NEWSCarmen Electra Reveals Why Whirlwind Marriage to Dennis Rodman 'Had to End' After 9 Days
Carmen Electra reflected on when she came to the realization she needed to split from Dennis Rodman.
May 28 2026, Published 12:28 p.m. ET
Carmen Electra revealed the heartbreaking moment she knew her marriage to Dennis Rodman had to end while looking back on their '90s romance.
"It was just too hard to continue to keep up with him and his friends,” Electra, 54, admitted during a Tuesday, May 26, appearance on the "Legally Golf" podcast. "It was constant drinking."
Carmen Electra Opened Up About Former Marriage to Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman sought to annul his marriage from Carmen Electra after nine days.
The Baywatch alum and the former NBA basketball player, 65, first sparked a connection after crossing paths at a nightclub in 1998. The pair dated for several months before tying the knot at the famous Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nev., that November.
The romance hit a bump soon after, as Rodman sought an annulment just nine days later.
Though they briefly reconciled, they moved forward with a divorce in April 1999.
Carmen Electra discussed her former marriage on the 'Legally Golf' podcast.
Carmen Electra Felt She Had to 'Get Away' From Dennis Rodman
Carmen Electra said her face was getting 'puffy' from the 'constant drinking.'
During their short romance, the model recalled not "recognizing" herself when she looked in the mirror, adding, "I had bags under my eyes. My face was puffy. I’m in my 20s! I thought, 'It’s got to stop. It has to stop.'"
"I just thought, 'I’ve got to get away from him because what good is going to come out of this?'" she explained during the interview. "It was real love. It wasn’t a made-up story. It wasn’t a publicity stunt. It was real love. It’s sad but it had to end."
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Carmen Electra Called the Breakup 'Hard'
Carmen Electra said her split from Dennis Rodman was complicated because he could be 'really sweet and cute.'
Their breakup proved tumultuous, as she admitted "there were times" when the athlete would show a soft side by "being really sweet and cute and cry[ing]."
"[He'd] want me back," she remembered. "I would just give everything [he gave me] back — not everything. I kept the things that he gave me from when we were together but after that, I gave everything back. It was hard."
Carmen Electra Credited Self-Help for Leaving Relationship
Carmen Electra called her relationship with Dennis Rodman one of the 'worst' periods in her life.
After a friend gifted the actress a self-help book around that time, she realized it was best to move on, so she took strong measures to distance herself from the retried athlete, explaining she had to "move and change [her] number."
"He would just come to my house and not leave," she claimed. "He'd threaten to get naked again outside. I just didn’t want the police [to come]. It didn’t want it to turn into a big thing."
In the past, Electra publicly called her time with Rodman one of "the worst" periods in her life.
"Our relationship was very passionate. When it was good, it was amazing," the TV star said during an October 2014 appearance on Where Are They Now?. "And when it was bad, it was the worst."
