Ethan Hawke was widely rumored to have cheated on Uma Thurman with the couple’s nanny, Ryan Shawhughes, who later became his second wife. However, both Hawke and Thurman have publicly denied or refused to confirm that infidelity with her is what ended their marriage.

Key facts

  • Hawke and Thurman married in 1998 and separated in 2003, with their divorce finalized in 2005.
  • During their separation, tabloids reported that Hawke had “cheated on Uma Thurman with their nanny,” naming Ryan Shawhughes.
  • Hawke has said their split was due to broader marital problems and the pressures of fame, not “anyone’s unfaithfulness,” and Uma has avoided publicly accusing him of cheating.
  • Hawke later married Ryan Shawhughes in 2008, and they have two children together, which helped the nanny-cheating narrative stick in public gossip and forums.

What’s confirmed vs rumored

  • Confirmed :
    • There were intense rumors of infidelity and nanny-related cheating around the time of the breakup.
* Hawke and Shawhughes are now married and have a long-term family.
  • Rumored/gossip :
    • That Hawke definitively “cheated on Uma Thurman with the nanny” has never been admitted by either of them; it remains a popular gossip explanation rather than a verified fact.

Bottom line: The commonly repeated answer to “who did Ethan Hawke cheat on Uma Thurman with?” is their former nanny, Ryan Shawhughes, but the people involved have not publicly confirmed that this affair actually occurred.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.