Contrary to popular belief, not every fairy tale wedding is as it seems.
And while that can be a tough feat to come to terms with, some of our favourite celebrity A-listers have proved it to be all-too-true.
But don’t be disheartened – some of the most renowned splits in Hollywood’s history have happened for very good reason, and it’s all in the details.
Keep scrolling as we recount the most shocking celebrity splits, and how they came to be.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
After meeting on the set of the movie The Rum Diary, actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard fell in love.
They got married three years into their relationship but split after just 15 months.
News of their divorce broke when Amber was spotted at the Los Angeles Superior Court with bruises on her face.
She received a restraining order against Johnny.
According to leaked court papers, Johnny was drunk and high on ecstasy when he started verbally abusing Amber over the phone.
Amber claimed he then cut his finger and used a mixture of his own blood and paint to write accusations of cheating on a mirror in their villa.
He accused Amber of having an affair with her co-star, Billy Bob Thornton.
Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard fell in love quickly.
Amber’s friend, American author Tillett Wright also claimed he’d seen Johnny’s abuse first hand.
He said Johnny had kicked, choked and punched Amber, which led to him finally calling the police on the actor.
Three months later, Amber backed down on her claims of domestic violence and the pair released a statement.
“Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love,” they explained. “Neither party has made false accusations for financial gains. There was never an intent of physical or emotional harm.”
Finally, after another five months, the divorce was finalised.
Amber received $7 million in the settlement which she donated to various charities.
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
Turning 30 is a big moment in anyone’s life and, for reality star Kim Kardashian, it also led to making a big mistake.
Realising she wasn’t getting any younger, Kim decided it was time to settle down.
“I’m 30 years old, I better get this together, I better get married,” she said.
It made sense to her to walk down the aisle with her boyfriend, NBA player Kris Humphries, whom she’d been dating for eight months.
The couple’s glamorous wedding at Montecito, California, was broadcast live on TV before they headed off to the Amalfi Coast in Italy for a honeymoon.
By now, Kim started feeling that this wasn’t the fairy tale she’d hoped and that, “It wasn’t going to work out”.
After 72 days, she filed for divorce and a lengthy legal battle, which lasted seven times longer than the fleeting marriage, followed.
The separation was finalised just before Kim gave birth to baby North, the child of her third husband, rapper Kanye West.
Kim and Kris were only married for 72 days before calling it quits!
Drew Barryomore and Jeremy Thomas
She made herself a household name as the cute little girl from E.T., but Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore wasn’t so lucky in love.
At 19, she married bartender Jeremy Thomas following a six-week romance.
Once they were husband and wife, things soon fizzled out and, less than two months later, they divorced.
Six years afterwards, Drew was feeling far more optimistic about her second wedding to talk show host, Tom Green.
The pair were engaged for over a year, but once married the relationship bombed after just five months.
Drew and Jeremy tied the knot after six weeks together.
Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor
Plagued by infidelity, broken friendships and even a death, no Hollywood divorce has come close to rivalling the scandal of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds’ split.
Singer, Eddie Fisher, and actress Debbie Reynolds, were Hollywood’s power couple during what’s now known as the Golden Age of cinema.
During their four years of marriage they had two children, Carrie, who went on to play Princess Leia in Star Wars, and Todd.
Debbie had been best friends with fellow actress, Elizabeth Taylor, since high school so the Fishers regularly dined and holidayed with Elizabeth and her husband, producer Mike Todd.
Sadly, Mike died in a plane crash so Eddie, determined to comfort his best friend’s grieving widow, became Elizabeth’s shoulder to cry on.
Brought together by grief, they became more than friends.
Just one month after the birth of his son Todd, Eddie left Debbie for Elizabeth.
The whole world was shocked, with the media painting Elizabeth as a home-wrecker and Debbie as an unsuspecting and innocent single mum.
Debbie revealed she felt numb during the ordeal, as if she was “floating in space.”
After a year, Debbie agreed to a divorce so Eddie and Elizabeth could get hitched.
But wedded bliss wasn’t to last for Elizabeth and Eddie.
While filming Cleopatra, Elizabeth had an affair with her co-star, Richard Burton, and divorced Eddie for her new man after four years of marriage.
Elizabeth and Richard ended up both marrying and divorcing each other twice.
Decades after the love triangle, Debbie and Elizabeth reunited and the pair eventually became friends again.
Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds’ eventually spilt when Eddie married her best friend.
Elizabeth married her best friends husband, Eddie, but it didn’t last.
Christie and Peter Cook
Supermodel Christie Brinkley had already been married three times when she got hitched to architect Peter Cook.
They had two children, Sailor and Jack, but 12 years after tying the knot, Christie filed for divorce.
She’d discovered Peter was having an affair with his 18-year-old assistant.
Distressed, Christie immediately left the family home only to fall on her knees sobbing at the side of the road.
A close friend claimed she was almost catatonic.
Peter threatened to kill himself but Christie talked him out of it, even though she was furious he’d cheated on her.
Private details were exposed during the bitter custody battle, with Peter revealing he’d spent $3000 on internet pornography during their marriage.
The settlement ended with Christie receiving custody of the kids and their property while Peter pocketed $2.1 million.
Christie and Peter’s marriage seemed perfect, until the affair was discovered.
Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon
Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and professional poker player Rick Salomon married but broke up just two months later.
They went their separate ways before marrying again, six years later, in a secret ceremony.
Pamela filed for divorce after six months but they reconciled before the split was finalised.
The third time wasn’t a charm for the pair, with Rick filing for an annulment a further six months down the track.
Pamela responded by filing for divorce.
Pamela claimed that Rick spat in her face and tried to smother her with a pillow during sex.
She also claimed he was verbally abusive, calling her a “crack wh*r”.
Rick hit back, accusing Pamela of being a “serial baby killer.”
He insisted she had undergone several abortions during their marriage.
He also claimed he was a victim of fraud as, despite being an animal welfare advocate, Pamela cooked pork for her son.
Pamela’s lawyers dismissed the allegations as “ridiculous”.
Pamela received $1 million once the divorce was finalised.
Pamela and Rick had a roller coaster relationship.
Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie
When Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston fell in love, the whole world swooned.
Their wedding soon sparked rumours that Brad wanted to have kids but Jennifer didn’t.
After five years of marriage, they split with rumours rife that Brad had bedded Hollywood’s newest star, Angelina Jolie, while filming the movie Mr and Mrs Smith.
Three months after Brad and Jen’s divorce, Angelina announced she was pregnant with their first child.
For the next 12 years, the couple constantly created headlines by adding to their family, but nothing compared to the news that the lovers had come undone.
Exact reasons for the split remain unknown, with both staying tight-lipped.
It’s widely believed that things took a turn for the worst when the family of six took a private flight from France to the US.
1Brad has since admitted that drinking was a problem for him.
“Truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka,” he said.
“I was a professional. I was good.”
Jen and Brad split after five years of marriage together.
Brangelina constantly created headlines but nothing compared to the news that the lovers had come undone.
Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
Tiger Woods was considered one of the greatest golfers of all time, but his career was destroyed after a messy divorce from wife Elin Nordegren, who he’d been married to for six years.
Tiger had been plagued by cheating rumours leading up to Thanksgiving and had been linked to Rachel Uchitel, a nightclub hostess.
2Elin was growing jealous, despite Tiger’s reassurances, so she took his phone and messaged Rachel, pretending to be Tiger.
When Rachel accidentally confirmed the affair with her reply, Elin flew into a rage.
She chased Tiger out of their home, wielding one of his golf clubs.
Tiger quickly hopped in his Cadillac but ended up crashing the car into a tree and Elin added to the damage by smashing the back windows of the car with the golf club.
When their divorce was brought to the courts, Tiger confessed to having 120 affairs over the course of his five-year marriage.
He even had a one-night stand with a 21-year-old neighbour.
Tiger was treated for sex addiction in rehab.
And Elin walked away from the divorce proceedings with a reported $100 million.
3
Tiger admitted to having 120 affairs over the course of his five-year marriage.
Anna Murdoch Mann and Rupert Murdoch
After 32 years of marriage, Anna Murdoch Mann was determined to walk away with her fair share of media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s money.
The split became one of the most expensive divorces in history, with Anna receiving $1.7 billion.
The sum was so large, Rupert even paid $110 million to Anna directly in cash.
People assumed such a pricey settlement would put Rupert off marriage, but he got hitched a short 17 days after his divorce was finalised, this time to Wendi Deng Murdoch.
He divorced her 14 years later.
When Anna and Rupert split it went down as one of the most expensive divorces in history.
Diane Alexander and Lionel Richie
Fashion designer Diane Alexander caused shock-waves through Hollywood during her divorce from singer Lionel Richie after eight years of marriage.
Diane reportedly demanded a $20,000 annual plastic surgery allowance and $15,000 monthly payments.
All up, she cost Lionel $20 million.
Diane and Lionel were married for eight years before it all went wrong.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise
Actors Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were one of Hollywood’s golden couples for more than a decade.
But after 11 years of marriage, Tom filed for divorce, shocking fans all over the world.
5The pair refused to discuss why they had split but Nicole later revealed she thought the marriage had been perfect and the divorce was a shock to her system.
Tragically, she suffered a miscarriage just weeks after Tom announced the separation.
It didn’t take long for fans to speculate that the Church of Scientology was behind the break up.
Another actress, Leah Remini, who publicly quit the church even claimed Nicole was a “suppressive person”, meaning all Scientologists, including Tom and their two kids, were barred from speaking to her.
The divorce ended amicably, with the pair agreeing to split custody of their children.
Nicole and Tom filed for divorce after 11 years, shocking fans all over the world.
