Family Law

Decade of Divorce: 10 Memorable Celebrity Splits of the 2000s

By mbrickley

The 2000s have been a decade full of divorce news – with plenty of scandal and drama to go around. Total Divorce has chosen 10 celebrity couples who have ended their marriages – the ones we feel are the most memorable of the decade.

Did we miss one? Tell us which celebrity divorce of the ’00s was the most memorable for you. Leave a comment below!

• Bruce Willis & Demi Moore, Oct. 2000: This Hollywood couple was married for 13 years before their divorce was final in 2000. According to Britain’s Daily Mail, the couple remains one of the happiest divorces in Hollywood. The couple split in 1998, but the divorce wasn’t official until 2000. They have three daughters, and the two remain good friends and parents.
• Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise, Aug. 2001: After more than 10 years of marriage, Cruise filed for divorce in Jan. 2001, having just renewed marriage vows a month earlier, according to ABC News. Kidman was later quoted saying she believes Cruise found a deeper love with Katie Holmes as she had found with Keith Urban.
• Harrison Ford, Jan. 2004: The Indiana Jones star was married to screenwriter Melissa Mathison for 18 years, but the couple separated in 2001. Ford dated Calista Flockhart for two years before the divorce was finalized in 2004.
• Jennifer Aniston & Brad Pitt, Aug. 2005: The couple met in 1998 and married in 2000 in an elaborate $1 million wedding. Pitt was accused of having an affair with Angelina Jolie, though he never acknowledged the rumors as being true, according to ABC News. In 2005, the couple filed for divorce, and a few months after it was final, Pitt and Jolie started dating.
• Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey, Dec. 2005: This pop-star couple married in 2002, and starred in the MTV reality series “Newlyweds,” a career move that helped them both immensely, according to MTV News. Citing ‘irreconcilable differences,’ the couple split in Nov. 2005 and filed divorce a month later.
• Paul McCartney, May 2006: The former Beatle married Heather Mills in 2002, and after four years of marriage, the couple together decided to divorce, stating that they still care about each other very much, according to Britain’s Daily Mail. Mills offered to sign a prenup, but McCartney refused, so the divorce could have cost him about £200 million.
• Britney Spears, Nov. 2006: The pop star’s marriage to dancer/rapper Kevin Federline ended in 2006 when Spears filed for divorce in California. This was a high-drama case because of the couple’s two sons and the amount of public knowledge about their marriage, according to NBC News.
• Michael Jordan, Dec. 2006: The NBA All-Star married his wife Juanita in 1989, and after 17 years of marriage, they mutually agreed it was time to end it. Jordan’s divorce isn’t necessarily memorable because of any scandal – but according to Forbes.com, it was the most expensive divorce, costing Jordan $150 million.
• Jon & Kate, June 2009: The Gosselins have been all over the news in the past six months – closing the decade with a bang as far as celebrity divorce is concerned. The reality TV couple decided to end their 10-year marriage after a scandal involving Jon surfaced, according to People Magazine. Their eight kids will remain a huge part of both their lives.
• Tiger Woods, Nov. 2009: While no official divorce papers have been filed, after his admittance to infidelity and his fight with his wife, Elin Nordegren, it seems filing for divorce may be the next step for the well-known pro golfer.

Full post as published by The Divorce Blog on December 21, 2009 (boomark / email).