Kim Kardashian caused a media frenzy this week after she announced she was divorcing her new husband after just 72 days of marriage.
Reality star Kim wed basketball player Kris Humphries in a multi-million dollar extravaganza at a mansion in Montecito in August.
The wedding netted Kim and Kris a cool $17.9 million in media coverage and endorsements.
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According to the New York Post, this included $15 million for the two-part TV special Kim’s Fairytale Wedding, $2.5 million for exclusive photos with People magazine, and $400,000 more in other magazine deals.
If you divide these astronomical figures by the length of the marriage, Kim and Kris earned more than $10,000 for every hour they were husband and wife.
With Kardashian earnings only likely to increase as Kim goes through the divorce courts, many are questioning whether the whole marriage was nothing more than a money-making publicity stunt.
Radar Online has quoted several sources who say the relationship was staged for TV, and designed to capitalise on Kim’s fame while it was at its peak.
Kim and her family have strenuously denied these claims, insisting the romance was real, and the marriage was “meant to last forever”.
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While it wouldn’t be the first time someone had married for money, the way Kim made her millions — if that was indeed the point of the wedding — certainly marks a strange new era in celebrity culture.
Your say: Do you think celebrity publicity stunts have gone too far?
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