The world of celebrities perfectly exemplifies “All that glitters is not gold.” Behind all the fame and luxury are boiling scandals ready to entertain, disgust, and traumatize us. After all, drama comes along with money and stardom. Hollywood stars can be dating for decades but not get married. In contrast, others can decide to establish the relationship after two weeks of acquaintance.
However, staying married is the true challenge. Some celebrity marriages are so messy that they put reality TV and movies to shame. Interestingly, many of these individuals have had more than one train-wreck marriage. These are the most horrible marriage fails in Hollywood.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
When Tom Cruise announced his love for American actress Katie Holmes on the famous “The Oprah Winfrey Show” by jumping up and down on the couch, it raised eyebrows everywhere. It turns out, they were right to be dubious. Katie and Tom tied the knot in 2006. People were unsure of their relationship as Katie is 16 years younger than Tom.
Funnily enough, she used to have a poster of her now ex-husband on her wall. The two had been dating for only seven weeks before they decided to make it official. A rumor claimed that Tom’s religion was responsible for the marriage. When the couple eventually separated in 2012, Katie feared pushback from the church.
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
Perhaps the events were for such a brief period so long ago, many have forgotten that Miley Cyrus used to be a married woman. The singer married Aussie actor Liam Hemsworth four years ago in 2018. They had seen each other on and off for over nine years and dated others in-between.
Allegedly, the couple rushed their marriage because Cyrus became impulsive post the Malibu fires. It was obvious that their marriage wasn’t meant to last. Less than a year after they tied the knot, Cyrus and Hemsworth split. Cyrus later described the marriage as “kind of out of character.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
The whole world witnessed as former couple Amber Heard and Johnny Deep engaged in a messy, humiliating public battle over their split in 2022. They had been split for quite a while, but the relationship status remained hotly debated.
Heard claims that her actor husband had been abusive for most of their marriage while he says the same about her. Both parties have fascinating proofs to back up their claims as well. Depp is involved in numerous trials with ex-employees too. The court ruled in Depp’s favor in their infamous defamation case, and the people were divided in their opinions.
Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards
It seems scandal is a word that can never be separated from Charlie Sheen. The American actor wedded actress and model Denise Richards in 2002. They even share two daughters. However, when she was pregnant with their second child, Richards filed for a restraining order against her husband, stating his volatile behavior as a reason.
Suffices it to say the couple did not last long after that. In 2006, they officially called it quits, and Sheen was ordered to maintain at least 300 feet of distance from his former family. Richards claimed that Sheen displayed problems with sobriety and criminal concerns. That comment did not age well for Sheen.
Tina Turner and Ike Turner
Despite being celebrities, many women have suffered mental and physical abuse from their spouses. This proves that anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, regardless of age or social status. Highly acclaimed singer Tina Turner and her future husband, Ike Turner, rose to fame together. They started their journey as friends before sliding down the friends-to-lovers trope and deciding they wanted more.
When Tina announced she wished to end their relationship, Ike got abusive. He continued to abuse her throughout their marriage and engaged in extramarital affairs. This caused Tina a lot of stress, and she was driven to seek solace in substance abuse. She fled from the relationship in 1976, and their divorce was finalized in 1978.
Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman
NBA player Dennis Rodman and model and actress Carmen Electra were a couple embroiled in scandals left and right. The pair married in 1998 in Las Vegas but split only nine days later. Back then, Rodman said he had an “unsound mind,” which clearly had something to do with whatever tumultuous events caused the duo to separate.
Granted, the couple did try to make things work but in vain, as they did not last more than four months. The next year, Dennis and Carmen was arrested at a Miami hotel for battery. Since the happenings in Miami, the actress came forward to explain the reason behind her hasty marriage, which happened to be the passing of her sister and mother.
Madonna and Sean Penn
There are recurring men on this list who do not have a great track record with the opposite sex, and Sean Penn is a notable one. He has been wedded three times, but none of his marriages lasted. His first marriage was to none other than the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna. The duo tied the knot in 1985. Many believe that throughout their union, Penn was abusive.
He even ended up in custody for abusing a photographer trailing the couple. Naturally, Madonna grew tired of his antics and filed for divorce – twice. She was granted her freedom in 1989.
Brandi Glanville and Eddie Cibrian
It may just be a silly coincidence that a lot of the cast of Real Housewives is on this list, or it might mean something. To start, we have Brandi Glanville, who married actor Eddie Cibrian in 2001. They stayed together till 2009 and now have two sons, and the former couple continues to co-parent.
Cibrian and Glanville’s marriage fell apart because the actor was caught having an affair with LeAnn Rimes, a country singer. Rimes was also married during that time, and the affair ended that too. Glanville later shared that she slashed her ex-husband’s bike tires as an act of revenge. She also suggests that Rimes was not apologetic at all for the circumstances she and Cibrian had created.
King Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales
There is a lot to wrap our heads around with this one. After all, it is one of the messiest splits the world has seen to date. King Charles was deeply in love with his now-wife, Camilla Parker Bowles when he married Princess Diana, one of the most beloved members of the Royal Family.
Moreover, the couple had a significant age gap where she was only 20, and the current King of England was 32. When Diana and Charles were married, Charles continued his extramarital affair with Camilla, who also had a husband back then. Diana eventually got a whiff of what was happening behind her back, and the royal pair officially split up.
Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi
Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne’s marriage continues to elude the public as their split remains shrouded in a veil of mystery. Jayde instantly became a hit when she appeared on reality TV for the first time. The performer was the wife of a top lawyer 32 years older than her, Tom Girardi.
Fans and netizens say that their relationships always seemed somewhat off, but they could have never foretold what would happen next. In 2020, Jayne announced she was separating from Girardi. Shortly after, the lawyer was accused of fraud and embezzlement. She continued to be on screens, whereas he now resides in a residential care home.
Porsha Williams and Kordell Stewart
Audiences were led to believe that Real Housewives star Porsha Williams was happy in her marriage to ex-NFL played Kordell Stewart. When the truth was revealed, everyone was disappointed. People get enraged when they are broken up with over a text so imagine the anger Williams experienced when she got to know her husband was planning on divorcing her through an online article.
That’s right; she only got to know when the rest of the world was informed. Viewers had already understood that Stewart did not treat Williams with the respect she deserved. Since their split, she has transformed into a different person, bringing along scandals into the mix too. Williams got engaged to her castmate’s spouse.
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
Thankfully, Britney Spears seems to be happy and thriving in her current marriage. However, the scenarios were vastly different for the pop icon’s past two marriages. She probably had one of the shortest marriages in history to her childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004. The duo was married 55 hours after a ceremony in Las Vegas. After that, Spears wedded dancer Kevin Federline.
Spears and Federline got engaged after three months only when Federline’s former girlfriend was carrying their second child. They were cooking a recipe for disaster. The marriage was publicized on a reality show before its nasty conclusion in 2006.
Kelsey Grammer and Camille Donatacci
We already mentioned the overwhelming number of Real Housewives cast members on this list. Sitcom star Kelsey Grammer has been a husband four times. The audience could catch a glimpse of the bitter conclusion of his marriage to his third wife, Camille Donatacci. Interestingly, this overlapped with Grammer’s fourth marriage to a British flight attendant named Kayte Walsh.
As Camille and Kelsey’s marriage unraveled, viewers could feel growing discomfort. Former model and dancer Donatacci sported a brave face to walk alongside her cheating husband to the Tony Awards. It was made more awkward when he kept referencing his new, younger partner throughout the event.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
A few celeb couples on this list were hitched more than once. Of course, we could not skip out on the infamous coupling of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Welsh actor Burton has been lucky to get married four times in his life, while Taylor has walked down the aisle seven times. It is evident that the couple has a hankering for experimenting in love.
These iconic celebrities were married from 1964 to 1974 and then from 1975 to 1976 again. However, despite working on their marriage twice, they were unable to make it work. There have been multiple public sightings of the two screaming, engaging in substance abuse, and even affairs.
Ronnie Spector and Phil Spector
Rock and roll’s OG bad girl, Ronnie Spector, tied the knot with Phil Spector in 1968. After their marriage fell apart, she revealed that he had been rather abusive. According to her, the record producer constantly threatened her by having a gold coffin in their house. She couldn’t escape his clutches easily as he would also hide her shoes.
Like Tina Turner, Ronnie fled from her marital abode with little to no possessions. In 1974, she was granted a divorce. Decades later, Phil was tried for the assassination of Lana Turner, his girlfriend, in 2007. Phil passed away in 2021.
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook
New York has seen its fair share of disturbing divorce battles, but this one deserves special recognition for all the twists and turns. In 1996, supermodel Christie Brinkley wedded her fourth spouse, an architect named Peter Cook. The couple split in 2008 after 12 years of marriage. They share a daughter together who’s named Sailor Brinkley Cook.
During the trial of their split, an ugly fact about Peter came to light: he had cheated on his wife with an 18-year-old. In addition, he gave the teen $300,000 to silence her. Brinkley used the term “nightmare” to define this period of her life.
Sandra Bullock and Jesse James
It was a particularly turbulent week for Hollywood starlet Sandra Bullock in 2010. On the one hand, she had just landed the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the movie “The Blind Side.” On the other, she had learned that her husband of five years had been cheating on her.
Things took another sharp turn when multiple women shared their stories of the TV personality engaging in an extramarital affair with them while he was married to Bullock. Understandably, the actress filed for divorce quickly. She and James had planned to adopt a child, which Bullock continued by herself after their split.
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
The reality star and influencer Kim Kardashian has a less-than-impressive track record when marriage is concerned. It seems like she keeps on going on relationships that aren’t meant to last. She was first wedded to Damon Thomas in the early 2000s. Kardashian claims that the relationship was abusive. In 2011, Kim got hitched to NBA player Kris Humphries.
The wedding was a grand affair, and people had high hopes for the couple. Alas, they weren’t destined to stay together! They got divorced only 72 days after their wedding, and later, Kim tearfully admitted that she was unhappy in that relationship. At least it ended without dragging on and getting more painful for both of them.
Mario Lopez and Ali Landry
On the screen, TV host and actor Mario Lopez appears to be a happy-go-lucky, charming individual. But people who know more about Lopez than his on-screen persona would disagree with the front he puts up. He was known to have treated his former wife, Ali Landry, horribly. Lopez confessed to cheating on his future wife during his bachelor party.
He says it happened on spring break when everyone was letting loose. The actor says he was neither mature nor brave enough to get a grip on himself. Landry and Mario file for annulment two weeks after their wedding ceremony.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
Tom Cruise appears for the second time on this list, and this goes to say that the actor has bad luck in marriage. This time we will discuss his marriage to another top actress from Hollywood, Nicole Kidman. Cruise married the American-Australian actress in the ‘90s, and the duo even adopted two kids together.
After 11 years of togetherness, Cruise filed for divorce. Through that, Kidman maintained her initial stance: she was still in love with Cruise. This is when his controversial church intervened and suggested that there was more to the story than meets the eye. Tom was granted custody of both their children.
OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson
The next celebrity marriage saw a tragic end when Nicole Brown Simpson passed away in 1994. Of course, most people know about this relationship due to the lengthy 11-month trial that came next. Former professional football player Simpson was a prime suspect in his wife’s assassination case but was acquitted miraculously. It was disclosed that he had abused and threatened Nicole during their marriage.
Some years later, O.J. was found responsible for the passing of Nicole and her friend, Ronald Goldman, by a civil trial. The victims’ families were awarded $33.5 million in damages. We doubt that covers up the fact that Simpson got his ex-wife stabbed in front of her condo.
Yolanda Hadid and David Foster
As much as we love the drama and comedy that reality TV deals us, watching it can be painful sometimes. This is particularly true when we have to sit through an obviously unhealthy marriage. Much like the notorious tales of Kelsey Grammer, producer and composer David Foster had been hitched many times.
Viewers saw the seemingly luxurious life of David and his fourth wife, Yolanda Hadid, in their Beverly Hills mansion. The illusion of beauty was quickly wiped off the screen as Yolanda got seriously sick and her husband abandoned her side. Their marriage of four years ended, and soon after, Foster married Katharine McPhee, a woman 34 years his junior.
Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom
The Kardashian-Jenner clan has rotten luck when it comes to relationships and marriage. Kim’s sister Khloé was setting herself up for a bad marriage just like her sister when she wedded NBA player Lamar Odom. They had only been going out for a month when this happened. Despite their desperate attempts at hiding the truth during the spin-off, the viewers got to know about Lamar’s substance abuse issues and cheating allegations.
Although their marriage had fallen apart early on, the couple had to wait years to get a proper divorce. In 2015, Lamar was hospitalized, and Khloé withdrew the divorce papers to make medical decisions for him. Eventually, their separation was finalized in 2016.
Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh
British stars Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh made it official in 1989 and starred together in many films throughout the early ‘90s as they enjoyed their married life. However, their romance was not made to last as it was soon found out that Kenneth had been cheating on Thompson.
To add salt to her wounds, Thompson had to process that he had been having an affair with Helena Bonham Carter, the English actress he was directing. Carter and Branagh remained a couple from 1995 and 1999. Thompson mentioned that Kenneth had badly broken her heart on the topic of her ex’s affair.
Luann de Lesseps and Tom D’Agostino
Real Housewives marriages have this tendency to not last too long. Luann de Lesseps’ castmates could clearly see it: she was making a mistake by falling for the known playboy, Tom D’Agostino. They even tried to warn her, but her affection for him blinded her. The former Countess tied the knot with D’Agostino in 2016 and had to lose her Countess title for that.
Tom cheated on her even before the duo were married, so his loyalty to her during their marriage remains a question. They split up in 2017, and staying true to his image, D’ Agostino got engaged to someone else on their wedding anniversary.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West seemed to be going strong. Four kids and eight years of marriage later, the couple officially separated in 2022. While it lasted, their marriage seemed like a ray of hope for the otherwise misfortunate in marriage Kardashian-Jenner family. The famous rapper matched the big-time influencer in terms of social status and ambition. Having similar personalities does not seem to have worked for them.
Following their divorce, Kanye West began publicly harassing his ex-wife and her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson. He would make humiliating remarks about them on social media. Despite being a part of Kardashian’s new reality show, he continued to drag Kim’s relationship through the mud.
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale
From what we’ve seen so far, celebrity relationships have a lot of “third-party interventions” in them. While country singer Gwen Stefani is living her best life with Blake Shelton now, she is no stranger to the pangs of getting cheated on. The frontwoman of No Doubt was the wife of English singer Gavin Rossdale. Married for 14 years, the duo has three sons together.
Rossdale had the nerve to cheat on Stefani with the couple’s nanny during many years of their marriage. Stefani remarried after dating Shelton for six years, but Rossdale has stayed single to date. Shelton and Stefani are happier than ever.
Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy
Next on this list of failed romances from reality TV, we have Jason Hoppy and Bethenny Frankel. The entrepreneur was hitched to Hoppy for two years, a fact mentioned in their reality show. They split up in 2021, but that was only the divorce. Similar to many celebrity couples, they took their sweet time to finalize the divorce.
While Frankel desperately wanted to close this chapter of her life, Hoppy continued to threaten and harass her. Things got so bad that Hoppy was eventually arrested for threatening her when she went to pick up their daughter from school.
Usher and Tameka Foster
Celebrities cheating on their significant others have often been brought to the limelight in hilarious, sometimes career-crushing ways. While Usher did not cheat on his wife during his bachelor party, he might have done something more despicable. The singer was married to Tameka Foster in 2007.
Later, he confessed to having cheated on her with a bridesmaid from the wedding. In an attempt to save his public image, Usher commented that while he was faithful at heart, he failed to be faithful all the way. Their marriage ended after two years, and Usher was granted custody of his two children with Tameka.
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra’s relationship began with a scandal and ironically, ended with one. Actor and singer Sinatra, a married man then, indulged in an extramarital affair with the actress when she was only 25 years old. A volatile relationship at its finest, Sinatra and Gardner both had affairs when they were hitched to each other. Sinatra was Gardner’s third husband.
Albeit they were a classic Hollywood romance that began by joyriding and helping each other climb the ladders of their careers, it was never meant to last. Six years of union later, they called it quits.
Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee
Pamela Anderson will make another entry on this list, so keep your eyes peeled for that one too! This is about the time she was married to Tommy Lee. Much like the eldest Kardashian, Anderson had a foul track record in the nuptials department. The beautiful American-Canadian actress and model first walked down the aisle in 1995 and since then has been a regular on it.
After all, she got married six times. Musician Tommy Lee and Anderson got married by the beach only after four days of knowing each other. To stay on-brand with her image, Anderson donned a white bikini. Lee was taken into custody for domestic violence during their marriage.
Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley
Michael Jackson had so much going on in his life at any given time that it is easy to forget that he was once married. He married singer Lisa Marie Presley back in the day, and she was his first wife. She is also the only child of the musical legend Elvis Presley. The odd couple tied the knot only 20 days after Lisa divorced her first husband.
Another creepy aspect of their relationship is that they first met when Lisa, a seven-year-old, went to attend one of his concerts. Their marriage never really struck anyone right and ended after only two years.
Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian Sr.
Momager Kris Jenner passed down her business sense, wits, beauty, and bad luck in romance to her daughters. She has been married twice. And while we all know about her equation with Caitlyn Jenner, the situation is weirder with Robert Kardashian Sr., her first husband. During this time, she had an affair with Todd Waterman, the Emmy-nominated animator.
Years later, he appeared in a cameo on the family’s infamous reality show. Kris’s affair had such a big impact on their entire family that it scarred their children for life. Khloé emphasized that she would never cheat as she had experienced how it had eaten away at her father.
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey
One of the main reasons many celebrity couples stay hush-hush about their relationship is because being a duo in the public eye can put immense stress on individuals. When reality TV was just gaining traction in the country, fans were glued to their TV sets to watch the everyday lives of pop icons Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson.
When their marriage fell apart, it was fine fodder for the tabloids, already unhealthily invested in their relationship. The pair had no prenups so Jessica had to lose $12 million to her former husband. Lachey once said that the reality show was a foolish decision.
Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown
Another couple with a third party in the relationship. And when we say “third party,” we don’t always mean another person. It can be decaying factors such as substance abuse and physical violence. Legendary singer Whitney Houston was acquainted with singer Bobby Brown in 1989. Seven years later, they tied the knot and soon welcomed a daughter into their family.
Throughout their marriage, fans heard many rumors of Brown cheating on his wife. He was eventually charged with battery. Not long after, Houston stated that he was abusive. The couple ended their relationship in 2007. Both Houston and their daughter sadly passed away a few years later.
Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock
She returns with yet another story of a disastrous failed marriage. Pamela Anderson was married to singer Kid Rock for a brief period. The actress and model got engaged to him in 2001, but they announced their split two years later. Fans had already moved on from the incident when Anderson popped in with the news of the couple getting hitched on a yacht by Saint-Tropez.
The news of their split came as hastily as the news of the wedding, as Anderson filed for divorce four months after the wedding. After that, she confirmed that her appearance in a questionable comedy played a key role in their separation. Kid Rock was allegedly furious and couldn’t process it.
Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson
Following in the footsteps of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson got married twice. A disturbing fact about their relationship is that the actress first came across Don when he was 22, but she was 14. Don certainly had no pure intentions as he started dating the minor, and they decided to get married when Griffith turned 18.
Don and Melanie’s first marriage lasted half a year, and there were notable entries from substance abuse into the separation notice. In the following decade, they decided to give it another shot. This time it lasted longer: seven years before they called it quits.
Teresa Gorga and Joe Giudice
Imagine how chaotic it must have been between Teresa Gorga and Joe Giudice for us to term them the messiest reality TV marriage in the history of reality TV. That being said, had the scandal not taken a toll on them, there is a chance Gorga and Giudice would have been able to make it work.
This couple from New Jersey married for two decades until they faced severe criminal allegations. Both Giudice and Gorga served time in prison for that. Upon his release, Joe was deported. The proceedings surely put a dent in their relationship, and they decided to end it.
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love
The marriage of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain was catastrophic, to say the least. They got hitched in 1992 in the beautiful land of Hawaii. It was nothing short of picturesque – she was in a beautiful satin dress, and he completely contrasted her charm in a pair of pajamas.
Love and Cobain had dated for only four months before their wedding, and at that moment, she was pregnant with their daughter. However, both the rockers suffered from major substance abuse issues. Paired with extreme media coverage, that was likely the cause of the premature passing of the Nirvana frontman. Love was in rehab when he breathed his last.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
On the Thanksgiving of 2009, Elin Nordegren chased Tiger Woods out of their home with a golf club after news of his cheating was leaked. It was a huge deal at that time because Woods was a big deal, and it was certain that the star would experience a major fall from grace.
For all Nordegren knew, he could have been having an affair with two women, not even one. As it turned out, the athlete cheated on Elin with more than two dozen women. He had been married to Swedish model Elin Nordegren for almost six years before the scandal tore them apart.