Hollywood actress Laura Dern was left heartbroken after she went off to work and came home to discover her fiance Billy Bob Thornton had married Angelina Jolie behind her back.

The Jurassic park star, 53, met Billy Bob, 64, in 1997 and they started dating before becoming engaged.

They had been together for three years and she was well on the way to becoming the actor's fifth wife when she left the home they shared and went away to work on a movie.

While she was away, her fiance married another woman - his Pushing Tin co-star Angelina, who at 24 years old was two decades his junior, and didn't tell her.

Laura admitted she had no idea her relationship was over until she heard about the marriage - and she never heard from Billy Bob again.

Laura Dern's fiance Billy Bob Thornton married Angelina Jolie while she was away working on a movie (
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Speaking in 2000 after the wedding bombshell, Laura told Talk magazine: "I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I’ve never heard from him again."

She went on to reveal that one of the most painful parts of the situation was that Billy Bob ghosted her - and she felt like she never got any closure.

Laura added: "It’s like a sudden death. For no one has there been any closure or clarity."

Laura used to babysit Angelina before she stole her fiance (
Image:
Corbis via Getty Images)

To make matters worse, it was later revealed that Laura used to babysit Angelina when she was a child.

Laura's actor dad Bruce made the revelation, revealing he was good friends with Angelina's dad Jon Voight.

He told Yahoo Movies: "Jon Voight's a friend of mine, so I remember Laura babysat one night for Angelina when Angelina was two and Laura about eight...

The couple were together for three years, shared a home and were planning their wedding (
Image:
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Angelina was married to Billy Bob for three years (
Image:
WireImage)

"Because Jon and I were doing [a movie together called] Coming Home.

"They were staying over at [director] Hal Ashby's house, so they asked [Laura] to come over [to watch Angie]."

The split was apparently so acrimonious that Laura had to enlist the help of a friend, Melissa Etheridge, to help her get her stuff back from the house she shared with Billy Bob.

The couple split in 2003 (
Image:
Getty Images)

Speaking on Sirius XM, Etheridge explained: "I was around when Angelina was not doing nice things with Billy Bob to Laura Dern.

"I helped Laura move out of her house with Billy Bob – I like broke into their home to get their stuff out because it was so nasty."

During his marriage to Angelina, which lasted from 2000 until 2003, Billy Bob opened up about the situation with Laura and admitted he'd "f****d up".

He told the Guardian: "See, I've f****d a lot of things up. I've been wrong.

"In relationships, I've been, like, not present. Or doing some wrong things...

"I don't want to construct when I love, when I write. I don't want to go to couples therapy to solve a relationship.

"I don't want to work on it. I don't believe in it, never have.

"Others may say that you left our girl and married someone else. But it made me happy and somebody else happy. I'm sorry it caused pain."

Billy Bob and Angelina split in 2003 after three years of marriage.

Laura went on to marry musican Ben Harper in 2005 and they welcomed two children together before they split in 2010.