The allure of Hollywood hides many pitfalls because fame brings plenty of disadvantages. Thousands of gold diggers and fraudulent characters seek to exploit each celebrity for millions of dollars. A group of celebrities willingly take on roles as sugar mamas or sugar daddies but some stars get tricked and lose their fortunes through manipulation strategies. We will examine how celebrities from various fields have settled their divorces and managed exploitative relationships throughout recent and past years.
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp
Fifteen months after marrying Amber Heard in 2015 Johnny Depp faced divorce proceedings when Heard filed for legal separation and requested a court order to keep him away alleging abusive behavior. When their divorce went to court Amber asked for monthly payments of $50,000 to sustain her current way of life.
Depp transferred seven million dollars in divorce settlement payments which Heard committed to donate to charity. *Narrator’s voice* – She didn’t. A 2022 defamation lawsuit between Depp and Heard that Amber Heard publicly lost showed her true nature while Johnny nearly cleared himself of alleged bad behavior.
Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian
Long before Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s $2.7 billion divorce, NBA player Kris Humphries was married to Kim… for 72 days! They met in 2010 and tied the knot in 2011 with the E! Network broadcasting the wedding preparations and ceremony.
Humphries soon wised up and wanted the marriage annulled, alleging it was a sham staged for Kim’s reality TV show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Kris regretfully rejected a $10 million settlement, and the couple divorced after an 18-month court battle.
Amber Rose and Kanye West/Wiz Khalifa
Many believe Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” is about Amber Rose, but the song was released three years before they started dating in 2008. When they split, the voluptuous model and rapper started dating Wiz Khalifa in 2011.
They married in 2013 and seemed happy together until she filed for divorce and custody of their son in 2014. She came out of the proceedings with a cool million bucks. Next up were brief flings with Machine Gun Kelly and rapper 21 Savage before Amber had another son with Def Jam record exec Alexander Edwards. Amber now says she’s decided to stay single!
Russell Brand and Katy Perry
Katy met Russell when they had to make out for a scene in Get Him to the Greek. Next, she wooed him by throwing a bottle of water at his head during the 2009 VMA Awards. They married the following year in a Hindu ceremony in India. Their marriage ran hot but then cold, but they divorced after 14 months.
Russell didn’t need to marry for money because he was already a successful comedian, actor, author, and TV personality in his own right. That said, he’s rumored to have walked away with $20 million tucked in the back pocket of his skinny black jeans.
Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods met stunning Swedish au pair Elin Nordegren in 2001. They married in 2004 and had two children together. But behind the scenes, squeaky-clean Tiger was actually having several affairs. Elin divorced him and received between $100 million and $110 million in the divorce settlement.
The golfer also had to pay $20,000 in monthly child support. Rumors whirled suggesting Elin was prepared to reconcile with Tiger if the money was right… she’d receive $350 million if he never strayed from the green again!
Eric Johnson and Jessica Simpson
Unlike most of our entries, this couple is still together and very much in love. Former NFL player Eric Johnson married singer, actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Jessica Simpson in 2014. The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints tight end only played a handful of seasons — meaning his wife Jessica is the breadwinner for their three kids.
Jessica is thought to be worth $200 million, and the pair live in an $11.5 million Californian mansion formerly owned by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
Peggy Hopkins Joyce and Various Millionaires
Who wants to be a millionaire? Peggy Hopkins, that’s for sure! The actress and socialite married not one but six millionaires and had numerous affairs with other wealthy men. In 1908, she ran away with a vaudevillian bicyclist aged 15 and married millionaire Everett Archer Jr. when she was 17. The marriage was annulled when Archer discovered her real age.
Next, Peggy married lawyer Sherburne Hopkins, millionaire lumberman J. Stanley Joyce, Swedish Count Gösta Mörner, engineer Anthony Easton, and retired banker Andrew C. Meyer. She certainly struck gold!
Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain
Even Courtney Love admits to being a gold digger, proudly stating she’s only interested in rich guys. The Hole singer started dating doomed Nirvana frontman and tortured soul Kurt Cobain in 1991. They married on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii — and their daughter, Frances Bean, was born in August 1992.
Sadly, Kurt took his own life in April 1994, and various conspiracy theories abounded that Courtney was allegedly responsible for his passing. Love inherited an estimated $50 million. At least Kurt married for Love!
Rick Salomon and Pamela Anderson
After marrying and divorcing voice actress Elizabeth Daily, professional poker player Rick Salomon married Beverly Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty. But after nine months, Shannen had the marriage annulled, citing Rick as an absent husband because of his excessive partying.
His next business venture saw a private video featuring himself and Paris Hilton leak online, and he acquired the rights to make money. Finally, he married and divorced Pamela Anderson twice (she cited fraud the first time), and now they want to get married for a third time. Some people never learn!
Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall
This is one of the most controversial marriages on this list. In 1994, when she was 26, Anna Nicole Smith married 89-year-old billionaire business tycoon J. Howard Marshall. Their marriage lasted 14 months until he passed away.
But, Anna didn’t get her paws on his money as he did not include Anna Nicole in his will. A bitter legal fight began between Anna Nicole and Marshall’s children, but she was awarded $474 million, later reduced to $88 million. Sadly, the former Playboy model took her own life in 2007.
Matt Rutler and Christina
In 2010, Christina Aguilera left her husband and the father of her son, Jordan Bratman, to get together with Matt Rutler. Xtina and Matt got engaged in 2014 but are yet to get married. They have a daughter together named Summer Rain.
While Christina has been a world-famous singer for quite a few years now, Matt has worked as a production assistant and occasional actor — plus he plays guitar for the band Nate Mott. While some labeled Matt a gold digger, who wouldn’t want to be with a pop star worth $160 million?
Rachel Hunter and Rod Stewart
In 1990, Scottish musician Rod Stewart met stunning New Zealand model Rachel Hunter in a Los Angeles club. Three months later, they were married. This was despite numerous warnings from friends and family that the 21-year-old was after his millions.
Since Rachel was a successful model in her own right, Stewart convinced himself her heart was pure. After nine years and two children, Rachel filed for divorce and won a $65 million settlement.
MacKenzie Scott and Jeff Bezos
When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ wife, MacKenzie Scott, left him, he was the world’s richest man. When the divorce was finalized in 2019, MacKenzie walked away with a staggering $38.3 billion in Amazon shares. The breakup was amicable, and they even exchanged jovial messages on Twitter.
But before you call MacKenzie a gold digger, she’s seemingly determined to give all her money to charity. So far, she’s donated over $14 billion to 1,600 charitable foundations and non-profits. Way to go, girl!
Heather Mills and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills first came together in 1999. Beatles fans asked if Sir Paul was born “Yesterday”, but he married her in 2002. A year later, the happy couple welcomed Beatrice Milly McCartney. Fast forward three years and a bitter divorce saw Heather claim she was Paul’s business partner as she tried to extort money from him.
The judge called Mills “volatile and explosive” but awarded her $48.6 million anyway. Hearing the judgment, Heather poured a jug of water over McCartney’s lawyer in the courtroom!
Guy Ritchie and Madonna
Madonna and British film director Guy Ritchie married in a fairytale wedding at a Scottish Castle in 2000. They lived like tweed-clad English lords in their English country estate, had a son Rocco, and adopted David from Malawi but split in 2008.
Guy snatched between $76 million and $92 million in the divorce settlement plus the couple’s $30 million Wiltshire estate and their London pub. Gossip columnist Perez Hilton once wrote that Ritchie never spent a penny while married to the Queen of Pop and totally lived off her money.
Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst
Marion Davies was the original gold digger, while William Randolph Hearst was the newspaper magnate who inspired the greatest film ever made — Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. Just like Charles Foster Kane, Hearst was America’s wealthiest man who fell for a talentless teenage Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl and did everything he could to promote her career.
However, Davies was a shameless social climber and was rumored to be having an affair with Charlie Chaplin. Though they never married, when Hearst died in 1951, he left his long-term mistress 200,000 shares in Hearst Corporation stock.
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew
Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in 1986 to become Sarah, Duchess of York. They had two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. She claimed they only spent 40 days per year together and filed for divorce after a decade. Sarah claimed she received only $18,000 a year as a divorce settlement.
However, The Sunday Telegraph revealed the royal redhead had received $435,000 in cash — plus $622,00 to buy a new house for her and the children, and millions via a monthly allowance.