Divorce is rarely an easy or inexpensive experience to go through. Even when it is clearly the right choice, there are all sorts of costly decisions to be made about dividing financial assets, choosing what to do with the house, and disentangling years of shared finances. It is a big part of the process for all couples, but when celebrities do it, multiple homes and millions of dollars can be on the line.
Some celebrity divorces are pretty straightforward, especially when there are prenuptial agreements in place that spell out exactly how much money might get paid out. But sometimes celebrities don't have prenups, and the richer party in the relationship can find themselves needing to write a check for tens of millions of dollars (if not more). We've rounded up 15 celeb divorces that cost millions, and wow, there are some eye-popping numbers here.
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Melissa Mathison & Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford has been married three times (and is still with current wife Calista Flockhart, who he married in 2010), but it was his second divorce that cost him the most money. When he divorced Melissa Mathison in 2004, he was ordered to pay her $85 million.
Ivana & Donald Trump
Everyone knows that former President Donald Trump's was a serial cheater. That cheating came with a steep price tag when he left his first wife Ivana for his mistress Marla Maples. He had to pay out $25 million to Ivana so he could marry Marla. When he inevitably divorced Marla, that divorce was rumored to only have cost him a bargain $1 million thanks to a prenup.
Madonna & Guy Ritchie
The 2008 divorce battle between Madonna and director Guy Ritchie was both very contentious and very expensive. Although the couple was married for eight years, Madonna ended up having to settle with Guy for somewhere between $76 and $92 million.
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Nicole Young & Dr. Dre
When Dr. Dre and Nicole Young divorced after 24 years (and two kids) together, she walked away with all her jewelry, four fancy cars, and a settlement of $100 million. Holy smokes! Don't feel too bad for Dre though, he's still estimated to be worth nearly $1 billion.
Diane Alexander & Lionel Ritchie
Singer Lionel Richie has been married twice and his second divorce was the expensive one. He and Diane Alexander were married in 1995 and split in 2003. She was awarded $20 million and some reports indicate that she also asked for a monthly allowance of $50,000 for clothes and lifestyle support as well as $20,000 a year for cosmetic surgery.
Cindy Silva & Kevin Costner
While he was again in the headlines for his 2023 divorce from Christine Baumgartner, the divorce settlement from Kevin Costner's first marriage to Cindy Silva is the one that usually shows up on lists like this. The couple split in 1994 and Kevin was ordered to pay out $80 million.
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Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey were married for four years, but Jessica still ended up having to give him nearly half of her $32 million net worth because they didn't have a prenup in place. Nick, who was worth about $5 million at the time of their split, got a cool $12 million to add to his bank account.
Mariah Carey & James Packer
OK, so technically this one might not count because they were only engaged and not married yet, but we have to admire the audacity of Mariah Carey requesting a $50 million payout when her engagement to James Packer ended. She called it an "inconvenience fee" and eventually settled for somewhere between $5 and $10 million, plus the right to keep her 35 (!) carat engagement ring. Not bad for a diva who never made it down the aisle.
Jane Fonda & Ted Turner
Jane Fonda and Ted Turner had a complicated relationship and the two split in 2001 after a decade together. In the split, Jane got a large financial settlement that included a 2,500-acre ranch and between $70 and $100 million worth of stocks. She also sold her engagement ring to him, getting her another $20,000 or so.
Talulah Riley & Elon Musk
Talulah Riley was married to billionaire businessman Elon Musk not once but twice, so she's had two large payouts from him. After their first marriage, he paid out just over $4 million and when they split the second time, she got $16 million more.
Mackenzie Scott & Jeff Bezos
Honestly, this might be our favorite divorce on the list. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott split in 2019 after 26 years together. Their divorce included the largest settlement in American history as she got over $30 billion (yes, with a "b") in assets. Since then, she has dedicated her life to philanthropy and has donated billions of dollars to colleges, nonprofits, and other charities. She is doing it right!
Elin Nordegren & Tiger Woods
There were a lot of messy details about Tiger Woods and his inability to stay faithful that came out when he and wife Elin Nordegren divorced in 2010. It sounds like the pro golfer was a lot to live with, so we think it seems very fair that she got a settlement rumored to be worth nearly $100 million.
Juanita Vanoy & Michael Jordan
Another world-famous athlete who had to part with big bucks when he got divorced was Michael Jordan. Michael and first wife Junita Vanoy split in 2006 after 17 years of marriage. While the NBA legend got to keep their 56,000-square-foot mansion, she walked away with $168 million in assets.
Heather Mills & Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills had a short marriage (they tied the knot in 2002 and separated in 2006) that led to a very nasty divorce battle. Even though the model and the musician were not together for decades, Heather got a major settlement that included alimony and $48.7 million.
Melinda French Gates & Bill Gates
Another ex-wife of a tech celebrity to get a settlement that was valued at over a billion dollars was Melinda Gates. She and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates were married from 1994 to 2021 and had three children together. Once they split, Bill paid her $6.3 billion in stocks. She sold over $1 billion of it in the first year after the divorce, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world.
