Inside Stephen Collins’ Career Collapse After Molesting Minors Scandal

Stephen Collins’ career went downhill after he admitted to molesting three children in October 2014. Collins was known for playing America’s dad on 7th Heaven for over a decade. However, following his admission, the show was pulled from TV. Collins was also dropped from other projects scheduled at that time, and his career in Hollywood collapsed completely.

Collins was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 1, 1947. During his college years at Amherst College in Massachusetts, he appeared in several theater productions. He received his big break in All the President’s Men in 1976.

Then, he appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture as Commander Willard Decker. His career truly took a new level after he joined the cast of 7th Heaven as Rev. Eric Camden in 1996. The same year, he joined The First Wives Club, with co-stars Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton.

He also appeared in shows including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Office, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In October 2014, his career faced a major setback. At that time, TMZ released an audio recording where Collins allegedly confessed to molesting minor girls in a joint therapy session with then-wife Faye Grant.

After the audio was made public, Collins was in the midst of a tumultuous divorce from his wife after 27 years of marriage. The audio recording of his admission was secretly taped by his ex-wife. In the recording, Collins admitted to exposing himself to at least three underage girls. One of the victims was identified as Marjorie Weinman, a relative of Collins’ first wife.

Two months after the scandal came to light, the actor told PEOPLE, “On the recording, I described events that took place 20, 32, and 40 years ago. The publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred.”

Another one of Collins’ victims was identified as April Price. She was 13 when the incident happened. Price alleged that he gave her an autograph when she was on a trip in Los Angeles. She accused the actor of exposing himself to her a number of times.

Recalling an instance, Price said in Hollywood Demons, “He's in the living room in my aunt's apartment hooking up that Atari, and he turned around, and his jeans were completely open, and he was completely exposed.”

In a 2014 statement to PEOPLE, he said, “Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since.”

He added, “I've decided to address these issues publicly because two months ago, various news organizations published a recording made by my then-wife, Faye Grant, during a confidential marriage therapy session in January 2012. This session was recorded without the therapist's or my knowledge or consent.”

Although investigations were launched, Collins was never formally charged. According to media personality Dr. Drew Pinskey, “Stephen Collins now lives with a woman who is 40 years younger than him. She was a super fan.”