Burlesque star Dita Von Teese is best known for her saucy stage routines, but back in the early 2000s she found a different kind of fame as the girlfriend of shock rocker Marilyn Manson.

The brunette beauty, 48, who was unmasked as a contestant on The Masked Dancer last night, started dating the musician - real name Brian Warner - back in 2001 after being asked to appear in one of his videos.

The pair hit if off and stayed in touch, becoming a couple after he invited her to his 32nd birthday party.

They dated for several years before the rocker proposed in 2004, offering Dita a vintage diamond engagement ring said to date from the 1930s.

After a year-long engagement, the pair tied the knot in 2005 in a lavish affair that stretched over several days and across two different countries.

The pair first tied the knot in a civil ceremony held at Dita's home in Los Angeles with reports suggesting a church ceremony had been ruled out due to fears over Manson's reputation as a shock rocker.

Dita Von Teese, pictured left, and Marilyn Manson, pictured right (
Image:
Reuters)

Afterwards, they headed to Ireland where they held a rehearsal dinner at a lavish country home for 60 guests before the main ceremony at a Gothic-style mansion - Castle Gurteen de la Poer in Tipperary.

Dita wore a stunning purple Vivienne Westwood frock for the formal ceremony, which was officiated by movie director Alejandro Jodorowsky.

The reception was an equally lavish affair - with a banquet table adorned with centrepieces of black and red roses and gold candles in the shape of skulls.

However, just a year after they tied the knot, the relationship had broken down.

Dita is said to have left the marital home on Christmas Eve 2006 taking none of her possessions with her - and she claimed she wasn't even able to contact her husband to let him know about her intention to file for divorce.

Dita Von Teese, pictured, was married to shock rocker Marilyn Manson from 2005 until 2007 (
Image:
Getty Images For Jean Paul Gault)

She filed official paperwork to end the marriage citing irreconcilable differences and the divorce was finalised the following year.

Speaking about her decision to end her marriage, Dita told The Daily Telegraph in 2007: "I wasn't supportive of his partying or his relationship with another girl.

"As much as I loved him, I wasn't going to be part of that."

She also compared her then husband to Faye Dunaway's character of abusive and controlling mother Joan Crawford in 1981 movie Mommie Dearest.

Dita said: "I basically lived with Mommie Dearest for six years... It was difficult, because I was trying to get him help for his problems, and eventually I realised that he didn't want help..."

Dita Von Teese, pictured right, and Marilyn Manson, pictured left (
Image:
Getty Images)

In another interview that same year with Harper's Bazaar magazine, Dita dismissed gossip that the pair had an open marriage, saying: "I've even had people come to me since, saying, 'Well, didn't you have an open relationship?'

"No! Never! We were completely monogamous. I think people thought we were real free and open, but we really believed in commitment and tradition and our vows. But sometimes people change their ideas, I suppose...."

She went on to add: "Let's just say that it must have been something pretty bad for me to move out of the house after six years together and to pack up my stuff on Christmas Eve...

"I felt like I'd found the man of my dreams. But sometimes things change overnight, and you have to make a choice as to whether you're going to respect yourself and say, 'I'm not going to accept this. This is not okay.'"

Dita Von Teese, pictured, was unmasked as the Beetroot on The Masked Dancer (
Image:
itv)

Manson also spoke out about the end of their marriage, telling Spin magazine in 2007: "Marriage changes everything... people would say that drugs and alcohol wrecked my marriage...

"She [Dita] said she had tolerated the lifestyle because she hoped I would change and threatened to leave if I didn't.

"I was sleeping on the couch in my own home. I was no longer supposed to be a rock star. I was someone who had to be apologised for.

"I wasn't prepared to be alone. I came out of this naked, a featherless bird."

A decade later, Manson opened up about his relationship with Dita during an appearance on America's Howard Stern Show in 2017.

Dita Von Teese, pictured right, and Marilyn Manson, pictured left (
Image:
Getty Images for Libertine)

During his interview with the shock jock, Manson described how he'd banned threesomes during their romance - referring to a night in Zurich before they were married.

He said: "Threesomes, I don’t like threesomes, just for the record.

"I had this conversation with my ex-wife [Dita] after 10 years – I said, 'Do you remember the time we weren’t married and we were in Zurich and you said, 'Hey, why don't I go pick up some hot goth girls and bring 'em backstage?'...

"And she brings back two girls, she picks the hot one and starts making out with her.

Dita Von Teese published a statement in support of her ex-husband Marilyn Manson (
Image:
Instagram)

"So what do I do? I get stuck with the dud. But then I got punched [by Dita] and I didn’t realise why for 10 years.

"And then I asked her, 'Why did you hit me?’' And she said, 'You're supposed to stare at your girlfriend having sex with the hot girl.'

"I said, 'But it was my concert, why did you stick me with the dud?' So no threesomes, it's an extra crying, bleeding machine in the morning. If someone's gonna cry in the morning, it’s probably gonna be me."

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Manson was thrust back into the headlines this year when at least five women accused him of abuse. He has vehemently denied the claims, which are being investigated by police, and Dita spoke out in his defence.

She posted a statement on Instagram insisting the claims from other women "do not match" her own personal experience of being in a relationship with him.

Dita wrote: "I have been processing the news that broke Monday regarding Marilyn Manson.

"To those who have expressed your concerns of my well-being, I appreciate your kindness.

"Please know that the details made public do not match my personal experience during our 7 years together as a couple. Had they, I would not have married him in December 2005. I left 12 months later due to infidelity and drug abuse.

"Abuse of any kind has no place in any relationship. I urge those of you who have incurred abuse to take steps to heal and the strength to fully realise yourself.

"This is my sole statement on this matter. Thank you for respecting this request."