Have celebrities cornered the market on unbelievably short marriages? According to a study by UK-based organization The Marriage Foundation and our own research, they may have. It seems that nearly 50% of celebrities who tied the knot between 2000 and 2010 ended their union with a divorce. During the same time period, just 26% of regular-folk UK marriages hit the skids. While it’s difficult to pinpoint just one reason for these failures, all is not lost.
We poured over our celebrity marriage database and here’s what was shocking: there are far more marriages among Hollywood’s elite that barely existed than celebs are being given credit for. Not that any of them are complaining about the lack of press coverage in that department!
That said, despite what some may think, the land of glitz and glam is not just full of folks who can’t seem to hold their relationship together. There are still celeb couples out there that value the sanctity of marriage and take their commitment to each other seriously. Many of them have managed to find that secret marriage sauce and have been married for over 30 years! So, which couples have called it quits and which have gone the distance?
20 Over Before It Started: Ali Landry Wishes She’d Followed Her Gut Before Marrying Mario Lopez
In what looked like a match made in heaven, former Miss USA Ali Landry married Mario Lopez. The only problem was that Landry’s gut was telling her to call it off but instead, she walked down the aisle on April 24, 2004 and married Lopez. A mere 18 days later, Landry’s intuition got the better of her, and she pursued an annulment.
O Magazine states that Landry went ahead with the Puerto Vallarta, Mexico wedding because everyone was flying down to the wedding—the plans were already made. She filed for an annulment because she couldn’t shake the fear that Lopez had indeed cheated on her, something it took him seven years to admit. The now-famous cheating incident occurred during his bachelor party when Mario claims he wasn’t mature enough or man enough.
19 Over Before It Started: Shawn Andrews Should Have Heeded This Advice
“Always ask first” should have been on the mind of then 21-year-old Shawn Andrews when he eloped with 16-year old model Milla Jovovich. When Jovovich’s mother found out about the marriage, she immediately had it annulled, thus ending their seven-week marriage for good. The two met while working together on the movie Dazed and Confused and eloped to Las Vegas in early October 1992.
Since their ill-advised elopement, Milla has confessed that she married Andrews because she wanted to prove to everyone she was an adult and also because she wanted a credit card. Jovovich’s marriage to Andrews, which lasted just 54 days, is his only one, but this Ukrainian-born celeb is currently married to husband number three. The couple has been married for nine years. Jovovich told the Telegraph that she really treasures her daughter Ever.
18 Still Going Strong: Being Apart Helps Keep Sarah Jessica Parker and Husband Matthew Broderick Together
Another Hollywood anomaly, the marriage of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, recently hit the 20-year mark. The couple share three children and a loving relationship. Both seem to have embraced both marriage and parenthood and have made it last the distance. Parker, who has truly embraced the roles of both wife and mother says part of their success comes from the times when they are apart from one another. She says it gives them new things to share with one another.
When not traveling, the couple settles into parent life, dropping off and picking up their kids and having conversations with them about what’s going on in the world. Parker also says she feels it helps when you actually like the person you’re married to.
17 Over Before It Started: Eight Months Wasn’t Enough Time For Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
While Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were only married for 72 days, their divorce took seven times longer. Yet another romantic proposal—this time in Kim’s bedroom following her return home—ends in a sooner-than-later divorce. The couple met while Kim was filming one of the family’s reality shows, Kim and Khloe Take New York. Their whirlwind romance began in November 2010 with an engagement in May of 2011 and a wedding in August, just three short months later.
Soon after Kim’s Fairytale Wedding airs—about three weeks later—Kim files for divorce, leaving Humphries shocked and disappointed. Even with a prenup in place, according to Us Magazine, the couple’s attorneys went back and forth in court proceedings until April of 2013 when the whole mess finally ends with a dissolution.
16 Over Before It Started: Ochocinco Lasts Just Forty-One Days
Chad Johnson, formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, married Basketball Wives star Evelyn Lozada for what turned out to be a brief 41 days. This is one we all heard about when photos of Lozada’s injuries at the hands, or rather head, of Johnson, hit social media and news sites worldwide. The couple married on July 4, 2012, but Lozada filed for divorce shortly after, citing domestic violence.
Johnson was arrested for the head-butting incident, which Lozada told TMZ she has “totally forgiven” him for. Following the incident, Johnson served one year of probation and has apologized to Lozada. Johnson told People Celebrity that he loved Lozada and wished her the best. Later, when she was pregnant with her second child, Johnson gifted her with a rather expensive pair of unisex Louboutin spikes for the baby.
15 Over Before It Started: The Second Time Wasn’t The Charm For Kim Mathers and Eminem
Eminem and Kim Mathers gave love a try twice, both times ending in divorce. The couple’s second marriage in 2006 lasted just short of 4 months, but their on-again-off-again tumultuous relationship has been the inspiration for several of Eminem’s songs over the years, according to Genius.com. The songs even include one in which Eminem apologizes to his ex.
Kim and Eminem, born Marshal Bruce Mathers III, grew up in St. Joseph, MO and were high school sweethearts. Kim found Eminem when she was a 13-year-old runaway and subsequently lived with the rapper, his mother and his foster sisters in a St. Joseph trailer park. At 19 and 21 respectively, Kim and Eminem welcomed their daughter, Hailie into the world. Kim and Eminem would later go on to adopt Kim’s niece, Alaina after her mother’s death.
14 Still Going Strong: Pinkett Got The Better Role As Will Smith’s Wife
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith met on the set of his famous sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air while she was auditioning to play his girlfriend. While Pinkett didn’t get that role, she got an even better role as Mrs. Smith in real life. The couple recently celebrated 20 years of marriage. They have two children together and Pinkett-Smith is stepmother to Smith’s son by a previous marriage.
When the Smiths speak of their success, a few things rise to the top. They work to nourish the dreams of each other, rather than selfishly focusing on themselves and just keep moving forward. They also have done something unique. Rather than celebrating holidays by a calendar, they surprise one another occasionally with gifts. It’s Valentine’s Day when they say so.
13 Over Before It Started: Even Amazing Energy Couldn’t Hold Nicky Hilton and Todd Meister Together
According to People Celebrity, Hilton dynasty heiress Nicky Hilton, then 21, and businessman Todd Meister, her senior by 12 years, called it quits just shy of their three-month wedding anniversary. It seems that another Las Vegas wedding ended up in splitsville. Those close to the couple said they had “amazing energy” but apparently, that wasn’t enough.
With Hilton living and working on the west coast and Meister successfully running his business in NYC, the couple cited the bicoastal nature of their marriage as one reason for the relationship’s demise. In their amicable split, which subsequently resulted in an annulment, the couple also stated that they got married on a whim. They both later said they parted as friends and neither seems to harbor any ill-will toward the other.
12 Over Before It Started: Cage And Presley Wedding Idyllic But Outcome Not So Much
Lisa Marie Presley and Nicholas Cage were secretly married in Hawaii in August of 2002, but the idyllic setting did nothing to promote a successful marriage. The pair dated for a while after Cage introduced himself to Presley and told her he was a big fan of her father. Their marriage occurred on the 25th anniversary of the death of Presley’s father, Elvis.
Citing irreconcilable differences, the couple filed for divorce just three short months later. Cage refrained from commenting on their brief marriage but Presley, according to CBS, stated she was sad about the split but the couple should never have gotten married, to begin with. While the marriage was brief, it took nearly 18 months to settle the divorce. Both came out of the marriage with what they went in with.
11 Over Before It Started: Marriage Just Happened Between Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito And Ends After Four Months
For Jennifer Esposito and Bradley Cooper, marriage just wasn’t meant to be. Esposito, tells Us Weekly she felt as if there was nobody in LA with whom she could form a loving relationship, then Cooper came along and she accepted his offer for a date. As Esposito puts it, one date led to two, then more. She enjoyed his sense of humor and figured she could enjoy dating him for a while. In 2011, Cooper told Howard Stern that the marriage was “just something that happened.”
Meanwhile, in her book, Jennifer’s Way, Esposito shares many of her ugly truths about their stormy relationship and subsequent divorce, four months later. Cooper is much less forward with his comments on their relationship, simply stating that the marriage just didn’t feel right and they both knew it.
10 Still Going Strong: Kaboing Went The Hearts Of Tom Hanks And Rita Wilson
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson met while working on Bosom Buddies in the ’80s and they knew instantly it was meant to be. Hanks, married at the time, soon divorced and the couple was married in 1988. When Today asked Hanks about the secret of their success, he had a one-word answer: honesty. In a world where both spouses are celebrities, this makes a lot of sense.
The couple, who already shared a close bond, grew even closer following Rita’s battle with breast cancer. Tom stepped up, amazing his wife with his loving care. Hanks is quoted as saying, “I can’t believe my wife still goes out with me.” He says marriage isn’t hard work. It’s easy, and he finds it pleasant to come home to someone he likes to spend time with.
9 Over Before It Started: Four-Month Union Between Zellweger and Chesney Forgettable
When Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney called it quits after just four months, rumors of the reason for their split ran rampant. Zellweger, who filed for the annulment, cited fraud as the cause, thus leading to rumors that Chesney was gay. Zellweger followed up in interviews stating that this reaction made her feel sad.
She went on to tell fans that she wasn’t an advocate for airing your dirty laundry and preferred to keep the details of her relationship with Chesney private. What she did say was that the term fraud was simply a legal term and not in any way related to Chesney’s character. Fast-forward 11 years to an interview with The Advocate and Zellweger admits that she had forgotten about her marriage to Chesney.
8 Over Before It Started: Chris Kattan And Sunshine Tutts Called It Quits After Just Two Months
It would seem that the romance of a Christmas Eve marriage proposal wasn’t enough to hold this couple together. Comic actor Chris Kattan and model Sunshine Tutts divorced after nearly eight weeks of marriage—59 days to be exact. The couple met at a birthday party in 2005 and dated for two years before becoming engaged at her grandparent’s home in Gainesville, Texas. They wed six months later in Yosemite Valley, California.
Tutts and Kattan’s June 28, 2008 marriage unofficially ended on August 10, 2008 when the couple filed for divorce, according to People Celebrity. The couple’s divorce filing provides little information, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason. Kattan tried to get several musicians to serenade Tutts as part of his proposal but all declined. Perhaps this was a sign.
7 Over Before It Started: Zsa Zsa Gabor Lasts Just One Day
Zsa Zsa Gabor is quoted as saying, “I make a great housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.” We have to wonder if that was true of husband number eight, Felipe de Alba. Their marriage lasted just one day before being declared invalid. It turns out Gabor’s marriage to husband number seven, Michael O’Hara was not properly dissolved and the two were still married.
While Gabor married nine times, her marriage to de Alba was the shortest, according to BuzzFeed. While Gabor was the happy bride in multiple marriages, de Alba’s only marriage was to Gabor. Following her successful divorce from O’Hara, Gabor went on to marry Frédéric von Anhalt. Her last was her most successful as the couple celebrated 20 years of marriage before her death in 2016.
6 Over Before It Started: Vegas Apparently Not The Ideal Setting for Britney Spears and Jason Alexander
When Britney Spears called childhood friend Jason Alexander on New Year’s 2004 and invited him to fly to Las Vegas on a private jet, he never imagined they would get hitched. As it turned out, however, two days later, Spears and Alexander were husband and wife. What he probably also didn’t imagine was that 55 hours later, he would be getting a divorce.
While Alexander cites feelings of true love for Britney, she says she was being rebellious and even silly. Jason and Brit had a whirlwind honeymoon in Vegas before it all fell apart and he flew back to Louisiana, hurt and seated this time in coach. In an interview with ABC, Alexander quotes a popular cliché, “Nice guys finish last” and warns regular guys about marrying celebrities.
5 Still Going Strong: Ron and Cheryl Howard Soon To Celebrate 44 Years Married
Ron and Cheryl Howard know they have overcome tough odds to remain married for nearly 43 years. The couple, who met as teenagers and wed young, have four children.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Howard talks about why the couple has succeeded against all odds. With a little wit mixed in with a sprinkle of honesty, Howard says luck, compatibility and her good patience are the secrets to their success. He says he feels lucky that things have worked out for them and knows they are unique in their success.
Howard also credited his ability to separate work from home life and his desire to want his marriage to succeed as ingredients in their success. He says he knew when he met Cheryl that he would never find a better woman.
4 Over Before It Started: Filming A Movie Didn’t Mix Well For Dennis Hopper And Michelle Phillips
While she was nicknamed The California Dreamgirl, Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas fame wouldn’t describe her eight-day marriage to Dennis Hopper as dreamy. The couple, who met and married on the set of Hoppers film, The Last Movie, in Taos, Mexico, seemed destined to fail. According to The Daily Mail, Hopper woke up the morning after their marriage and didn’t recognize the bride.
Phillips married Hopper during what is known to be one the dark times in his life. Hopper was reportedly so out of control that the locals in Taos ran him out of town after he tried to set up a hippy commune there. The commune, the marriage and the film were all disasters that led Hopper further down into substance issues before seeking treatment.
3 Over Before It Started: Magda Gabor Should Have Consulted Sister Zsa Zsa Before Wedding George Sanders
Magda Gabor, older sister to Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor, was married to George Sanders for just 32 days. Sanders, who had been also married to Magda’s sister Zsa Zsa for five years, committed suicide just over a year after his divorce from Magda. Trained at a young age by their mother, Jolie, in the fine art of attracting wealthy men, the three Hungarian-born sisters went on to marry a combined 20 times.
Sanders himself may lay out the best reasons for the brief union between himself and Magda Gabor. He was quoted as saying he was rude, disagreeable and hurtful. During his residency in Hollywood, Sanders even spoke in favor of placing a 25% tax on actresses to keep them from making more than their husbands.
2 Over Before It Started: Being The More Popular Spouse Didn’t Fare Well For Ernest Borgnine
It seems that the true story of why Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman divorced after just 38 days may have died with them. While Borgnine stuck to his claims that Merman couldn’t handle his fame, Merman claimed he only wanted her for her money.
In their divorce filings, both made similar claims of cruelty. According to Borgnine, Merman became irritated when he received a lot of attention during their honeymoon in Asia, where she was still relatively unknown. Merman’s account differs. According to Merman, their honeymoon was an American Express freebie in exchange for Borgnine making some personal appearances. In personal memoirs shared with the New York Post by Merman’s close friend Tony Cointreau, she claims Borgnine told her on their ride to Tokyo he was broke and needed her money.
1 Still Going Strong: 1966 Was A Good Year For Dolly Parton and Carl Dean, Now Wed 52 Years
Country music icon Dolly Parton and husband Carl Dean have celebrated more than 50 years of marriage. On the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, Dean commented that he knew as soon as he met her in a laundromat that he was going to marry her. His second thought was, “Lord she’s good lookin’.” Just two years later, the couple got married in Ringgold, Georgia.
While he is supportive of Dolly’s life in the limelight, he is happy to remain in the background and has no desire to make a change. The couple’s relationship hasn’t been without rumor of affairs, but they have withstood marital challenges and are still happily married. According to the Daily Mail, while Dolly is out touring the world, husband Carl stays home and runs an asphalt business.
References: Stylecaster.com, ThisInsider.com, Buzzfeed, ABC News, Complex.com, Vanity Fair, Daily Mail, Huffington Post, US Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, People, Telegraph, Us Magazine, Daily Mail, People, TMZ, Daily Mail, Genius.com, Rolling Stone, East Valley Tribune, People, CBS, Us Weekly, Us Weekly, InStyle, Huffington Post, Express, People, Today, Daily Mail, Daily Mail, E-Online, Marriage Foundation
