Most of us have at least some type of fascination with the lives of celebrities. We’re not just interested in the things they do and the content they create. We become interested in their personal lives. When they go through a divorce, it often tends to make the news.
One of the reasons for this is that there are often massive spousal awards for celebrity divorces. This is especially true when one celebrity vastly out-earns the other. Below, we’ll be taking a look at some of the biggest spousal support awards in celebrity divorces.
Dr. Dre and Nicole Young
Internationally famous rapper and music producer Dr. Dre was ordered to pay around $3.5 million a year to his estranged wife Nicole Young. While this is certainly an incredible amount of money for spousal support, it’s nowhere near what his wife asked for. Her request was for about $2 million per month.
Why would someone need to have $2 million per month? Nobody truly needs that kind of money, and it’s ridiculous to think that they do. However, Young has a list of monthly expenses that she said equaled close to $2 million. Some of the listed expenses include:
- Laundry and cleaning for $10,000 a month.
- Phone, cell, and email for $20,000 a month.
- Mortgage, $100,000 a month
- Charitable contributions at $125,000 a month.
- Education (tuition and living expenses) at $60,000 a month.
- Clothes at $135,000 a month.
- Entertainment at $900,000 a month.
Those are some major expenses. Fortunately for Dre, he’s only paying a little under $300,000 a month, which is still a ridiculous sum of money. Hopefully, Young is still able to answer her emails without that $2 million each month.
Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock
Another musician (and talk show host) who is paying millions in support to their ex is Kelly Clarkson. She is paying her ex $150,000 per month in addition to $45,601 per month in child support for their children. Keep in mind that she has primary physical custody of the children.
Again, although this might seem like a lot of money, it’s far less than what Blackstock was requesting. He wanted to receive $301,000 in spousal support and he wanted $135,000 in child support. Additionally, she paid his attorney fees, which amounted to $1.25 million.
J-Lo and Chris Judd
Do you remember when Jennifer Lopez was married to a man named Chris Judd? This was one of those “blink and you missed it” sort of Hollywood marriages. The couple met on the set of Lopez’s video “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”.
However, in this case, love cost quite a lot. Lopez filed for divorce from Judd in 2002 after less than a year of being married. She ended up paying Judd $14 million. This was a settlement, though, rather than a continual payout.
Ted Danson and Casey Coates
Ted Danson from Cheers, Mr. Mayor, The Good Place, and countless other television shows and movies, left his first wife, Casey Coates, in 1992. The two had been married since before Danson was famous, but it came to an end when Danson left her for Whoopi Goldberg. This divorce ended up with a massive $30 million settlement for Coates.
Anna Faris and Benjamin Indra
Actress Anna Faris’ career started to take off shortly after she married Benjamin Indra in 2004. Indra’s career was not doing as well as hers was when they got divorced, so she was considered the breadwinner in the case. Ultimately, she ended up paying him $900,000 in spousal support.
Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold
Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold were married in 1990, but their marriage only lasted four years. One of the mistakes they made, as a lot of people often make, is that they did not have a prenuptial agreement. Keep in mind that this was at the height of Roseanne’s fame. She ended up paying Arnold a lump sum spousal support payment of $50 million.
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
No one expected Britney Spears to marry her backup dancer Kevin Federline but happened and there was even a reality television show about them. The couple was together for three years and had two children in that time. However, it wasn’t a marriage that was meant to be.
When the couple divorced, Britney was required to pay Federline $40,000 a month and child support. This was a substantial amount of money equally close to half a million a year. It was even rumored that Federline didn’t want to marry his new girlfriend because the support would end. He did eventually get married again though, in 2013.
Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving
One of the most successful and respected directors in history, Steven Spielberg, was served with divorce papers by his first wife, Amy Irving, after just four years of marriage. While the two were still married, it appears that Spielberg started to date Kate Capshaw, an actress who was working on one of his films.
Spielberg’s attorneys tried to claim that a prenuptial agreement the couple had should prevent Irving from getting a large spouse support award. However, that prenup was written on the back of a napkin and the judge determined that it was not legally valid. This turned out to be good news for Irving, as she ended up with a $100 million alimony settlement from Spielberg.
Most people won’t have to worry about paying out millions of dollars in spousal support payments. In Arizona, spousal support is not even a given. It is only awarded in some cases, and even then, it might only be temporary until the other party can get to the point where they can take care of themselves financially. Still, those who want to make sure their assets remain safe in the event of a divorce will want to consider a prenuptial agreement. Even though you might not have tens of millions in the bank like a celebrity, you don’t want to lose what you do have.
