How long were Sean Penn and Madonna married? Actor denies rumors of hitting the songstress

Actor and director Sean Penn is clearing the air about his relationship with his ex-wife and Queen of Pop, Madonna. In his interview with The New York Times, published on Saturday, June 22, 2024, the 63-year-old star denied accusations of physical abuse. He explained that the singer expressed concerns about guns in the home to the police.

"I had a freaking SWAT team come into my house," he revealed, adding, "I said: 'I'’m not coming out. I'm going to finish my breakfast.' The next thing I knew, windows were being broken all around the house and they came in. They had me in handcuffs."

Penn was married to Madonna for four years, from 1985 to 1989. In his interview, the Oscar-winning actor was referring to rumors accusing him of abuse, including sending her to the hospital after he hit her in the head with a baseball bat.

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"It turns out it’s a lot quicker to repair a friendship after divorce"— Sean Penn refers to Madonna as "someone (he) loves"

Sean Penn explained that there were reports claiming he "trussed (Madonna) up like a turkey," adding that he initially didn't even know what it meant. However, he learned of the rumors after a "lovely night" with another woman, who was "looking at (him) like (he) killed her dog" and questioning him about hitting Madonna with a baseball bat.

"I didn’t know what the hell she was talking about. Now I think it’s fair to say that I’m not the biggest guy in the world. But if I hit Mike Tyson in the head with a baseball bat, he’s going to the hospital," he continued.

Despite it being 35 years since the couple separated, Sean Penn still thinks of the songstress as "someone (he) loves," adding:

"It turns out it’s a lot quicker to repair a friendship after divorce if there are not kids involved."

The actor was referring to his second wife, Robin Wright. Shortly after his divorce from the Material Girl, Penn got together with Wright, and they married in 1996. They share two kids, a daughter, Dylan, and a son Hopper. The couple divorced in 2010, and it was not an amicable one.

"It took (Wright) and I quite a while. There was a lot of drama. Much more important to repair it if there are kids involved, but no easy swing, right?" he told NY Times.

Sean Penn was also married to Australian actress Leila George (in 2020), but they divorced after less than two years of marriage.

In recent years, both Sean Penn and Madonna have denied all allegations of abuse. In 2015, the Material Girl refuted the accusations in an affidavit presented in court during Penn's defamation lawsuit against filmmaker Lee Daniels. In her affidavit, the singer revealed:

"While we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, ‘tied me up,’ or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless, and false.”

The actor had filed a defamation suit after Daniels had remarked that Terrance Howard's public confession about hitting his wife was the same as Penn's.