Elon Musk’s love life mapped: the Tesla founder divorced 3 times, fell hard for Johnny Depp’s ex Amber Heard and now has a baby with Grimes

May 9 , 2021

Does this photograph prove that Elon Musk has finally settled down? Photo: @elonmusk/Twitter

In 2010, Elon Musk said he would “rather stick a fork in my hand than write about my personal life”.

But the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is a fascinating, if eccentric, figure, and over the years, he’s opened up here and there about his childhood, his parents and his relationships.

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Musk got uncharacteristically candid for perhaps the first time in an in-depth Rolling Stone interview by Neil Strauss published in November 2017. He spoke of his break-up with ex-girlfriend Amber Heard, expressing his heartbreak over their parting ways. Musk also touched upon his estranged relationship with his father Errol, calling him a “terrible human being”.

Grimes and Musk together at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala in 2018. Photo: AP

These days, Musk is dating the musician Grimes – the pair debuted their relationship in May 2018, and had their first child together last spring.

Here’s a look at Elon Musk’s personal life over the years.

A rocky start

Born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk was the eldest of three children. His mother Maye Musk is a Canadian model who’s appeared on the cover of Time and became a CoverGirl spokesperson at 69. His father Errol is an engineer.

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Elon Musk in 1999, four years after beginning his entrepreneurial journey in the world of tech. Photo: AP

Musk told Rolling Stone he’s struggled with loneliness since childhood. “When I was a child, there’s one thing I said,” Musk recalled. “‘I never want to be alone.’”

Overall, Musk’s childhood was far from idyllic. He was bullied at school, and even ended up in hospital after his tormentors pushed him down a staircase. Soon after his parents split up in 1980, Musk went to live with his father, Errol – Musk told Rolling Stone that they are now estranged.

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Strong sibling bond

Musk is seemingly still close with his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca. All of the Musk siblings appear to share an entrepreneurial streak: Kimbal is seeking to make the food industry more sustainable and healthy, while Tosca launched the romance film network Passionflix.

Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal is co-founder of multiple companies and organisations, including The Kitchen Community, Square Roots and Big Green. Photo: Bloomberg

Musk also seems to have a good relationship with his mother. Vanity Fair reported that he gifted Maye with a green Tesla, and she moved to California in 2013 to be closer to her children and grandchildren.

Kimbal Musk, Tosca Musk, Elon’s mother Maye Musk and Elon. Photo: @mayemusk/Instagram

Marriage No 1: Justine Wilson

The SpaceX entrepreneur met his first wife, Justine Wilson, at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. Writing in Marie Claire, she recalled that Musk invited her out for ice cream. She decided to stay in to study, so he showed up regardless with “two chocolate-chip ice cream cones dripping down his hands”.

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Musk reportedly wooed his university crush Justine Wilson with ice cream. The pair later married. Photo: Getty Images

Musk transferred to Wharton, but kept sending Justine roses. They went their separate ways, but reconnected as Musk began working on his first start-up and Justine started working on her first novel after graduation. Justine said Musk wooed her by giving her his credit card to buy as many books as she wanted. The pair tied the knot in 2000.

The couple moved to Los Angeles and had a son named Nevada, whom they tragically lost to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They ultimately had twins and triplets – five sons in total. In 2010, Musk called his children “the love of my life.”

Off-again-on-again marriage No 2: Talulah Riley

However the couple split in 2008. After his divorce, the tech mogul began dating actress Talulah Riley.

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Elon Musk with Pride & Prejudice actress Talulah Riley. Photo: Reuters

While Musk and his first wife became estranged, Justine told Marie Claire that she and Riley ended up getting along very well. She even sent her ex-husband’s girlfriend an email saying: “I would rather live out the French movie version of things, in which the two women become friends and various philosophies are pondered.”

Riley and Musk married in 2010. Two years later, news of their divorce became public when Musk tweeted at Riley: “It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day.”

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Elon Musk with second wife Talulah Riley, brother Kimbal Musk and two of Elon Musk’s sons. Photo: AP

The couple remarried in 2013. Musk filed for – then withdrew – a second divorce the following year.

In 2016, Riley filed for divorce from Musk, which was finalised in late 2016. The two are still on good terms – Riley even made an appearance during Strauss’ Rolling Stone profile of Musk. “We still see each other all the time and take care of each other,” she told People.

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Then, in 2016, Musk began dating actress Amber Heard, but they broke up a year later citing their intense schedules.

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Amber Heard had a brief relationship with Musk, who later admitted he was “really in love” with her. Photo: AP

In a comment on one of Heard’s Instagram posts, Musk said he and his ex were “still friends, remain close and love one another,” and added, “who knows what the future holds.” He later told Rolling Stone: “I was really in love, and it hurt bad.”

Has he finally found The One in Grimes?

In May 2018, Musk arrived at the famously glamorous annual Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art alongside Grimes, a Canadian musician. At the time, Page Six reported that the pair had been “quietly dating” for a few weeks.

Musk and Grimes pose together at the Met Gala – the two now have a baby together. Photo: AP

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Grimes and Musk reportedly met over Twitter. Musk was planning to make a joke about artificial intelligence – specifically, about the Rococo Basilisk character in her Flesh Without Blood video – and discovered she had beaten him to the punch.

Musk later told The Wall Street Journal that he loves Grimes for her “wild fae artistic creativity and hyper intense work ethic”.

In January 2020, Grimes posted a photo to her Instagram and Twitter accounts that appeared to show her pregnant. She later confirmed she was expecting a baby with Musk.

On May 4, 2020, Musk announced the birth of their son, who he and Grimes named X Æ A-Xii Musk, seemingly pronounced “X Ash A-12.”

“Mom & baby all good,” Musk wrote on Twitter.

Elon Musk, Grimes and baby X Æ A-Xii in a family photo taken in Texas at the end of 2020. Photo: @elonmusk/Twitter

In December 2020, Musk said that he had moved to Texas following a months-long fight with the state of California over Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. It appears that Grimes and baby X have moved with him, and in March, he shared a family photo taken near SpaceX’s facilities in South Texas.

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This article originally appeared on Business Insider

Fame and celebrity

The tech mogul has had seven children and been married three times – divorcing Pride & Prejudice actress Talulah Riley not once but twice
But his life hasn’t been without tragedy: Musk was bullied at school, is estranged from his father and lost one of his children to SIDS