California courts have seen it all with kooky divorces, super short marriages, and ugly separations that seem like the War of the Roses, Danny DeVito style. Reports show that the separation rate is pretty high in Orange County compared to the rest of the nation. High-profile divorces in Hollywood prove that even the most promising unions go bad. Some of the top cases that got ugly include the following stories that made big news:
1. Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
Only a month after the two started dating, Tom Cruise bounced around with joy on Oprah’s talk show when proclaiming his newfound love for Katie Holmes. The same year, in 2005, she joined Scientology. Things were moving fast for the couple, they also got engaged, and by October, they were expecting. It was a busy year.
The next year, their daughter, Suri, was born. And the couple finally had a luscious Italian wedding in the autumn of 2006. This was already the third marriage for Tom Cruise.
Everything seemed perfect. However, it wasn’t so for long. A few years later, Katie planned an escape from a life that she did not see as hers.
Their marriage ended in an intense and high-profile divorce. Fans closely followed the unraveling of the events. Yet during these difficult times, the actress found a lot of support in people, many of whom she did not even know, for which she is extremely grateful.
2. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Their engagement was announced in 2003, and after a year, they got married. It all started as a fairytale, but it did not have a storybook ending. The divorce it led to was one of the ugliest in Hollywood history — replete with cheating, physical violence, and dirty tricks.
Woods’s reputation as a serial cheater was just one of the things that led to a marital meltdown. During the Thanksgiving weekend of 2009, Nordegren allegedly exploded. Their fight culminated with Elin chasing Woods out of the family home with a golf club. As an encore, she smashed the windows of his Escalade.
Not surprisingly, the couple decided to part ways and officially divorced in 2010. Nordegren came out on top, as she ended up receiving a $100 million divorce settlement. Where’s a prenup when you need one? This was more than enough money to ensure herself a comfortable future.
Yet, they considered their two kids (Sam Alexis and Charlie Axel) to be the main focus during the separation, not money. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren parted ways and built a life separate from each other, but decided on co-parenting. And the years that passed since their divorce seem to attest that they did a great job raising their children together.
When you are involved in a divorce or a custody battle, it helps to be familiar with the legal process in your state. In California, there are ten steps to follow. It starts with filing a petition and ends with a trial
Source: https://farzadlaw.com/california-divorce-process. A lawyer can help guide you through all these steps.
3. Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian
Sparks were flying between the two as soon as they met. However, this was an intense romance that burned out quickly. Humphries proposed after six months of dating. The proposal made it on an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. There were a lot of eyes on every move of the couple.
Four months later, in August 2011, Kim and Kris staged a lavish televised wedding at a luxurious California estate that supposedly cost $10 million. However, the Kardashian family and even the producers of the show were not fully behind the wedding. They did not believe that this is where Kim’s happiness lies. They were not wrong. After only 72 days, she filed for divorce, making it one of the shortest marriages in Hollywood history.
Later, Kim admitted that the magic wore off during the honeymoon and she knew then that this wasn’t meant to be. But what determined her to go through with the wedding in the first place? Upon reflection, she figured that it was mostly pressure due to her age. She was 30 at the time.
The bitter separation proceedings lasted two full years because Humphries sought an annulment instead of a divorce. He accused his blushing bride of nearly everything imaginable — from fraud to infidelity with Kanye West.
4. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Brad Pitt found love with Hollywood royalty, Friends star Jennifer Aniston. This was considered a perfect match by fans. However, the groom did not agree. He threw her over for co-star Angelina Jolie from Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
After just two years of marriage, the couple’s life began to resemble the movie in which their romance began. Jolie filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Only recently did she reveal that the real reason behind her decision was an incident involving their son Maddox. Immediately after the alleged incident, she took action to protect the safety and well-being of her family.
5. Usher and Tameka Foster
Close friends of the couple reported that they peeked before their marriage. As soon as they became husband and wife, the two started drifting apart. Instead of sharing a life, they each kind of went their own way.
Not long after their second son was born, Usher filed for divorce, which led to a messy and long custody battle. The kids ended up staying under their father’s care. The news of their divorce might have shocked fans, but it did not come as a surprise for those close to them.
Your Divorce Is More Important than Any Celebrity Split
If there is something to be learned from celebrity divorces, that is how important lawyers are. They can help you out with legal proceedings and hopefully avoid a messy court case. Take your time to find a lawyer who you feel comfortable with and who understands you. This will help you avoid all that Hollywood divorce drama.
