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.
Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian
Model, socialite, and former erotic dancer Angela Renée White, aka Blac Chyna, dated rapper Tyga and they had a son together in 2012. They split when Tyga began dating Kylie Jenner, which led to many social media spats between Chyna and Jenner.
But Chyna got her revenge when she started dating Jenner’s half-brother, Rob Kardashian, in 2016. Chyna and Rob became engaged and had a daughter. However, six months after Dream was born, they had a nasty breakup. She took Rob to court for $20,000 monthly child support.
Chris Judd and Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez has a thing about marrying her backup dancers. Her second husband was dancer and choreographer Chris Judd. Their marriage lasted 16 months before they sought a divorce. The settlement hit J.Lo hard, and she was ordered to pay Judd $14 million. That works out at nearly a million dollars per month.
Not a bad investment! It certainly beats the national minimum wage, right? After divorcing Chris Judd, Jenny from the Block dated Ben Affleck. She should have stayed as Bennifer, because…
Casper Smart and Jennifer Lopez
After being married to singer Marc Antony for 10 years, J.Lo met another backup dancer, Casper Smart. They dated on and off for five years but finally split in 2016.
Casper was 18 years younger than Jen, and there was a rumor she got so bored with paying for him all the time that she gave him a $10,000-a-week stipend. Next, J.Lo married New York Yankee player Alex Rodriguez before marrying Ben Affleck.
Raffaello Follieri and Anne Hathaway
Interstellar actress Anne Hathaway started dating Raffaello Follieri in 2004. The Italian real estate developer showered her with gifts like diamond earrings, an 18-carat emerald, a pearl Cartier necklace, and European holidays on yachts — but where was he getting his money from?
Well, in 2008, Follieri was arrested for fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering for his part in the Vati-Con Scandal, which misappropriated a $50 million investment from Bill Clinton. He served four years in jail and was deported back to Italy, where he set up a global oil and energy company.
Gabriel Aubry and Halle Berry
In Halle Berry’s second most catastrophic mistake after Catwoman, she married French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry. They had a daughter Nahla in 2008, but the relationship soon soured, and a bitter custody battle ensued. They were both awarded joint custody of Nahla, however…
As Halle was worth more, a Superior Court ruling made her pay Aubry $16,000 child support a month — even though he only looks after his daughter half the time — plus a $115,000 retroactive payment and $300,000 for Aubry’s attorney fees.
Kevin Federline and Britney Spears
Britney Spears’ 2004 marriage to Kevin Federline’s raised some eyebrows because somehow a “talentless backup dancer” had managed to get with the biggest pop star on the planet. He was labeled a gold digger as he left his pregnant wife to get with Britney.
They had two sons together, but Britney filed for divorce. Federline won sole physical custody of his children, and after a long and acrimonious court battle, K-Fed secured contracts and $20 thousand per month in child support.
Yoko Ono and John Lennon
While one sound engineer says The Beatles split because of an argument over Englishmen’s best friends — Digestive biscuits — some fans say Yoko Ono was behind their downfall. John Lennon certainly did change after meeting the Japanese artist and photographer.
Many fans believed she had ulterior motives, and The Beatles broke up within a year of their marriage. Mark Chapman took John Lennon’s life in December 1980, and Yoko inherited most of her husband’s estate. Over the decades, John’s legacy is considered to be worth $700 million.
Tameka Raymond and Usher
When R&B singer Usher got together with his stylist, Tameka Raymond, the world and his wife said she ain’t nothing but a gold digger. Including Usher’s mom, who sabotaged their first wedding attempt and missed their second!
They were married for two years, while Usher paid for her lavish lifestyle. But, he kicked her out for squatting in his Georgia mansion for years. Paraphrasing Jane Eyre, Tameka insisted, “The truth is, I really, really loved my husband […] It wasn’t gold-digging. I took a pay cut when I married him.”
Amy Irving and Steven Spielberg
Academy Award winner Amy Irving almost played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark but lost the role after splitting up with her boyfriend, Steven Spielberg. But just like Marion and Indy, the two rekindled their love and eventually tied the knot in 1985.
The marriage lasted just four years before she went after the lion’s share of his money. After a long and arduous dispute, a California judge ignored the couple’s prenuptial agreement, which had been scribbled on a napkin, and awarded Amy Irving $100 million.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Meghan Markle gave up her $50,000 per episode role on the American TV legal drama Suits to marry into the British Royal Family. In 2018, she married Prince Harry to become Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. But, while Meghan now has royal blue blood and more money than she’d make in a dozen lifetimes as an actress, it’s not been smooth sailing…
Meghan and Harry half walked away — half been pushed away from the Royal Family, and their relationship has divided half the world. They’re still together and very much in love… for now.
Oksana Grigorieva and Mel Gibson
Russian beauty Oksana Grigorieva had a thing for sugar daddies. In 1989, she married Russian lawyer Igor Baranov for three months. After marrying British artist Nicholas Rowland, she dated James Bond actor Timothy Dalton for eight years. Then she dated Mel Gibson, who should have known better after his ex-wife Robyn Moore Gibson held him to Ransom for $425 million.
Together, they had a daughter, Lucia, but Oksana got a restraining order after claiming Gibson had struck her. After they split, Grigorieva turned down a $15 million settlement and ended up with just $750,000 and a house.
Holly Madison and Hugh Hefner
Facing massive debts and on the verge of homelessness, Holly Madison moved into the Playboy Mansion in August 2001. She became one of Hef’s girlfriends for the next seven years and — enticed by his millions — hoped to marry the aging publishing mogul.
But it didn’t work out that way, as Hefner coercively controlled Holly, enforcing a curfew, controlling her finances, and refusing to marry her. She said their relationship was like having Stockholm Syndrome and later added, “I’m never dating anybody again. I don’t need a man.” Who can blame her? Hefner passed away in 2017.