We were glued to television screens and pages of our favourite glossies as they professed their love, but somewhere along the road to ‘happily ever after’ it all went horribly wrong… and yes, we enjoyed those stories too! Let’s look back, shall we, at some memorable celebrity divorces.

Eliz Taylor hubbys/Eliz Taylor Larry Fortensky

Queen of the Aisle

Two things about Elizabeth Taylor no one can deny: She’s perhaps the most beautiful woman to grace the silver screen, and she’s been to the altar eight times. From top left: The Cleopatra star is pictured with husbands Conrad Hilton Jr in 1950; British actor Michael Wilding in 1951; singer Eddie Fisher in 1959; actor Richard Burton in 1972 and John Warner in 1976. She got the wedding bliss and blues again in 1992 when she married Larry Fortensky. Now, how could we have done a list like this without the Queen of the Nile?

Britney Spears Jason/Britney Spears Kevin

Toxic

And speaking of queen, then-teen queen Britney Spears annulled her marriage with her childhood friend Jason Alexander after just 50 hours in 2004. Later that year there was another “oops I did it again” moment when the singer married and subsequently divorced her back-up dancer Kevin ‘K Fed’ Federline. Clearly ‘K Fed’ was dancing all the way to the bank after a whopping settlement and custody of their two boys.

Carmen Dennis

Crazy Electric

Eccentric basketball star Dennis Rodman and his Baywatch-actress wife Carmen Electra called quits on their six-month marriage… we even watched as she found a new hubby in rocker Dave Navarro, which also ended in divorce.

Drew Barrymore

Burning Love

Funny man Tom Green filed for divorce from Hollywood royalty Drew Barrymore in 2001citing irreconcilable… perhaps it all went ‘ashes to ashes’ when the couple’s home burnt down.

HalleBerry-David Justice

‘Berry’ Wrong

When the femme fatale married Atlanta Braves baseball star David Justice it seemed like a match made in supermodel heaven, but things went, well, ‘left field’ in 1997 and we were all left to wonder if the allegations of abuse could really be accurate. Alas we thought she had finally found her prince charming in R&B crooner Eric Bennett, with whom she tied-the-knot in 2001. Four years later the couple called it splitsville after Bennett cheated on Berry and claimed he was addicted to sex.

Heather Millspaul-mccartney

Cry Baby Cry

They say, “Dont get mad, get everything” and that’s almost what Heather Mills got in 2008 when she took the former Beatles member Paul McCartney to court and garnered a divorce settlement of nearly £50 million. Too bad, ‘Macca’ didn’t sign a prenup.

iketina

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

“What’s love got to do?” might have been ‘soul sista’ Tina Tuner’s retort in response to her divorce from hubby and bandmate Ike Turner in 1978 after several years of alleged abuse.

Jennifer Lopez

Love Don’t Cost A Thing

Long before her days as doting mother to twins and faithful wife to Latin crooner Marc Anthony, ‘Jenny From The Block’ married Ojani Noa after her Fly Girl days on In Livin’ Colour. But the marriage and subsequent divorce that really got us talking was her second — to dancer choreographer “Cris” Judd whom she left for Ben Affleck.

Jon-and-kate-gosselin

Jon & Kate Plus ‘Hate’!

Ten years of marriage, eight children (twins and septuplets) and a TLC reality series later, Jon and Kate Gosselin’s split was the most talked about of 2009. Their divorce was finalised last December and there were talks of new loves for both and the possibilities of separate reality shows.

Jsimpson

Newlyweds No More

She was a demure virgin and he was the cutie of 98 Degrees during the late ’90s. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey seemed like the perfect pair even garnering high ratings on the MTV reality show Newlyweds until ‘blondie’ shocked the world and filed for divorce – citing irreconcilable differences – in 2006.

Kidmancruisedm

Cruisin’ To Court

Hollywood royalty Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman met on set while filming Days of Thunder in 1990. For 10 years the two seemed inseparable until Cruise served Kidman divorce papers in 2001.

Today, both share custody of their two adopted children and both have produced their own children in their new relationships.

Lucille ball desi arnaz

I (Used To) Love Lucy!

Lucille Ball was the quintessential 1950s wife. The red headed comedienne and her onscreen hubby Desi Arnaz (who played Ricky Ricardo) during the years that the hit show I Love Lucy aired. But there wasn’t much love, it seemed, in 1960 when the pair called it quits.

Mariah

Honey Turns Vinegar

It all seemed like a fairytale when music exec Tommy Mottola wed songstress Mariah Carey in 1993. Modeled after the royal wedding of Charles and Diana, Mariah’s Cinderella-esque, Vera Wang gown ran her around US$25,000 at the time. Claiming Mottola was much too controlling for her taste, ‘Ms Honey’ filed for divorce in 1997 and immediately sexed up her image. Carey is now married to Nick Cannon and Mottola now calls Latina hottie Thalia his wife.

Michael Jackson lisa marie

This Is It?

Jaws dropped in 1994 when it was announced that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson married the King of Rock n’Roll, Elvis Prestley’s ‘baby girl’ Lisa Marie. And who can forget the infamous smooch they shared at the MTV awards in an effort to prove that the marriage was indeed real? The marriage, however, could not withstand the naysayers and in 1996 the couple were officially divorced.

Mick jagger_jerry hall

Old Habits Die Hard

Tongues wagged when Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger split with Studio 54 habituee Bianca and subsequently began seeing Texan model Jerry Hall in the late 1970’s. The couple eventually jumped the broom in 1990 after having two of their four children.

All seemed well for the two until in a case of ‘caught out there’ Mick fathered a love child with a Brazilian model and Hall filed for divorce in 1999.

Nas-and-Kelis

I Hate You So Much Right Now!

We thought it was a marriage made in Hip Hop/R&B heaven. And who would have thunk the ‘pop down’ would ensue while Kelis was still pregnant with their child?

Nicolebrowndm

Bloody Love!

Oh no! But we had to go there… Heisman Trophy winner OJ Simpson met Beverly Hills nightclub waitress Nicole Brown in June 1977. They subsequently got married in 1985, five years after his retirement from professional football. Two children and seven years later, Brown-Simpson cried spousal abuse in 1989 and divorced shortly thereafter, in 1992. In 1994 Brown-Simpson and friend Ron Goldman were bludgeoned to death and Simpson went on trial for their murder. Hark back to the white Bronco chase and Cochran’s famous line “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.”

Prince Charles and Diana

Happily ‘Never’ After

A 600,000-strong throng came out to catch a glimpse of London darling Lady Diana Spencer on her wedding day. She wed Prince Charles in 1981 in what was no less than a fairytale wedding. But not every tale ends with a ‘happily ever after’ and in 1996 the royal couple called it quits.

Prince Andrew and Fergie

Blue Blood Love Gone Bad

The royal fallouts didn’t stop at Diana and Charles, indeed his brother Prince Andrew followed his footsteps shortly thereafter in 1996 when he divorced Fergie.

Sonny and Cher

I Got You Babe!

America, and indeed even some of us on The Rock, fell in love with entertainers/husband-and-wife team Sonny and Cher Bono in the ’60s and 70s. However, by 1977, years after the birth of their daughter Chastity the couple was no longer singing I Got You Babe, and went their separate ways.

Tyson.Givens

Marriage Blow Out

With numerous title fights under his belt who knew Mike Tyson’s marriage to ‘knockout’ actress Robin Givens in 1988, would prove to be as combative as his experiences in the ring. Four months after their nuptials Givens and her family went public with allegations that Tyson had beaten her. To make matters worse in September of the same year Givens and Tyson sat down for an infamous joint interview with famed journalist Barbara Walters where Givens explained that Tyson was a manic-depressive of whom she was afraid. Seven days later, Givens filed for divorce.

Ivana

Love Gets Trumped

In April 7, 1977 Donald J Trump and Czechoslovakian Ivana Syrovatka got married in a lavish society wedding. The Trumps had three children Donald John Jr, Ivanka Marie and Eric. The power couple set out on several massive projects, which included Trump hotels and casinos. At around the end of 1990 rumours began circulating of Donalds affair with a former beauty queen from Georgia, later in 1991 Ivana reatained an attorney and filed for a divorce, seeking a greater amount than the family fortune.

Dorothyandjack/dorothyharoldnicholas

Dat’s Life

Well known for her role in Carmen actress and singer Dorothy Jean Dandridge was married and divorced twice. Her first marriage was to entertainer Harold Nicholas who worked with her on The Cotton Club. After being married and having a daughter with Nicholas she divorced him. She was later to wed Jack Denison on 22 June 1959, two years later she filed for divorce after a relationship of physical abuse.

Diahann Carroll/ Vic Damone

Divorcing Dynasty

The beautiful actress and singer has taken the plunge four times, and her personal life is as captivating as her on-screen role as the seductive and wealthy Dominique Deveraux on the television series Dynasty. Back in 1973 Carroll shocked the press and her fans when she married Las Vegas boutique owner Fred Glusman, this while engaged to British television host and producer David Frost. Several weeks later, she filed for divorce, charging Glusman with physical abuse. Carroll said ‘I do’ again in 1975, when she married Robert DeLeon, a managing editor of Jet magazine. She was widowed two years later when DeLeon was killed in a car crash. Her fourth and last marriage was to singer Vic Damone in 1987, a union that according to Carroll was turbulent. The pair who legally separated in 1991 would reconcile but finally called it quits in 1996.

The style set on The Rock and around the region is far from immune to the dreaded ‘d’ word or ‘s’ for that matter… here’s a look at the most memorable ones.

Lascelles Chin

Not By My Chinny-Chin-Chin

The much-talked-about legal battle between business mogul Lascelles Chin and his wife Audrey dragged on for a decade and even went before the London-based Privy Council which, in May 1999, ordered that Chin should recover half the net assets value of her ex-husband’s company.

Prodigal Son

Saved, Sanctified & Separated

We never saw it coming but the gospel fraternity was certainly shocked when Prodigal Son and his wife Joan, his manager and partner, split after seven years of marriage in 2008.

Edward Seaga/Mitsy

Love & Politics

It seems breakups do not escape our leaders and maybe the political ambitions of Edward Seaga might have taken a toll on his family life as he divorced his first wife the former beauty queen Marie ‘Mitsy’ Seaga in 1996. He married Carla Vendryes in 1997.

Bev manley/Michael Manley

For Love & Leader

Beverly Anderson and Michael Manley professed their love in the 1970s. She was the ying to his yang and political muse as he led Jamaica in an era of social change. Two children and several general elections later the marriage ended in divorce in 1993. Michael Manley went on to marry Glynne Ewart, ex-wife of his close friend Barclay Ewart. Manley lost his battle with prostate cancer in 1997.

LisaHanna new/david panton

It Wasn’t Pretty

Miss World 1993 Lisa Hanna and former Jamaica Labour Party senator David Panton tied-the-knot in New York after a whirlwind romance. They would soon return to Jamaica to chart what ought to have been a glittering career. Alas not even the birth of their son Alexandra could keep the marriage together. The family amidst much speculation of a turbulent marriage moved to Atlanta in February 2004. The marriage ended within five months of their arrival.

Mark Shields

Crime of Passion?

The former Scotland Yard detective, Mark Shields, took the term partying ‘Jamdown’ style literally, and quickly became part of the Jamaican social network after taking up duty to fight crime as deputy commish of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in 2005. The local ladies were smitten by his good looks and dapper style, but many would have been unaware that things back in Essex, England were unstable as the leading man had divorced his wife Julia to whom he was married for 20 years.

John Barnes

Nil Nil for Johnnie

Long before Posh and Becks, Jamaican born Liverpool soccer star John Barnes and his wife Suzy were the darlings of famous sports couples in the UK. However, a foul play on John’s part (think allegations of several affairs) made him a sore loser in Suzy’s eyes. The marriage ended after 10 years with a one time Miss Jamaica Universe allegedly caught right in the middle of the brouhaha .

Powercouple Politics

Director of Tourism Carolle Guntley-Brady and attorney-at law Harold Brady very publicly declared their love after a whirlwind romance that culminated with a truly impressive wedding with a roll call of over 300 guests. Star studded dinner parties followed their honeymoon and finally the socially-in-demand couple moved to the United Kingdom. It would be here that the marriage would start to crumble with not even a return to The Rock able to put the love back in the relationship which ended in an acrimonious divorce.

Matalon

Soaring To New Heights?

It should have all ended happily-ever after when former Air Jamaica purser Patricia Jutan wed her long time lover Joseph A Matalon in 1989. Several Jack’s Hill New Year’s Eve parties later however, things started to go horribly wrong with the couple’s separate arrival at a star studded society wedding finally signalling that all was no longer honky dorey. The couple divorced and Matalon in 2006 married the stunning Bernadette McKinley who had recently returned to the island from Cayman and Miami after her own failed marriage.

No ‘Bell’ A’ Ringing

Gail Bell and Stephen Ueker –Their romance was the stuff of block-buster movies sudden and unexpected with a collective sigh of relief felt from Kingston to Montego Bay when they wed. Regrettably there would be no happily ever after for the couple who soon went their separate way.

The Senator and Miss World

Cindy Breakespeare and Tom Tavares Finson: The former Miss World (1976) who conceived a child for Bob Marley wed attorney-at-law and government senator Tom Tavares Finson in 1981 and settled into what appeared to be domestic bliss with children Christian who was born in 1982 and Leah in 1986 and of course Damian Marley. The couple divorced in 1995 and have each remarried Cindy to airline pilot and guitarist Rupert Bent 11 and Tom to fitness trainer and nutritionist Rose.

When Paul Dumped Helga

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or her personal effects for that matter loaded into a moving truck and deposited at The Hotel Four Seasons. Alas Helga Stoeckert’s long time relationship with Paul H Geddes not only came to a very public end but the 80 + year old businessman would in 1991 marry Marge, a 36 year old Caymanian belle. When Geddes died in 1999 his wife became the sole beneficiary of his mult-million dollar empire.

When Stella and Jonathan ‘found their groove’

Back in 1998 it was more about Toy Boy than Cougar but then again 40-year-old author Terri McMillan was entirely focused on her Jamaican beau Jonathan Plummer. The relationship inspired the love interest of the main character in her much acclaimed How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Jonathan settled in nicely and it all seemed to be going swimmingly well until Plummer’s declaration in 2004 that he was gay. McMillan filed for divorce in March 2005 and two years later sued Plummer for intentionally trying to embarass and humiliate her during the divorce proceedings.

Carlene Beenie

King and his Queen

Self-professed King of the Dancehall Beenie Man took a queen in the form of agile dancer Carlene Smith in the mid-nineties. Adored by thousands of ogling fans, the couple quickly became dancehall’s it-item. “I might not have been his wife, but I was certainly his life,” Smith confessed to SO last July as she recounted their torrid love affair. It’s a claim that’s easily believable since, the international reggae star confessed his love and subsequent heartbreak over the mic during his groom’s reply on his wedding day. The couple who share a daughter called it quits in 1996.

Angeleenie

Angeleenie Splits

We’re not quite sure if the ink has dried on Angeleenie’s divorce papers; but who could resist talking about the biggest pop down in dancehall this side of the 21st century. Who would have thunk that a lavish all-white wedding with over 500 guests staged at Craighton Estate on August 22, 2006 (his birthday); confessions of love and a baby-bump would give way to allegations of abuse and cheating… and after a year of marriage D’Angel and Beenie Man were no more!

Lisaraye

‘Misick’ O’ You!

Michael Misick was slick, suave and in charge of paradise… in other words, he had all the requisite qualities a movie star would find attractive. And certainly his would-be wife Lisa Raye McCoy did, so it was a no brainer that she and the affable Turks & Çaicos premiere made it official. But things took a wrong turn and suddenly it was paradise lost…And we’re still trying to figure out who really bit whom or was there an apple in the garden.