The dissolution of a celebrity family can involve a lot of issues, notoriety, scandals, and – unless there was a prenup judiciously written out – a great deal of money. In cases of major celebrities the amount of money to change hands can be stunningly great! Some settlements run to utterly incredible figures.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
Money gone for settlement: $7 million
The two met in 2011 during the filming of Rum Diary and impressed each other so much that they married privately in 2015 – but that proved to be the undoing of the relationship. 15 months later they were apart crying irreconcilable differences.
Aside from differences, on filing for divorce, Heard added an allegation of Depp’s abusing behavior and wanted a restraining order issued against the famous pirate star. But this accusation was soon dropped. When it all was over, Heard collected a $7 million settlement and gave all of it away to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie
Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s marriage was going on for its eighth year when it crashed on the rocks.
Money gone for settlement: $76 million to $92 million
Several years ago Ritchie chose to tell the story of their divorce for the Details commenting that he never regretted a day of the marriage, although he kept having a soap opera feeling. As for Madonna, she revealed to the Newsweek that she and the famous producer just happened to lose the spark.
Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd
Money gone for settlement: $14 million
Back in 2002, Lopez decided that a year (almost) of living with her hubby Cris Judd is more than enough. To Judd nine months of living with Lopez brought him a sum of $14 million. Incidentally, they met when Lopez was working on her video clip called “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.”
Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison
Money gone for settlement: Between $85 million and $118 million
The marriage of Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison, award-winning screenwriter, lasted for 17 years. The relationship began in 1979 during the “Apocalypse Now” sessions, and came to an end around 2000 when Ford started to date a younger woman. Three years after that they finalized their divorce. Cancer ended Mathison’s life in 2015.
Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving
Money gone for settlement: Reported $100 million
Spielberg and Irving did have a prenuptial agreement, but they jotted it down casually on a napkin, and when the chips were down, the judge declined to give it credit, and for four years together in 1989 Irving pocketed $100 million, as Forbes reported.
In Irving’s version, recounted in 1994 to the Los Angeles Times, they fell prey to their ambitions and careers.
She described her nuptial experience as the life of a politician’s wife who always has behaviors expected from her which she must deliver. It didn’t come natural to her because she is a forthright person and what’s more, she realized that openness comes with a price. And that she paid.
Donald and Ivana Trump
Money gone for settlement: $20 million
The nowadays president of the US is in his third marriage. First he was married to Ivana Trump, a marriage that lasted 15 years and begot three children, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka. But around 1992 Trump began dating actress Marla Maples which resulted in the dissolution of his union with Ivana. Maples later became his second wife.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Money gone for settlement: Reported $110 million
Nobody doubted much that Tiger Woods was a kind of a golfing Lovelace, and when he owned up to his infidelity, after having a car accident in 2009, his six-year-long marriage came abruptly to an end. His ex Elin Nordegren came out of the marriage with a $110 million settlement, as was reported in the New York Daily News.
Lionel Richie and Diane Alexander
Money gone for settlement: $20 million
The romantic vocalist divorced his second wife Diane Alexander in 2003, and it was reported she had stipulated allowance for purchasing clothing and undergoing plastic surgery. Richie stumped up a sum coming up to $20 million in toto.
Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall
Money gone for settlement: $25 million
The iconic rock frontman was married only once, but for the second time he – and his then partner model Jerry Hall – chose to arrange an unofficial ceremony, so the couple was not married. Nevertheless they lived for nine years until Sir Michael went and had a child by Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez Morad, after which Hall had their union annulled. She went on to hook up Rupert Murdock in 2016.
Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore
Money gone for settlement: Reported $425 million
As Gibson’s story runs, recounted to Deadline, he and Robyn Moore parted back in 2006 following his Malibu arrest, ensuing investigation of DUI and the actor’s notorious vituperative diatribe of rancid anti-Semitic nature. To cap it, Gibson was believed to be dating Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva.
In April 2009 the former dental nurse started divorce procedures adducing irreconcilable differences, and in October Oksana Grigorieva gave birth to his daughter Lucia.
Michael Douglas and Diandra Luker
Money gone for settlement: $45 million
At 32 the actor-cum-producer walked along the aisle for the first time with a 19-year-old Diandra Luker of a diplomatic family. The marriage held good for 18 years, after which his wife divorced him and left his life carrying away half of his fortune that amounted to $45 million.
