Actors, singers, comedians, athletes, TV personalities: Their jobs are to entertain us. But sometimes, a celebrity's personal life is even more entertaining than his or her on-screen or on-stage performances.
Many of us follow the romantic lives of celebrities just as closely as we follow our favorite television series or sports teams. The quick flings, forbidden affairs, and epic breakups keep us glued to the tabloids and gossip sites — and perhaps make us feel a little better about our own love lives. Well, grab your popcorn and prepare to be entertained. Ahead, 10 of the shortest celebrity marriages in history, and the story behind each rapid demise.
Pamela Anderson & Kid Rock
Married 122 days
Actress and former Playboy Playmate Pamela Anderson has had a pretty well-publicized personal life. In 1994, she married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee after knowing him only four days. But that isn’t the most notable aspect of her love life.
In 2006, after an on-again, off-again relationship, Anderson married rocker Kid Rock. She announced her engagement to the singer on Howard Stern's show, and the pair was officially married in July on a yacht in the French Mediterranean. Sadly, in early November of the same year, Anderson announced that she had suffered a miscarriage, and 17 days later, she filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
Photo: PETER BROOKER/REX/Shutterstock.
Cher & Gregg Allman
Married nine days
Cher was most famously married to Sonny Bono. But just three days after finalizing her yearlong divorce from Bono, the Goddess of Pop married musician Gregg Allman in Las Vegas. Good thing she already had a divorce lawyer, because Cher filed to dissolve her marriage to Allman just nine days later. Apparently the Southern rocker went on a drinking and drug binge during their honeymoon, and Cher just wasn't cool with that. In a statement released shortly after the incident, Cher said, “I’ve always believed it best to admit one’s mistakes as quickly as possible.” Quickly, indeed.
Photo: CHRIS CAPSTICK/REX/Shutterstock.
Nicolas Cage & Lisa Marie Presley
Married 107 days
Both hailing from famous families, it makes sense that Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley hit it off when they met at Johnny Ramone's birthday party in 2000. After two years of on-again, off-again dating, the couple was married in Hawaii in August 2002. Just three months later, Cage filed for divorce, stating that they "shouldn't have been married in the first place." The divorce proceedings lasted longer than the marriage; the divorce was finalized in 2004.
Photo: BEI/Shutterstock.
Elizabeth Taylor & Conrad “Nicky” Hilton
Married 205 days
Classic Hollywood bombshell Elizabeth Taylor had a famously tumultuous love life. She was married eight times — twice to Richard Burton — but her first marriage to hotel heir Conrad “Nicky” Hilton was the shortest.
In May 1950, at the age of 18, Taylor walked down the aisle at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. The lavish ceremony and reception was organized by MGM, and was a major media event. However, the fairy tale ended when Taylor realized she had little in common with Hilton. He also turned out to be verbally abusive and a heavy drinker. Taylor was granted a divorce the following January.
Years later, in a 1964 Life magazine interview, Taylor admitted she was emotionally immature at the time, but was eager to marry young in order to establish herself as independent from her parents and the film studio.
Photo: Solent News/REX/Shutterstock.
Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Esposito
Married 121 days
Hollywood leading man Bradley Cooper married actress Jennifer Esposito in December 2006. Their dating life, engagement, and nuptials were all relatively low-profile, but the couple was plunged into the spotlight when, after just four months of marriage, Esposito filed for divorce.
While a rep for Cooper said, "The divorce was mutual, and they've been separated for quite a while," things seemed anything but amicable. In her 2014 book Jennifer's Way , Esposito wrote that there were many red flags she should have noticed about Cooper, and that he was a "master manipulator."
Photo: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock.
Renée Zellweger & Kenny Chesney
Married 128 days
It seems like a cliché that a girl from Texas would marry a country-music superstar, but that didn’t dissuade Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger from hitching her tractor to Kenny Chesney in May 2005. The couple kept their brief courtship a secret until just one week before their marriage ceremony in St. John.
After just four months of marriage, Zellweger filed for an annulment, citing “fraud” as the cause of the split. However, the actress commented to the media that this was “simply legal language and not a refection of Kenny's character.”
Photo: CHARLES SYKES/REX/Shutterstock. and Photo: Jim Smeal/BEI/BEI/Shutterstock.
Zsa Zsa Gabor & Felipe De Alba
Married less than 24 hours
Like any good socialite, Zsa Zsa Gabor has had quite a public and interesting marital history. She even beat out Elizabeth Taylor for most marriages on this list, having been married nine times. The shortest marriage in her personal history — and perhaps in all of history? — was to Mexican attorney and character actor Felipe de Alba.
The couple was married at sea on April 13, 1983. They then had their marriage annulled on April 14, as the Hungarian-American actress' divorce from Michael O'Hara had not been finalized. Gabor said she never attempted to marry de Alba again after the annulment because, "He bored me. He's a playboy, and I'm a hardworking actress."
Photo: PAT ALISAU/ AP Photo.
Britney Spears & Jason Alexander
Married 55 hours
In January 2004, Britney Spears married her childhood friend Jason Alexander (not this one) in the Little White Wedding Chapel on the Strip in Las Vegas. The couple reportedly showed up to the chapel in a lime-green limo, and the bride wore jeans and a baseball cap.
The pop star moved to annul her marriage 55 hours later. In her legal filings, Spears stated that the marriage should be annulled as she "lacked understanding of her actions."
Photo: Julian Makey/REX/Shutterstock. and Photo: Matt Baron/BEI/BEI/Shutterstock.
Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries
Married 72 days
Kim Kardashian has made a name for herself by simply living her life in the spotlight, so it’s no surprise that her short-lived marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries was a subject of major media scrutiny. The two began dating in October 2010 and were married in Montecito, CA, in August 2011. The wedding preparations and ceremony were featured on a two-part TV special on E! the following October — kind of like the modern-day version of Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding to Nicky Hilton.
After 72 days of marriage, Kim filed for divorce on October 31, citing irreconcilable differences. Due to the nature of the marriage and Kim’s reality-TV lifestyle, many speculated that the marriage was merely a publicity stunt.
Photo: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock.
Drew Barrymore & Tom Green
Married 163 days
Drew Barrymore could actually be on this list twice. In 1994, at age 19, she was married to a Welsh bartender named Jamie Walters for a rocky 19 days. Six years later, Barrymore began dating Canadian-born comedian Tom Green. After a year of dating, the couple was married in July 2001. Green filed for divorce the following December, just five months later, citing irreconcilable differences.
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