Hollywood weddings often make big headlines, but some of them end almost as fast as they begin. Over the decades, a number of famous couples have married and then split in a matter of days or months.
Looking at these short unions shows how quickly a fairy tale can change. Here are twelve of the briefest celebrity marriages on record, listed from shortest to longest.
1. Britney Spears and Jason Alexander: 55 Hours
Few marriages have ended as quickly as this one. In January 2004, Britney Spears wed her childhood friend Jason Alexander at a Las Vegas chapel.
The ceremony happened in the early morning hours, and the news spread fast.
Just over two days later, a court annulled the marriage. Spears’s side said she did not fully understand what she was doing at the time, and the court agreed to end the union.
Annulment means the law treats a marriage as if it never happened, which is different from a divorce.
The pair had known each other since they were kids in Louisiana. That long friendship did not carry over into married life, though.
The 55-hour marriage is still one of the most famous short unions in pop culture. It is often the first example people name when they talk about quick Las Vegas weddings, and it remains a favorite trivia answer.
2. Nicolas Cage and Erika Koike: 4 Days
Sometimes a trip to Las Vegas ends with a souvenir. For Nicolas Cage, it ended with a wedding in March 2019.
He married Erika Koike, a makeup artist, in a quiet ceremony in the city.
Only four days passed before Cage asked a court to cancel the marriage. His filing said he did not fully understand the decision he had made, and that he wanted it annulled quickly.
Court papers described the request as a matter of timing and judgment, not a long fight. The process wrapped up without much public drama.
Cage has been married several times, and this chapter was the shortest. Fans of the actor often bring it up when they talk about his colorful private life, which has made as many headlines as his movie roles over the years.
3. Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips: 8 Days
Picture two free-spirited artists in 1970, both riding high in their careers. Dennis Hopper had just directed the hit film Easy Rider.
Michelle Phillips was a singer in the band The Mamas and the Papas.
They married in October of that year, and the union lasted only eight days. Phillips later spoke about how the relationship fell apart almost right away.
Their story became a famous example of how fast Hollywood love can fade. Both stars moved on to other projects, and both stayed well known in entertainment for years afterward.
Fun fact: Phillips has joked in interviews that the marriage lasted about as long as a short vacation. Her humor about it helped turn a painful moment into a well-loved story among music and film fans.
4. Francesca Eastwood and Jordan Feldstein: 8 Days
Las Vegas shows up again in this list, and for good reason. The city has a long history of fast weddings and fast regrets.
In 2013, Francesca Eastwood, the daughter of Clint Eastwood, married music manager Jordan Feldstein there.
Within about a week, Eastwood asked a court for an annulment. Reports at the time said the couple had moved very quickly and then changed their minds just as fast.
Feldstein was a well-known manager in the music business, and he was also the brother of actor Jonah Hill. Eastwood was building her own acting career at the time.
Both of them kept working after the split. The short marriage became a small footnote in their stories, but it still gets mentioned whenever people list the quickest celebrity weddings.
5. Robert Evans and Catherine Oxenberg: 9 Days
A powerful movie producer and a former royal-family member walked into a wedding in 1998. Robert Evans, who ran Paramount Pictures in its golden years, married actress Catherine Oxenberg.
She was best known for her role on the television drama Dynasty.
Their marriage was annulled after only nine days. The pair had a large age gap, and the match surprised many people in the entertainment world.
Evans was married several times in his life, and his autobiography The Kid Stays in the Picture became a classic Hollywood tale. This brief marriage is a small part of that larger story.
Oxenberg went on to continue acting and writing. She later became known for her work as an author and advocate, showing there was plenty of life after that short chapter.
6. Patty Duke and Michael Tell: 13 Days
Thirteen days is shorter than most vacations. That is how long Patty Duke’s marriage to Michael Tell lasted in 1970.
Duke was an Oscar-winning actress who first became famous as a child star in The Miracle Worker.
Tell worked as a music promoter. The couple wed and separated within two weeks, which surprised fans who had followed Duke’s career since she was young.
Duke later spoke openly about the challenges she faced in her early adult life. She became a strong voice for mental health awareness after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Her honesty helped many people feel less alone. While the brief marriage is a fun trivia item, her later advocacy became a much bigger part of her legacy and is still remembered today.
7. Mario Lopez and Ali Landry: About 18 Days
Two familiar faces from television tied the knot in Mexico in April 2004. Mario Lopez, known for Saved by the Bell, married actress and model Ali Landry.
The wedding looked like the start of a long love story.
It did not turn out that way. About eighteen days later, Landry had the marriage annulled.
She said she had found out Lopez had been unfaithful.
Lopez has since built a successful career as a host and has a family of his own. Landry also moved forward, marrying again and raising children.
The pair showed that even a well-planned destination wedding can end quickly when trust breaks down. Their story remains a common example in lists of short Hollywood marriages, though both have clearly found happiness later on.
8. Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas: About 19 Days
In March 1994, a young Drew Barrymore surprised fans by marrying Jeremy Thomas, a bar owner. She was only 19 years old, and she had already lived more of life in the spotlight than most adults ever do.
The couple split after about nineteen days. Barrymore filed for divorce, and the two went their separate ways without much public fighting.
Barrymore has talked about her early years with warmth and humor. She grew up in front of cameras, starting with the movie E.T. when she was just a small child.
Today she is a successful actress, producer, and talk show host. Her early marriage is a small part of a long and impressive career, and she has often said that each life lesson helped her become who she is now.
9. Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman: 38 Days
Broadway royalty met Hollywood tough guy in 1964. Ethel Merman, famous for her huge singing voice, married actor Ernest Borgnine, who had won an Oscar for the film Marty.
The marriage lasted only 38 days. Merman later wrote about it in her autobiography, and the chapter about Borgnine was famously blank apart from a single page that left the story to the reader’s imagination.
Borgnine went on to star in many films and television shows, including the series McHale’s Navy. He kept working well into his nineties.
Merman remained a legend of the stage, known for roles in musicals like Gypsy and Annie Get Your Gun. Their short marriage stands out as a quirky detail in two very long and celebrated careers.
10. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries: 72 Days
This wedding had the look of a major television event. In August 2011, Kim Kardashian married basketball player Kris Humphries in a lavish ceremony in California.
Cameras followed the planning, and an entire special aired on television.
Only 72 days later, Kardashian filed for divorce. The legal process took longer than the marriage itself, and it lasted until 2013.
The split sparked a lot of talk about reality television and real relationships. Many viewers wondered how much of a wedding is about love and how much is about the show.
Kardashian has since built a business empire and studied law. She has also been married again and has four children, showing that her life changed in big ways well after this short chapter.
11. Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley: 107 Days
When the daughter of Elvis married one of Hollywood’s most unusual leading men, people paid attention. Lisa Marie Presley wed Nicolas Cage in Hawaii in August 2002.
Both were well-known for their bold personalities.
The marriage lasted about 107 days, which is just over three months. Cage filed for divorce in November of that year.
Both stars were open about their love of music, movies, and collecting unusual things. Cage is a famous fan of Elvis, which made the pairing feel almost like a movie plot.
Presley continued her music career and spoke often about her famous family. She passed away in 2023, and fans around the world remembered her talent and her connection to her father’s legacy.
Cage’s career also kept growing in the years afterward.
12. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito: About 4 Months
Long before he became an Oscar-nominated star, Bradley Cooper was a rising actor working on television. In December 2006, he married actress Jennifer Esposito, who was known for her role on the show Spin City.
The marriage ended quickly. Esposito filed for divorce in May 2007, about four months after the wedding.
At the time, Cooper was early in his career. He later became famous for films like The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, and A Star Is Born.
Esposito kept acting and later became an author and business owner. She wrote about her health journey and opened a gluten-free bakery in New York.
Both have said little about the marriage in recent years, and both have gone on to successful chapters in life.
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