In the world of celebrity marriages they can last a matter of months or decades. When it does finally come to an end - it isn't pretty. Being in the public eye, the financial difficulties of having to deal with all your millions and the constant media attention can quite often push stars to a breaking point. When it's finally time to call it quits, divorce battles can become very expensive and embarrassingly public.
There are a few examples in Hollywood of marriages still going strong but admittedly this is very rare. An average marriage will end due to infidelity or a growing distance between the couple. In the world of celebrity there is so much more to contend with including public accusations of abuse, financial fraud and even suspicions of kidnap. When court appearances become public it's impossible not to reveal all your dirty laundry.
Usually in these cases when things turn sour there are fortunes to protect. Without a pre- nuptial agreement in place the spouse can potentially be awarded every last penny as a settlement. That's when things start to get really messy.
15 Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were married for 72 whole days before ending it with a bitter divorce battle. The pair were paid $1.5 million by People magazine for the official wedding photos, $100,000 by OK! magazine for the bridal shower photos and $100,000 by US Weekly for photos of their Italian honeymoon. An undisclosed amount was also paid by E! network for coverage of the whole wedding on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
When news leaked that the pair would be divorcing less than three months after the wedding, Kris Humphries began to set legal motion for fraud. Online magazine Hollywood Life also reported that he intended to sue Kim to help cover his own legal costs. Beverly Hills attorney told the magazine, "If he can show that the marriage was a con on her part then that can throw doubt in the legitimacy of the pre-nuptial agreement. He then could sue her for damages."
Eventually Kris Humphries took a cut of the Kardashian fortune and the pair went their separate ways. Although the public still remain doubtful that this marriage was ever the "real thing."
14 Ronnie and Jo Wood
Jo Wood had every right to say her ex-husband, Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood, "destroyed" their 26-year marriage because he did just that. In July 2008, 18-year-old Russian model Ekaterina Ivanova snared Ronnie after the pair met in a London nightclub. Ronnie was encouraged by his wife to check into rehab following his irrational choice but he failed to end the romance. Jo had no other option but to file for divorce and it was granted the following year.
Jo then had the ultimate revenge when she penned an explosive autobiography not long after the divorce detailing exactly what it was like living with a rockstar who had a drug problem and serious emotional issues. It is safe to say that Ronnie did not come across as anything other than the worst husband in the world.
Jo revealed in her book Hey Jo some difficult details including that Ronnie got so drunk he threatened to throw acid in her face, that he encouraged her to indulge in cocaine abuse and how she would have to constantly deal with groupies sleeping with her husband. She revealed, "Groupies were one of the inevitable downsides of life as a rock star’s girlfriend. My way of dealing with them was to make friends with them. And if that failed, I’d make them strong drinks until they were so p*****, they did something stupid."
13 Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore spent the majority of their marriage constantly flooding social media with photos of - well mostly snogging. However, behind the scenes there was a very different story to be told. Rumours of Kutcher's cheating ways were confirmed by The Longest Ride actor, Scott Eastwood, when he told talk show host Andy Cohen in an interview that Kutcher had slept with his girlfriend. Eastwood confirmed, "He did sleep with one of my ex-girlfriends but she was my current girlfriend at the time. Well, I think it was the catalyst that broke him and Demi up."
Demi worked very hard to make sure these rumours were extinguished during their marriage but when even more whispers began to emerge about Kutcher's close relationship with actress Mila Kunis, the pair eventually divorced. In 2015, Kutcher and Kunis married (just two years after they stated they were not romantically involved together) and introduced a daughter to their family unit, Wyatt Isabelle. Unfortunately for Demi, her toyboy lover has moved on and thankfully we may never see the hashtag #DemiandAshforever ever again.
12 Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards
If there was ever a couple who should never have walked down the aisle together then it would be none other than Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Since they divorced in 2006 they have constantly been involved in a vicious war of words against each other.
Sheen tweeted last year that his ex-wife and mother of his two daughters was a "washed up piglet shamepile." He also had previously tweeted that Richards was the "Worst Mom Alive". According to reports his anger had emerged from Richards not sticking to the agreement of when he would have access to his daughters. Richards also tweeted that Sheen had failed to show up for his Father's Day with his daughters.
Late last year, Sheen was diagnosed with HIV and is currently undergoing treatment.
11 James Cameron and Linda Hamilton
James Cameron and Linda Hamilton were once a Hollywood match made in heaven. She was the budding young actress with her whole career ahead of her and Cameron was directing huge blockbusters such as The Terminator (1984). If there is one thing that can be said about Cameron it's that he loves spending money - with Avatar (2009) costing $300 million to produce and Titanic (1997) over $200 million. His divorce settlement wasn't cheap either as after just 17-months of marriage Linda Hamilton walked away with $50 million in the bank in 1999.
Hamilton was said to be infuriated by Cameron's close relationship with actress Suzy Amis, who had a small part in the Titanic movie, and everyone knows adultery pays quite the fee in divorce courts. In a bitter war of words Hamilton ranted to the The Daily Mail newspaper, "He was always a jerk. One does want to win, of course, but I've known for many years that this was the very best way to work it. I'm the one that got away and (Suzy Amis) has to live with that and share him with me."
As Hamilton was Cameron's forth wife she really should have seen that his playboy-esque ways were never going to end.
10 Hulk and Linda Hogan
When you have been together as long as Hulk and Linda Hogan have, settling their assets in divorce court is never going to be an easy task. After 29 years of marriage, Hulk had no other choice but to admit adultery after a tape leaked online of him engaging in bedtime activities with the ex-wife of his best friend, radio DJ Bubba the Love Sponge.
Linda was reported in the Daily Mail online confirming, "I knew something was going on behind my back, I just didn’t know it was so close to home." She then criticized his love-making skills and said he was far from the "stud" he thinks he is. Not only is the tape an overall embarrassment but these comments from his now ex-wife surely added more salt to the wounds.
After years of marriage the pair began proceedings in 2009 to share out the $30 million between them and it looks as if Linda got the better end of the deal. The St. Petersberg Times reported that she received 70%, including an additional $3 million property settlement, $7.44 million of the couple's $10.41 million they had held in investment accounts and a collection of luxury vehicles.
9 Princess Diana and Prince Charles
The Royals have always prided themselves on their safely guarded private lives and not allowing the public to see any cracks that may have formed behind closed doors. That was until Princess Diana gave one of the most revealing and scandalous TV interviews of all time.
Wed in 1981, the couple had already been the centre of much tabloid attention claiming that their marriage was a shambles. They had two young sons together, Prince William and Prince Harry, and stuck together for fourteen years so they didn't disappoint the public. However, the breaking point came when Diana could no longer take the love affair that was continuing behind her back between Prince Charles and his long-term friend, Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Princess Diana finally told the BBC in her 1995 interview, "There were three in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded" revealing to the world that the next in line to the throne was having an affair. Sadly Princess Diana died in a car crash in 1997. Prince Charles went on to marry Camilla in 2005.
8 Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook
Christie Brinkley was one woman who didn't feel the need to hold her tongue about divorcing her husband of 12 years, businessman David Cook, labelling him "twisted" and a "narcissist". The former-supermodel claimed that she had support from many other women after revealing on her Facebook page, "My inbox is full of letters from women like me who were married to a narcissist."
Brinkley was distraught when she discovered 47-year-old Cook had been having an affair with the 17-year-old daughter of a police officer, she was just two-years older than their own daughter together, Sailor Lee. During the divorce, Cook's emails were hacked and RadarOnline revealed he had penned a scathing email all about his ex-wife after reading in the press that he had laid hands on his own children.
The email read: "She disposed of 10 good years of marriage because of my indiscretion and has had to vilify me ever since to excuse her own petty and self-indulgent behavior - throwing our children under the bus, relentlessly vilifying their father and surrendering our lives to the media - essentially capitalising on my pain and by default our children’s pain; all masked behind a fixed disingenuous smile." Well that's certainly one way of expressing how you really feel.
7 Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi
In 2013, paparazzi caught a shot of TV chef Nigella Lawson and art gallery owner Charles Saatchi in a moment which appeared like domestic abuse. Saatchi could be seen clearly grabbing his wife by the throat as tears began to form in her eyes. Saatchi claimed it to be nothing more than a "playful tiff" but Lawson did not say anything which appeared to agree with this.
The trial was not an easy one with both sides playing the innocent party and lawyers dragging up as much dirt as they possibly could. Lawson was accused of having an addiction to cocaine and Saatchi accused of also abusing the couple's two children. Lawson said of the allegations on ABC's Good Morning America, "I have to be honest, to have not only your private life but distortions of your private life put on display is mortifying."
Once settled, Nigella threw a "divorce party" at the home she previously shared with her husband as a thank you to everyone who helped her through this difficult time including her agency, lawyers and makeup artist.
6 Liza Minelli and David Gest
In 2002, in front of Elizabeth Taylor who was matron of honour, David Gest took Liza Minelli's hand in marriage and promised, "You are everything to me and I will love you forever." Fast forward five years later and the couple's marriage was surrounded by rumours of drunken rages, physical assaults, and unbelievably - Gest accusing Minelli of passing on a sexually transmitted disease to him.
As reported by the Daily Mail, they claimed: "In papers filed at the Supreme Court in Manhattan, Gest says that Minnelli carried the herpes virus but failed to tell him. He claims he feared he had been infected by her following unprotected sex during the marriage, and went on to seek medical attention for a ‘rash on his body and other symptoms. He is demanding damages for the anxiety it caused him and his ‘loss of earnings’ during this period."
To make the trial even worse one of the witnesses who came forward was Minelli's chauffeur Mohammed Soumayah who was also seeking damages for ‘personal injuries’ after working for her. He claimed during his ten years of employment she was a "violent, sex-starved maniac who harassed him with demands for physical satisfaction, and abused him until he agreed to sleep with her for fear of losing his job." Never in the history of Hollywood had a divorce been so bitter and embarrassingly public until the pair finally settled privately.
5 Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger
You know it's a marriage gone wrong when it all ends with one half fantasizing over murdering the other half's divorce lawyer. Alec Baldwin told Vanity Fair magazine just that when he was going through a bitter divorce battle with his estranged wife, Kim Basinger. He gruesomely described his fantasy by saying, "I wanted to stick a knife in him and gut him and kill him and I wanted him to die breathing his last breath looking into my eyes."
Since the comments were made the 30 Rock actor has confirmed that he has received help with his anger issues. Baldwin publicly left his teenage daughter a voicemail calling her a "rude pig" when she refused to take his calls. The pair, who met in 1990 when they co-starred in The Marrying Man (1991), finalized their divorce in 2002 and Baldwin has since moved on to marry a yoga instructor thirty years his junior.
4 Donald and Ivana Trump
Donald Trump is a successful entrepreneur with a business worth billions. Between the years of 1977 and 1992 he was married to Ivana Trump and the pair had a daughter, Ivanka, and two sons, Donald, Jr. and Eric, together. However it was apparent that all that glitters isn't gold after all the dirty details of his marriage was dished out to the press.
It was revealed that the Republican Party candidate who boasted that he pays his female staff "handsomely" only offered his own wife payment in dresses for her work within the company. Even more disturbingly Ivana also revealed to friends that she was sexually assaulted by her own husband, in the tell-all book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump written by Newsweek writer Harry Hunt, Ivana told friends she was held down by her husband, had fistfuls of hair pulled from her scalp before he tore her clothes and assaulted her.
In the worst form of damage control, Michael Cohen who was part of the special counsel at The Trump Organization, defended his boss by saying, "You’re talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody. And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse." The comment caused public outrage and the statement was quickly retracted.
Ivana finally walked away from the seemingly abusive marriage. The Baltimore Sun Newspaper reported her settlement to include: "$10 million, the 45-room Greenwich, Conn., mansion, a Manhattan apartment at Trump Plaza on Third Avenue, $300,000 annually in child support, $350,000 a year in alimony, and use of the Trumps' Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, for one month a year."
3 Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Tiger Woods is considered the world's greatest golfer and throughout his sporting career he netted a fortune of $750 million. When he wasn't on tour winning championships, he would be at home with his stunning wife Elin Nordegren and their two beautiful children. His luxury life made him appear like the man who had it all. That was until he was exposed as a serial cheater after Elin found a string of text messages on his phone to other women.
After some investigation by the press, Woods had an affair with a diner waitress named Mindy Lawton in a parking lot, adult movie actress Holly Sampson on the night of his bachelor party, her friend Joslyn James who had apparently got pregnant but then had a termination, an exotic dancer named Cori Rist and a New York City nightclub hostess named Rachel Uchitel.
It was enough for Elin to finally leave her husband and she received more than her pre-nup agreement at a settlement of $100 million - $20 million for each year of their marriage.
2 Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
Tom Cruise has never been shy about his involvement with the Church of Scientology, but for his wife of six years, actress Katie Holmes, it all was too much and she reportedly separated from him to help protect their daughter, Suri. According to Cruise, he found out his wife was leaving him and taking their daughter during a phone call from her.
Scientologist Samantha Domingo explained to Vanity Fair magazine that those who leave the church were forever cut off from other members - even if these are immediate family. She revealed, "According to Scientology doctrine, Katie has denied Suri her spiritual eternity in the church. There's no chance for her now. Why would Katie deny their daughter her spiritual freedom? How suppressive is that? If (Tom) loves his daughter, he will never give up on (Scientology). He will try to use every means available to help his child."
There were also rumours surrounding Holmes stating that she had reason to believe that Cruise and the church would abduct Suri, and she also feared intimidation. In 2012, the couple announced their divorce settlement and Holmes has full custody of Suri.
1 Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
Although it's a tough one - you have to feel sorry for Heather Mills when she was torn to shreds by her husband's divorce lawyers during court proceedings in 2008. She was married to The Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney for four years and the couple had a daughter together, Beatrice. 40-year-old Mills demanded $150 million for four years of marriage to 65-year-old Sir Paul, but she was awarded just $30 million after her husband's lawyers branded her a liar throughout the trial.
British newspaper The Telegraph reported from the trial, "Mr Justice Bennett said the former model was not only 'devoid of reality', but had proved to be her 'own worst enemy' by making claims for a settlement which were 'ridiculous'". Mills also expressed very erratic behaviour including crying during TV interviews and accusing the press of giving her worse coverage than a "murderer or a pedophile".
Mills complained to the British press commission that over 4,400 abusive articles about her had been published with false statements and she received private compensation from this.
Sources: The St.Petersberg Times, vanityfair.com, dailymail.co.uk
