay. That was their journey, that was the journey we all were supposed to be on. But for us, we don't want to do that." For this couple who has faced their fair share of challenges, that meant couple's therapy. It wasn't that long ago that therapy was not something you discussed publicly. But leave it to Pink to put it all out there, even sharing a conversation with her therapist, Vanessa Inn, in an Instagram Live post. Pink believes that men and women speak different languages, and Inn helped her connect with Hart. "Without Vanessa translating for me for the last 18 years, I mean, we would not be together," the singer said.

Through therapy, both Pink and Hart have said they have learned skills and strategies that aren't always easy, but are always worth it. They strive to work through things rather than close themselves off, or scream and yell. In an interview with Redbook, Pink said that through therapy she has realized that marriage is not something you can do part-time. "You can't have one foot in and one foot out," she said. "You have to dive in and be willing to be executed at the stake for the love you want."

Fans have always been given a look inside Pink's marriage to Carey Hart through her Instagram account. The outspoken singer and her husband don't shy away from sharing and airing the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to their relationship. Their feeds are like a diary of a marriage spelled out in real time, providing a glimpse into their lives that some might keep hidden. If it all feels a little too raw, real, and personal, in the words of one of her biggest hits, "So What," Pink doesn't let the haters get her down. "I try to limit my engagement with negativity because it is toxic and you can't change anonymous people," the Grammy winner told Us Weekly. "I don't even know if they're real people half the time."

Social media isn't the only place the singer airs her issues. She has notoriously mined her marital troubles for big hits including "Trustfall," "Mean," and "I Don't Believe You." And what does her spouse think about that?  Pink told USA Today that it doesn't phase him. "I don't even think he's listening half the time," she joked. "He's just like, 'Good stuff, Babe,' and I'm like, 'Thanks, Honey.' " For his part, Hart seems to agree. "I have very thick skin," he said on "The Kelly Clarkson Show." Considering how much money those songs rake in, it would be hard for anyone to stay mad for too long.

With all that they've been through, it seemed like the worst was behind power couple Pink and Carey Hart. Then the singer revealed that they nearly split up for a third time. In a post celebrating their 18th anniversary, she shared: "Love is a lifetime of coming back to the table. We almost didn't make it to this one, well a couple of them, if I'm being honest. When I met you, 22 years ago, I just wanted someone that wouldn't lie to me. I didn't have a clue about commitment, building a life together, intimacy, trust. It's f****** hard. But man if I'm not humbled by the surprise of loyalty, history, forgiveness, and resilience. ... You are my stubborn, beautiful, immovable rock."

While the singer doesn't elaborate on what types of issues she and Hart had gone through to inspire the post, she did sound like she had put them behind her. And if not, we're sure she'll find a way to turn them into another smash hit. Only time will tell.