Dolph Lundgren has spoken candidly about the financial fallout from his marriage, explaining how his ex-wife responded after he admitted to cheating.
The Swedish actor, who shares daughters Ida and Greta with former wife Anette Qviberg, has previously discussed how work demands and money problems affected the amount of time he could spend with his children. He has now said that his own behavior also played a major role in those financial difficulties.
By his account, his affairs outside the marriage came with a steep cost.
Lundgren married interior designer Qviberg in 1994. The couple later welcomed two daughters, Ida and then Greta, and spent years living outside Hollywood, including in Marbella, Spain.
At one stage, the Rocky IV actor stepped back from the spotlight to focus more on family life. In 2012, he told Men’s Health: “I had 10 years in Europe when my priority was to raise my kids outside of New York and Hollywood.”
He also acknowledged that his professional focus was not especially strong during that period, and said that eventually he had to spend extended stretches away from home in order to earn more.
While the family was based in Marbella, Spain, Lundgren said he was also engaging in relationships outside his marriage while traveling for work.
In an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, he reflected on both his career and personal life, claiming that Qviberg did not leave him over the affairs but instead imposed a major financial consequence.
Lundgren said she effectively hit him with what he described as a $60,000-per-month ‘cheating fee’.
He also said that his film income dropped significantly between 1997 and 2007, explaining that ‘my earnings instead of getting 100, I got 10 per movie’ and suggesting his revenue had fallen by 90 percent.
“The overhead stayed the same, we got more expensive,” he told Bensinger, revealing ‘the more I cheated on my wife, the more she wanted to spend my money. It’s a classic’.
(Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
“She kind of knew that I had affairs. But I don’t think she cared as long as I paid the bills and bought her a new Ferrari,” he claimed, adding that she was spending $60,000 each month on ‘just her credit card’.
The pair divorced in 2011 after 16 years of marriage. Afterward, Lundgren returned to Los Angeles and put renewed energy into rebuilding his acting career.
That comeback gathered momentum with The Expendables, which helped re-establish him in Hollywood. He later appeared in all four films in the franchise, with the most recent released in 2023.
During that later phase of his career, he was also dealing with serious health challenges, including a private cancer battle that he revealed in 2023. In late 2024, he said he was optimistic he would soon be cancer-free after undergoing a procedure to remove a final tumor.
He has since said that he is now cancer free.
His comments about the marriage arrangement, and his claim that his former wife was aware of his infidelity, sparked divided reactions online.
Some people argued that Qviberg had turned the situation to her advantage, while others questioned why he chose to stay married while being unfaithful.
One X user wrote: “the wife was actually running a flawless business model and i will not hear otherwise.”
Another said: “If you wanna be a player, have your cake and eat it too, and actually smart, you don’t marry in the first place.”
Someone else claimed: “Any woman married to a movie star, rock star, political star, wall st star, big shot Pastor or athletic star is getting cheated on. They know it too. You cannot be approached by 10s constantly and not cheat. It would be admirable, but it does not happen.”
A fourth added: “understanding women just want you to come home and don’t spend all your money on random women.”