As he works to walk again after a spinal stroke, ‘The Blind Side’ star opens up about an invalid marriage, another husband and a court-issued restraining order.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
August 20, 2026
Key Takeaways
- While recovering from a spinal stroke that left him temporarily paralyzed, Quinton Aaron says he was “blindsided” to learn the woman he believed he’d legally married, Margarita DeLeon, was still married to another man despite telling him she’d been divorced for years.
- DeLeon has claimed they were only “spiritually married” and that Aaron knew there were unresolved divorce issues, but he backs his family’s decision to bar her from his hospital room, supports a restraining order, and says he’s forgiven her without wanting any further contact.
- Now focused on rehab after regaining some feeling and movement in his legs, Aaron vows he’ll walk again and return to entertainment with a podcast, book, documentary, and an eventual acting comeback, “whether it’s in a chair or on my feet.”
Quinton Aaron says he was fighting to survive a spinal stroke when he learned the woman he believed he had married was still legally married to someone else.
Nearly seven months after the medical emergency that left him paralyzed from the waist down, The Blind Side actor opened up to Us Weekly about both his recovery and his relationship with Margarita DeLeon. Aaron said he was “blindsided” by the discovery that their December 2024 marriage wasn’t legally valid, insisting DeLeon had repeatedly told him she had been divorced for more than a decade.
“We would’ve never spoken if I knew she was married,” Aaron said. “I’m not the type of person that messes with married women.”
Aaron, 42, said he believed their ceremony was supposed to result in a legal marriage. Instead, he learned during his hospitalization that DeLeon remained married to another man. “Thankfully, the marriage was voided,” he said. “I didn’t need to annul it because we weren’t legally married.”
DeLeon previously offered a different account. She acknowledged being legally married to another man but said she and Aaron were “spiritually married” and claimed Aaron knew there could be unresolved issues with her divorce paperwork. Photos later surfaced showing the pair participating in a December 2024 chapel ceremony, signing documents and celebrating afterward.
The dispute became public while Aaron was unable to speak for himself.
In January, Aaron went to sleep experiencing severe back pain. When he later tried to get up, he discovered he could neither feel nor move his legs. “I was completely paralyzed from the waist down,” he recalled.
Aaron said an infection had entered his bloodstream and spread to his spinal cord and lungs. He was diagnosed with a spinal stroke and pulmonary embolism, fell into a coma, and later went into cardiac arrest. He remained intubated for nearly a month.
During his hospitalization, Aaron’s family began questioning DeLeon’s relationship with him and her involvement in his care. She was eventually barred from his hospital room, while Aaron’s brother Jarred obtained a restraining order requiring her to stay away from members of the family. Aaron later publicly supported his brother and said he wanted no further contact with DeLeon.
Aaron now says the relationship had already deteriorated before his stroke, describing frequent “arguments and accusations and lies.” He said he has since forgiven DeLeon but has no interest in reopening communication.
“I don’t need to speak to her ever again,” he said.
DeLeon previously denied allegations that she harmed Aaron and maintained that she loved him and encouraged him to improve his health.
Aaron’s attention now appears firmly fixed on rehabilitation. He remains in a wheelchair but has regained sensation in his legs and experienced some movement, giving him confidence about what comes next.
“I told you, I’m gonna walk again,” Aaron recalled telling his representative after one such moment.
He also intends to return to entertainment regardless of how his physical recovery progresses. Aaron is developing a podcast, book, documentary, and other projects while planning an eventual acting comeback.
“Whether it’s in a chair or on my feet, I’ll be on the screen again,” he said.
