Hollywood marriages are notorious for having shockingly short lifespans.
Why do the marriages of rich and famous celebrities have a tendency to fail? Perhaps it’s their busy schedules that keep the married couples apart. Perhaps it’s a battle of egos, with each person being used to having all the power and control in their lives. Or perhaps it’s all the temptations that they face, being surrounded by other beautiful celebrities and fans that throw themselves at them.
Whatever the reason may be, and with so much money on the line, it’s not surprising that prenups are very popular among celebrities. But have you ever seen the craziness that of these agreements contain? Here’s a hint: a lot of regret.
1. Jay Z and Beyoncé both make an insane amount of money so it makes sense that they signed a prenup. She gets $5 million for each child she gives birth to and in the event of a divorce, she gets $1 million for each year they were married.
When Beyoncé released Lemonade, it contained lyrics that many people believed were about Jay Z’s infidelity, leading to speculation that they would get divorced.
2. Who can forget the original Bennifer? You know, the power couple of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. JLo was devastated when Ben called off their wedding. Apparently, Ben didn’t want to sign the prenup that included a no-cheating clause. Ouch.
If Ben cheated, JLo would have been entitled to half of his earnings. Some sources have suggested that Ben also demanded $5 million for marrying her and that the couple do the horizontal mambo four times a week, if you catch my drift.
3. Once upon a time, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were constantly making headlines. Considering the difference in their net worth, what do you think their prenup looked like? Here’s a taste: if they divorced (which they did), Kevin would only get $1 million.
Also, any gift valued at over $7,000 needed to come with legal documentation stating who will own it if they divorce. I wonder how many of those gifts Kevin got to keep?
4. Everyone knows Katie Holmes as that sweet girl from Dawson’s Creek but apparently she’s quite the tough negotiator! When she married Tom Cruise, their prenup stated that she would receive $3 million for each year of marriage if they got divorced.
So what happened? Well, let’s just say that Katie ended up $15 million richer. Plus, she gets $400,000 each year in child support.
Once upon a time, Hollywood marriages meant ultra glamorous marriages between high society elites. In many ways, it still does but they’ve also gained a reputation of being volatile and flaky. And this was by no means a recent development. People started taking notice of the unusually high divorce rates among celebrities since the 1930s!
5. Justin Timberlake is known to make his fans swoon but Jessica Beal made sure that cheating on her would cost him $500,000!
The couple has been known to keep their lives very private.
6. Okay, so you may have figured this out by now but Brangelina’s prenup ensured Brad wouldn’t get custody of their 6 kids when they divorced. It looks like Angelina knew what she was doing when they made their prenup.
Oh, memories…
7. Did you know that George Clooney is worth over $220 million? George’s prenup with Amal Alamuddin has been fairly secretive but sources say that a divorce would earn Amal $20 million!
Just how short do celebrity marriages last?
Some of the more notoriously short marriages include Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander’s, which lasted 56 hours, Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock’s which lasted six months, Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas’ which lasted 19 days, Milla Jovovich and Shawn Andrews’ marriage which lasted two months, and Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’ which lasted 72 days.
8. Okay, we all know what a lot of people were thinking when Crystal Harris married Hugh Hefner. But check this out… their prenup ensured that if they divorced, Crystal would not be allowed to try and get any of his fortune.
Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Hugh’s fortune goes to his children, the University of Southern California film school, and various charities.
9. I’m not quite sure what he was thinking but when Steven Spielberg was getting married to Amy Irving, he skipped an official contract and penned the prenup on a napkin. When they got divorced, the judge dismissed the validity of the napkin.
As a result, Amy was entitled to half of Stephen’s fortune so she walked away from their marriage $100 million richer.
10. Okay, so this isn’t quite Hollywood but this is still a fun one. Mark Zuckerberg had his wife, Priscilla Chan, sign a “dating prenup.”
The just-for-fun dating prenup stated that they had to go on one date per week, with a minimum of 100 hours together alone outside of Facebook’s headquarters.
Discussing a prenuptial agreement with the “love of your life” can be difficult. People don’t like planning for failure but it’s all too common in Hollywood. Typically, a prenup will set out the division of property and spousal support in the event of a separation. But it’s also an opportunity for some celebrities to make some creative demands!
11. Jessica Simpson and football superstar Tony Romo never did get married. Rumor has it that the prenup may have had something to do with the breakup. What was in the prenup? Supposedly, Tony wanted Jessica to pay him $500,000 if she weighed more than 135 pounds.
Ouch.
12. Catherine Zeta-Jones let her lawyers go to town when they created the prenup for her and Michael Douglas. A divorce meant Catherine would be paid $2.8 million.
And if Michael cheated? She gets a $5 million bonus!
13. Back in 2009, Tiger Woods made headlines worldwide with his cheating scandal. Not surprisingly, he and Elin Nordegren decided to get divorced. While the pair already had a prenup in place, it was renegotiated and Elin ended up getting close to $100 million.
14. Sources have suggested that Nicole Kidman made Keith Urban sign a prenup with a rather interesting clause. If Keith started using cocaine again, he would get nothing in a divorce.
And the kicker? Nicole would get $600,000 for each year they were married.
15. Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller’s prenup ensured that neither one was entitled to other person’s earnings in the event of a divorce. Still, Brooke saw a lot of money flowing her way. The prenup stated that Brooke would receive $500,000 just for getting married, and then she would receive an annual allowance of $300,000 while they remained married.
When they got divorced, Brooke also received a $100,000 relocation fee and whichever of Charlie’s car was “then driven by Brooke.”
16. Elizabeth Taylor had already been married and divorced to six men. So when she married her seventh and last husband, Larry Fortensky, what do you think was in the prenup? Sources say that the prenup ensured that Larry would get $1 million if the couple stayed together for five years. The couple divorced five years later, right after Larry got paid.
Incredibly, Elizabeth and Larry remained good friends and she ended up leaving him $800,000 in her will.
Some of the most expensive divorces include Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore’s at $425 million, Michael Jordan and Juanita Jordan’s at $168 million, and Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey’s at $150 million. But in case you’re wondering, the world’s most expensive divorce that is known comes from the business world. The divorce between Bernie Ecclestone, the CEO of Formula One, and Slavica reportedly saw a settlement of $1-1.2 billion.
17. It seems that Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards were rather concerned about infidelity when they decided to get married. In their prenup, they had a clause that stated that if one of them cheats, the guilty party was on the hook for $4 million.
Charlie ended up cheating on Denise with one of his assistants.
18. This has never been confirmed but Ice-T and Coco’s prenup is supposedly really… out there. The word on the street is that if the couple gets divorced, Ice-T gets to keep Coco’s breast and butt implants.
I don’t even know where to begin with this one.
19. Mariah Carey and Nick Canon sure are serious about their private lives. Sources suggest that their prenup had a confidentiality agreement, preventing each other from discussing their private life as a couple in the media after the divorce.
Sharing their secrets with the world would result in a fine. Nick would be fined $250,000 and Mariah would be fined $500,00.
Long lasting love isn’t easy in Hollywood but it doesn’t meant it’s impossible. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward remained married for 50 years until Paul’s passing, and Johnny Cash and June Carter remained married for 35 years until June’s passing.
Current longstanding marriages include Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman who have been married since 1982, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne who have been married since 1982, and Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest who have been since 1984. Indeed, there are definitely a lot of very enviable marriages in Hollywood so celebrities shouldn’t lose hope! But yeah, an air-tight prenup is still probably a good idea…
20. Hey look, it’s Charlie Sheen again! Charlie never did get married to Brett Rossi but they did have a prenup prepared when they were engaged. For each year they were married, Brett would receive $300,000. Hmmm… this kinda sounds like Charlie’s agreement with Brooke Mueller.
If Charlie cheated on her, Brett would receive $4 million. Hmmm… this kinda sounds like Charlie’s agreement with Denise Richards.
21. This has never been confirmed but Chris Rock and Malaak Compton Rock’s prenup limited the amount of money Malaak would get in a divorce.
But incredibly, the prenup had a sunset clause, otherwise known as an expiration date. The prenup would expire on their 18th wedding anniversary. After 20 years of marriage, the couple filed for divorce and Malaak is now seeking a massive portion of Chris’ $70 million fortune.
Who do you think had the craziest prenup story? Let us know and don’t forget to share this story with your family and friends!
