Celebrity marriages are full time fodder for the tabloids and social media these days, and often they provide the fireworks and fun that people crave. But often they are in the news simply for being incredibly short! There have been a few occasions where a pair of celebs are so mismatched that their marriages end almost as soon as they begin. In this video, we’re taking a look at a few of the shortest celeb marriages on record, and giving you a glimpse of how things went so wrong, so fast. Join Facts Verse, as we present: These Hollywood Marriages Lasted Less Than 1 Month, Now We Know Why!
Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas – 19 days
Drew Barrymore has been a star since the days she appeared on screen opposite ET, and has lived a wild and full life ever since. She’s been married several times and has had a long history of relationships with various famous and influential men. But none of her major relationships, and certainly none of her marriages have lasted for less time than her marriage to Jeremy Thomas. The two tied the knot in 1994, and it lasted only 19 days!
They had met after Drew frequented Jeremy’s club, The Room. Jeremy, a Welsh entrepreneur and bar owner, quickly became smitten with the famous actress, and the feelings were mutual. They began dating, and six months later they got engaged. And if that seems quick, their wedding came almost impossibly faster. They reportedly had the idea to get engaged in the middle of the night, and instead of even waiting until morning, they leapt into action to find a local minister. Their quest was successful, and they managed to get married two hours after they got engaged.
But the excitement of the decision quickly made way for regret. Barrymore later claimed that even by the next morning she knew she’d made a mistake, and that the two were not meant for each other. For starters, she was living in the US and he was in Britain. So they were going to have to figure out how to have a long distance relationship immediately.
They had planned a honeymoon in Hawaii, but 19-year-old Drew decided to jump the gun and go on her own. She called the much older Jeremy from a hotel phone to inform him she wanted to end the marriage. And while the bar-owner was taken by surprise at the decision, he agreed to the separation, and their divorce was finalized 10 months later.
Mario Lopez and Ali Landry – 18 days
Mario Lopez and Ali Landry dated for a while, and briefly thought they’d spend their lives together. Or, at least, Ali certainly seemed to want that. Mario… not so much. In 2004, the two exchanged wedding vows, but even before that day, things had taken a huge turn for the worse in their relationship.
Lopez spilled the beans about the disastrous marriage in 2011 when he was a guest on Howard Stern’s show. He admitted that when he was dating Landry, he was unfaithful. And it perhaps culminated in his pre-wedding bachelor trip with his cousins. Lopez said that while at first he thought he was going out for a fishing trip to Cabo. But then his cousin surprised him and elaborated that the group would be hopping around from location to location, partying it up. Of course, Lopez declined to inform his fiancée of that change, and lived it up with his cousins on the trip. Mario admitted that during the excursion he enjoyed the company of several women. He blamed his actions on being young and dumb, and clearly not mature enough for marriage. And while he tried to keep the whole thing a secret from Landry, a photo surfaced of Mario with another woman getting cozy with each other next to a pool, and the photo made its way to Landry. Landry confronted Lopez, who finally admitted he wasn’t ready for marriage. They got their marriage annulled 18 days after they tied the knot.
Pamela Anderson and John Peters – 12 days
Pamela Anderson has had a string of unsuccessful and public relationships, including her notorious ones to the likes of Tommy Lee and Kid Rock. She’s had six marriages, and the least successful was definitely her 12 day marriage to John Peters. Peters, a Hollywood producer, claims that it wasn’t as much a marriage as a con. He feels that Anderson married him in order to get him to pay for her debts, which he did. And that might have been okay in the long run for the wealthy producer, but reportedly Anderson’s lawyers began approaching him with all sorts of paperwork that would essentially spilt up his businesses and entitle her to a lot of his accumulated wealth. Peters reportedly saw this happening and realized the whole affair might have been more transactional than based on love. He reportedly sent a text to Anderson, explaining that he was a simple man who liked a calm life with his family, and that her whirlwind and chaotic life wasn’t a good match for him. The two were together for 12 days, but Anderson seemed to quickly move past it, since she has married and split from her bodyguard, Dan Hayhurst, since then.
Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips – 8 days
Dennis Hopper lived a bizarre and wild life, so it perhaps shouldn’t be a huge surprise that he had a marriage that only lasted 8 days. Shortly after the success of his movie, Easy Rider, he went to Peru to film another one called The Last Movie. That film, while critically panned and a box office dud, was notable because it was the acting debut of musician Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas. Phillips claimed that she immediately fell in love with Hopper, citing her youth and being overwhelmed with emotions at being included in the movie. After the movie ended, the two got married on Halloween of 1970. But things very quickly went south. According to Phillips the next week was “excruciating,” as she realized the type of man Hopper was, and what he was into. Reportedly the morning after their wedding, Hopper was so high on drugs that he didn’t recognize his own wife, and tried to handcuff her, believing she was a witch. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also apparently scared the heck out of Phillips (and her daughter) by shooting off guns inside their house. But perhaps the icing on the cake was that Hopper had some unacceptable (though unspecified) sexual demands that Michelle was unwilling to accommodate. Hopper has admitted that that period in his life was “one long sex and drugs orgy.” He had apparently started a cult of sorts while filming the movie, one that encouraged people to take a lot of drugs and have a lot of sex. So it probably isn’t that surprising that this period wasn’t exactly conducive to settling down and getting married. They two ended their marriage after only eight days, and it sounds like that was probably for the best.
Nicolas Cage and Erika Koike – 4 days
In 2019, Nicolas Cage got married for the fourth time, and it was by far his quickest marriage. He wed makeup artist Erika Koike, but four days after they tie the knot, Cage sought out an annulment. While the couple had dated for roughly a year before their wedding, Cage claimed that the marriage was a fraud. For starters, he claimed that when they tied the knot, he was too drunk to even understand what was going on. He also cited the fact that, unbeknownst to him, Koike was also dating someone else. As such, he had the marriage annulled less than a week after it happened. He spoke briefly about it to the New York Times Magazine, saying simply that he was pretty upset about the way things went down.
Britney Spears and Jason Alexander – 56 hours
The record for the quickest celebrity marriage goes to Britney Spears and Jason Alexander, who got an annulment after only 56 hours of wedded bliss. Spears and Alexander had been friends since childhood. And as we all know now, Britney’s childhood and most of her adult life has been marked by a total lack of freedom. So perhaps she was trying to rebel against the powers that be, namely her father, by having an impromptu wedding and marrying a longtime friend. In 2004, she was partying with Alexander and others, and apparently just poppoed the question to Alexander, who agreed on the spot. The two immediately got married in Las Vegas, with Britney clad in a hat and jeans. However, the fun and rebellious act was soon a thing of the past, as the marriage was annulled less than 3 days later.
According to Alexander, after the annulment, Britney’s team approached him with paperwork he needed to sign that would end the marriage, but allow them a chance to keep dating. They claimed that if they dated for six months and still wanted to get married, then they’d have the blessing of everyone involved. And yet, the two weren’t allowed to see other in person. Alexander claims that they could talk on the phone, and that he was given a specific line to call her on. But after 30 days, the number was no longer in service, and their relationship was effectively over.
Spears recently married Sam Asghari, and the two had an unexpected wedding crasher: Jason Alexander. He was arrested for trespassing at the event, and Spears got a restraining order assigned to him that will last for three years. He was also convicted of aggravated trespassing and battery, and is serving out a 128 day prison sentence.
Now it’s time to hear from you. Which of these quick marriages did you find the least surprising? Let us know in the comments section below!
