Where Is Stephen Collins Now? A Look at the Disgraced 7th Heaven Actor’s Life a Decade After He Admitted to Molesting Minors

Stephen Collins was ‘America’s dad’ as Rev. Eric Camden on ‘7th Heaven.’ Then, a dark secret ended his career in Hollywood

Stephen Collins was most famous for playing a wholesome father and reverend on 7th Heaven, but off-screen, he had a dark past that came to light in October 2014.

At the time, Collins confessed to molesting three children in a 2012 audio recording that was published publicly, effectively ending his acting career.

“On the recording, I described events that took place 20, 32 and 40 years ago,” he told PEOPLE two months later. “The publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred.”

In the aftermath of Collins’ admission, 7th Heaven reruns were pulled from TV and the actor was dropped from Ted 2 and other projects, eventually leaving Hollywood completely.

Now, the Investigation Discovery series Hollywood Demons, which was released on March 24, is taking a closer look at the disgraced actor’s case.

Here’s everything to know about where Stephen Collins is now.

Who is Stephen Collins?

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 1, 1947, Collins grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., per TV Party. After high school, Collins attended Amherst College in Massachusetts where he appeared in a number of theater productions.

At a party for one of his plays in college, Collins met a producer, who cast him in Twelfth Night in New York City’s Shakespeare in the Park. From there, he starred on Broadway, which led to TV and film work.

Collins had a nearly four-decade screen acting career. His big break came as Hugh Sloan in 1976’s All the President’s Men alongside Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, followed by a turn as Commander Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.

The actor also worked a number of TV roles before his breakthrough came in 1996 when he debuted as patriarch Rev. Eric Camden in 7th Heaven. That same year, he starred alongside Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette Midler in The First Wives Club.

After 7th Heaven ended in 2007, Collins made appearances in shows including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Office. Collins also starred in Spamalot on Broadway in 2008.

In addition to acting, Collins was also a novelist, authoring psychosexual thrillers Eye Contact and Double Exposure.

What did Stephen Collins do?

In October 2014, TMZ obtained an audio recording of Collins allegedly confessing in a 2012 joint therapy session with then-wife Faye Grant to molesting underage girls. When the audio recording was made public, Collins was in the midst of a contentious divorce from Grant after 27 years of marriage.

In the session, which Grant secretly tape-recorded, he admitted to exposing himself to at least three girls, including one who was allegedly a relative of Collins’ first wife, Marjorie Weinman.

In a November 2013 court filing, a year after the two split, Grant alleged that Collins had narcissistic personality disorder with “sociopathic tendencies,” noting, “In the presence of his therapist, Stephen admitted that he had engaged in a long term pattern of sexually abusing minor children, including sexually molesting three young girls over a decade ago.”

One of his accusers, April Price, who was 13 at the time, claimed in Hollywood Demons that Collins signed a headshot for her when she was on a trip visiting her aunt, who lived next door from him in Los Angeles, and that they developed a friendship from there.

She alleged that Collins exposed himself to her a number of times, including once when he was setting up her Atari gaming system at her aunt’s apartment.

“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’s completely exposed,” Price said in the documentary.

What did Stephen Collins admit to?

In a December 2014 statement to PEOPLE, Collins admitted to sexually abusing three underage girls between the years of 1973 and 1994.

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

He continued, “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.”

Collins added that he apologized to one of his victims 15 years later, noting that the accuser was “extraordinarily gracious” toward him at the time.

“But after I learned in the course of my treatment that my being direct about such matters could actually make things worse for them by opening old wounds, I have not approached the other two women, one of whom is now in her 50s and the other in her 30s,” he explained.

Price later acknowledged that she was the survivor to whom Collins apologized, telling The Daily Mail that she was working for a craft services company on a commercial shoot when he approached her.

“He was very intense. He said, ‘I want you to understand what I did. I know it was extremely wrong. I really apologize for it, if I ever made you uncomfortable,’ ” she recalled. “I don’t remember how I responded. I just was saying to myself, ‘Keep professional. I want to work in this business.’ “

Collins later told Katie Couric on ABC News 20/20 that he is a “flawed person” but hasn’t had any sexual impulses toward children since the last incident in 1994, insisting he is “absolutely not attracted, physically or sexually attracted to children.”

Was Stephen Collins ever charged?

Following the allegations becoming public in October 2014, the NYPD Manhattan Special Victims Squad opened an investigation into the actor after he admitted to sexually abusing minors, but never filed charges against him. The LAPD additionally confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that they were re-opening a 2012 investigation into Collins that they’d previously closed.

Accuser Price claimed in a March 2015 interview with The Daily Mail that no charges were leveled against Collins due to the statute of limitations, telling the outlet that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reached out to her about her allegations.

“They sent two detectives to my home to talk to me,” Price recalled. “They kept in very close contact with me, but they knew that the statute of limitations to prosecute was up. They knew this would preclude them from charging Stephen but they wanted to work all of their options.”

Where is Stephen Collins now?

Collins and Grant settled their divorce in 2015.

According to Hollywood Demons, Collins is reportedly dating a 7th Heaven “superfan” named Jenny Nagel, who is nearly half his age.

“Stephen Collins now lives with a woman who is 40 years younger than him,” media personality Dr. Drew Pinskey revealed in the special. “She was a super fan.”

In 2019, The Daily Mail reported that the two had gotten married and were living in a small town in Iowa. The outlet additionally claimed that they attended daily meditation sessions.

Collins did not partake in the documentary, with the producers revealing that they reached out to “more than 100″ of Collins’ contacts but “nearly everyone declined to participate or did not respond.”

In September 2024, Collins’ 7th Heaven onscreen children Beverley Mitchell, David Gallagher and Mackenzie Rosman — who played Lucy, Simon and Ruthie Camden, respectively — spoke out about Collins’ sexual abuse scandal on their rewatch podcast Catching Up With the Camdens.

“All forms of abuse, sexual abuse of any kind, it’s inexcusable. And victims of abuse need to be shown compassion and they should be given support,” Gallagher said.

Rosman then acknowledged the allegations against Collins, adding, “As we rewatch these episodes, it would be impossible not to talk about Stephen because he was such a big part of the show and our lives. But we want to be clear that we did not have any inappropriate experiences with Stephen.”

She continued, “Stephen will not be joining us on this podcast and we do not excuse or condone his behavior. Our hope for this podcast is to reconnect with you, our fans, to relive some 90s nostalgia and to share our fondest memories of 7th Heaven.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.