Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Wife History: All Marriages, Ex-Wives, and Current Spouse

If you’re searching “Jean-Claude Van Damme wife,” you’ll quickly notice it’s not a one-name answer. Jean-Claude Van Damme has been married five times to four women, including a marriage to Gladys Portugues that ended, then restarted years later. The clean, confirmed takeaway is this: his current wife is widely reported as Gladys Portugues, and she is also the spouse he married twice.

Who is Jean-Claude Van Damme?

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Belgian actor and martial artist who became a defining action star of the late 1980s and 1990s. He’s known for blending athleticism, flexibility, and fight choreography into a style that felt different from the era’s other action icons. The nickname “Muscles from Brussels” stuck because his brand was always physical: kicks, splits, high-impact movement, and a kind of intensity that made even simple scenes feel like a challenge.

His personal life has also been heavily documented over the years, partly because fame magnifies everything and partly because his relationship timeline includes multiple marriages, divorces, and a remarriage that still fascinates fans.

How many times has Jean-Claude Van Damme been married?

Jean-Claude Van Damme has been married five times. He has had four wives, because he remarried one of them (Gladys Portugues) after divorcing her the first time.

Here’s the high-level list of his wives, in order:

1) Maria Rodriguez
2) Cynthia Derderian
3) Gladys Portugues (married twice)
4) Darcy LaPier

Who is Jean-Claude Van Damme’s current wife?

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s current wife is widely reported as Gladys Portugues. They first married in 1987, divorced in 1992, and later remarried in 1999. In other words, she is both an ex-wife and his present spouse, depending on which part of the timeline you’re looking at.

Because they have had ups and downs, you may occasionally see older headlines mentioning separation or divorce filings. Those stories can create confusion, but they don’t change the basic relationship record most biographies repeat: Gladys is the spouse he remarried and is most commonly listed as his current wife.

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s first wife: Maria Rodriguez

Van Damme’s first wife was Maria Rodriguez. They married in August 1980 and divorced in 1984.

This marriage happened before Van Damme became the global action name most people know. It was part of his early adult life, during the stretch when he was still chasing a bigger future and trying to break through internationally.

Because this relationship predates his peak fame, there are fewer widely repeated personal details about it. Most public information focuses on the timeline itself: Maria Rodriguez was his first wife, and the marriage ended in the mid-1980s.

Second wife: Cynthia Derderian

Van Damme’s second wife was Cynthia Derderian. They married in August 1985 and divorced in 1986.

This marriage is often described as brief, and that’s accurate. It also lines up with the period when Van Damme was starting to gain traction as an action performer. Early career acceleration can be thrilling, but it can also be destabilizing—long hours, travel, pressure, and the psychological whiplash of trying to “make it” fast. While the public doesn’t get a complete private picture, the timeline shows a short-lived marriage during a major transition period.

Third wife: Gladys Portugues (first marriage)

Van Damme’s third wife was Gladys Portugues, an American bodybuilder and fitness model who also appeared in film and television. They married on January 3, 1987 and divorced in 1992.

This is also the marriage most tied to his family life. Van Damme and Portugues share two children: Kristopher Van Varenberg (born in 1987) and Bianca Brigitte Van Varenberg (born in 1990). Both have been associated with acting in some capacity, which isn’t surprising given the household they grew up in.

Even though the marriage ended in the early 1990s, Gladys remained a major figure in his personal story—because this wasn’t a clean “done forever” split. It was a relationship that eventually came back.

Fourth wife: Darcy LaPier

Van Damme’s fourth wife was Darcy LaPier, an actress and model. They married on February 3, 1994 and divorced in November 1997.

This marriage produced Van Damme’s third child, a son named Nicholas (born in 1995). In many biographies, this marriage is described as intense and highly public, which often happens when two people are living in the entertainment spotlight at a time when the tabloid culture was especially aggressive.

Regardless of the headlines that surrounded this era, the confirmed facts are straightforward: Darcy LaPier was his wife in the mid-1990s, the marriage ended in 1997, and they share a child.

Gladys Portugues (second marriage): the remarriage that defines his “wife” searches

After divorcing Darcy LaPier, Van Damme later reunited with Gladys Portugues. They remarried on June 25, 1999. This is the detail that turns “Jean-Claude Van Damme wife” into a common internet puzzle: people see Gladys as an ex-wife in one section of a biography and then see her again listed as his current spouse.

But it isn’t two different people. It’s the same person, married to him twice.

That remarriage also explains why Gladys Portugues is the name most people are actually looking for when they search “Van Damme wife.” She’s not only part of his relationship history—she’s the one who returned and remained central in his life.