EXCLUSIVETragedy Strikes Again: Bond Girl Tanya Roberts' Death Hit Ashton Kutcher 'Especially Hard,' Insider Reveals
Jan. 25 2021, Updated 5:25 p.m. ET
It's no secret that Ashton Kutcher's life has been filled with pain and sadness. But the recent death of his former That '70s Show costar Tanya Roberts — and the controversy around it — has pushed him to his breaking point.
"Overall, Ashton's a positive guy who counts himself very blessed for all the good fortune and success he's achieved," a source tells OK!. "But he's also a sensitive individual who takes it badly when tragedy occurs — and this awful news about Tanya has hit him especially hard."
Though Roberts was confirmed to have passed on January 5 at age 65 from a urinary tract infection, her death was prematurely announced 24 hours prior — which left Kutcher, 42, and others who knew the former Bond girl stunned. "Ashton's upset that people got it wrong the first time," says the source. "Now that Tanya's truly gone, it's brought up a lot of painful memories and emotions." It's not the first time he's lost someone close to him.
In 2001, Kutcher's then-girlfriend Ashley Ellerin, 22, was brutally murdered by a serial killer in her L.A. apartment.
As insiders previously told OK!, Kutcher has recently felt "haunted" by his painful past, particularly Ellerin's shocking death. "It's an experience that stays with you for a lifetime," notes the insider of the tragic ordeal. "It's scarring.
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"The word is, he's told friends he still has terrible dreams where he sees Ashley lying in a pool of blood, and he wakes up sweating and crying," adds the source.
Eight years later, actress Brittany Murphy, whom he dated for seven months, died unexpectedly at just 32 after collapsing in her bathroom.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT ASHTON KUTCHER DISCOVERED HIS GIRLFRIEND WAS MURDERED
Those losses "have stayed with him," notes the source. "He can't help but feel cursed by tragedy." Thankfully, Kutcher's had wife Mila Kunis, 37, by his side. "She's so understanding about everything he's been through," says the source. "Mila's the tough one, and Ashton feels lucky to have her in his life. This recent death would be a lot more difficult to handle without her."
