Amanda Bynes’s secret boyfriend: How he calms her erratic ‘moods’… and her radical new Ozempic side effect

Amanda Bynes was the shining star of Nickelodeon and the lead actress in numerous blockbuster teen comedies. 

But a public mental breakdown and a battle with drug addiction caused the former 2000s icon to retreat from public life and transform her appearance entirely. 

These days, however, it would seem the What A Girl Wants actress, 39, has turned a corner.

Between her recent weight loss journey aided by Ozempic, and a new man in her life, inside sources have exclusively told the Daily Mail that Bynes’s loved ones are hopeful the troubled star may be returning to her old self.

Much of that, they said, is thanks to her new ‘level-headed’ boyfriend, 40-year-old business owner Zachary Khan. Sources said he has given Bynes ‘some stability’ two years after her whirlwind engagement to ex-fiancé Paul Michael.

‘It’s still going,’ one insider told the Daily Mail about Bynes and Khan’s relationship. ‘It’s not serious serious, like they’re not going to get married right away, but he’s really supportive of her, really good to her.’

It’s a welcome change for the troubled star, who was placed under a nine-year conservatorship by her parents in 2013 following a string of erratic behavior, legal problems and drug abuse.

Bynes’s fall from grace isn’t unlike the many sordid stories of former child stars, having landed her big break at just 10 years old in 1999 on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That.

It was there she met Nickelodeon’s controversial producer Dan Schneider, who set Bynes up with her own spin-off comedy series, The Amanda Show, which ran from 1999 to 2002.

Schneider departed from the network in 2018 amid various allegations of misconduct, including fostering an abusive and toxic workplace environment, gender discrimination and the sexualization of the child actors he hired. He has denied the allegations.

Bynes transferred her expert comedic talents to the big screen with lead roles in films Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants and She’s The Man. 

From 2006 to 2010, she furthered her career with blockbuster movies such as Hairspray, Sydney White and Easy A.

But by 2010, Bynes shocked the world when she announced she was quitting Hollywood at what seemed like the height of her career.

It wasn’t until years later, during a 2018 interview with Paper Magazine, that she revealed her performance in 2006’s She’s the Man – in which her character impersonates her twin brother – had sent her into a months-long ‘deep depression for 4-6 months because I didn’t like how I looked’ as a boy.

In that same interview, Bynes shared she ‘couldn’t stand my appearance’ in Easy A, though she acknowledged that being ‘high on marijuana’ had ‘absolutely changed my perception of things.’

It was because of her self-esteem issues that Bynes underwent a dramatic physical transformation – dying her hair platinum blonde, getting a tattoo of a heart on her cheek and receiving lip fillers and a blepharoplasty surgery to lift her eyelids.

Her drastic appearance was coupled by erratic behavior on social media, where she tweeted bizarre statements about Barack Obama and infamously asked Drake to ‘murder’ her vagina.

Her public spiral also included two DUI arrests – the first in 2012 and another in 2014. Bynes was sentenced to three years of probation for her first DUI, while the Los Angeles City Attorney decided not to prosecute her for the second arrest.

In 2013, Bynes’s parents, Rick and Lynn Bynes, placed their daughter under a conservatorship. One year later, Bynes went public with her bipolar disorder diagnosis.

While a California judge granted Bynes’s petition to end her conservatorship in March 2022, her mental health struggles weren’t entirely in the past.

Just one year later, she was placed on a psychiatric hold after being found ‘roaming the streets naked and alone’, TMZ reported at the time.

She was later released from a mental health facility following a three-week stay, as sources previously told the Daily Mail her split from Michael ‘was a catalyst in her breakdown and that he is not a healthy and safe person for her to be around.’

Between her erratic behavior and a public battle with her mental health, fans often wondered whether Bynes would ever turn her situation around.

But according to insiders, her ‘healthy’ relationship with Khan has ignited a new lease on life.

Bynes and Khan, who owns event and security business In House Event Operations, went public with their relationship in September when she posted it on her Instagram Stories. 

Most recently, the pair enjoyed a ‘quiet dinner’ on New Year’s Eve together, the first source shared.

It is understood by the Daily Mail the pair have been friends for over a decade, though they didn’t spark up a romance until after she called it quits with Michael in 2023.

‘He’s in business, he has owned his own company for years,’ the insider continued.

‘She needs that. He’s very nine-to-five, very level-headed. He can talk her down when she gets upset, but also makes her laugh. Amanda used to say she wasn’t ever going to find another boyfriend, and then she and Zachary got closer. It was a deep friendship that turned to more.

‘I’ve seen him calm her down when she gets in her mood, he just handles her. He really is helping her.’

Bynes gained more than 20 pounds in 2024 due to depression. But a second source told the Daily Mail that she is now ‘losing lots of weight with Ozempic and she is loving it.

‘She’s starting to see her old self and that has made her extremely happy, which has been a big boost to her mental health. She hasn’t been in this much of a good mood and in bright spirits in some time.’

The second source added that Bynes has ‘lost about 20 to 30 pounds, and she is looking to lose 20 or 30 more and have a big reveal in a few months.’

Back in June, Bynes revealed on Instagram she was taking the once-weekly semaglutide injection.

‘I’m 173 now so I hope to get down to like 130, which would be awesome so I look better in paparazzi pictures,’ Bynes said in a video posted to her Instagram Stories.

‘I will post about my Ozempic journey, of course.’

As for her career, Bynes has pivoted away from acting to pursue a career in art and fashion.

Bynes graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2019. She hosted a show in 2024 in collaboration with fashion designer Austin Babbitt to show off her art and T-shirt designs.

She also revealed in 2022 that she was working toward obtaining her manicurist license, and was seen attending cosmetology school in October of that year.

Bynes’s friends and loved ones are hopeful that she has turned a new leaf, insiders said, though they largely credit Khan for inspiring her change.

‘Her family and friends are so happy for her,’ the second source shared.

‘There was a time not so long ago where it was all doom and gloom and an uphill battle, but that has changed drastically, and Amanda is living her best life right now.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Bynes for comment.