Strange Things About Brooke Shields & Chris Henchy's Relationship

Since 2001, model turned actor Brooke Shields has been happily married to director and screenwriter Chris Henchy. The celebrity couple wed just two years after they initially started dating, and Shields and Henchy have remained by each other's sides ever since, even welcoming two daughters along the way too. On the surface, it seems like your typical storybook romance. But when you look inside the relationship between Shields and Henchy, it's hard not to notice a few idiosyncrasies that make their bond feel somewhat strange, but also unique. 

For starters, Shields nearly pulled the plug before it truly began. You can't really blame the "Pretty Baby" star for second-guessing herself a bit. After all, before she met Henchy, Shields' college romance to Superman star Dean Cain completely fell apart and her divorce from tennis star Andre Agassi left Shields shocked in the aftermath. In fact, the beloved actor confirmed with People in 2023 that she briefly called it quits with Henchy out of fear that she was still on the rebound post-divorce. However, Shields soon realized what they had was much more than that, and the two eventually got back together.

Then, there was the wedding itself. In an unusual but extremely clever move, Shields and Henchy staged an elaborate fake wedding in the spring of 2001 in order to sidestep the paparazzi, as well as a man who was stalking Shields at the time. The happy couple tied the knot for real at a private ceremony shortly thereafter.

There seems to be a notion that having sex often is necessary in order to maintain a healthy adult relationship. So, Brooke Shields avoiding sex more often than not may come off a bit strange to some. However, the "Suddenly Susan" star has some perfectly valid reasons as to why her sex life with husband Chris Henchy isn't as active as some might expect. In her 2025 book "Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman," Shields describes a somewhat repressed upbringing where she wasn't able to fully satiate her burgeoning sex drive. 

This, combined with the unique challenges presented by middle age, as well as other issues, resulted in the model turned actor frequently pretending to be asleep when she knows Henchy wants to get a little frisky. However, her husband is not part of the problem — quite the opposite, in fact. "That has nothing to do with Chris — he's hot!" she wrote, adding, "He's been working out at a boxing gym recently, and he looks incredible." 

Elsewhere in her book, the "Blue Lagoon" star elaborated that she's working on being more communicative about her issues surrounding sex and intimacy, rather than handling things passively. She also went into detail regarding what does work for her in the bedroom, revealing, "I need my lotions and potions, the right sleepwear (maybe calling it sleepwear is contributing to the problem), my special pillow, and maybe a tequila so I can relax."