15 Of The Most Absurd Celeb Prenups

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With the rise of divorces and broken marriages, it seems like true love is a rarity, especially in the world of Hollywood. We’re more surprised when a celebrity marriage passes the five year mark than when it falls apart after two months (hello, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries).

And since there doesn’t seem to be such a thing anymore as happily ever after, people are becoming more and more practical nowadays about marriage. In fact, though couples marry because they’re in love, they also view it as a business merger—complete with a severance package, in case the marriage doesn’t work out. In marital terms, that severance package is called the prenuptial agreement.

Celebrities, especially those walking down the aisle for a second time, usually draw up prenups to protect their multi-million dollar assets. After all, they wouldn’t want their hard-earned money falling into the hands of their estranged spouses, especially if the break-up was a bitter one. Here’s a list of the strangest, most unromantic prenups in the celebrity world.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian

After her joke of a marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries, it’s no wonder that Kim Kardashian didn’t hesitate to sign a prenup when she married Kanye West. With West’s net worth reported to be at around $100 million, Kardashian will get somewhere between $1 million to $10 million, their Bel Air mansion, and all jewelry he gave her should they head for splitsville. Best of all, she gets to keep all her own earnings from her reality show and business ventures. There’s no word if custody of their child (and any future children) was discussed in the prenup.

Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky

Liz Taylor’s former husbands were all prominent figures in their field, from a hotel magnate to bigwigs in the entertainment industry to a politician. So when she married her last husband Larry Fortensky, a construction worker, many eyebrows wagged. But Taylor was wise and made sure that Fortensky signed a prenup. He was to receive $1 million if he stayed married to Taylor for five years. Lo and behold, the marriage lasted exactly five years. But the two were said to have parted as friends.

Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen

Being well aware of her then fiancé Charlie Sheen’s reputation, Denise Richards was wise in drawing up a prenup that had a cheating clause! Details of the clause aren’t known, but when the marriage did end, there didn’t seem to have been cheating involved. But Richards still managed to walk away with $7 million in alimony, $42,000 in child support, and even royalty fees from Sheen’s then show Two And A Half Men. The ex-couple seems to be in good terms as of late, given Richards was even awarded temporary custody of Sheen’s twin sons by his now former wife Brooke Mueller.

Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving

Before Kate Capshaw, whom he met on the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Steven Spielberg was married to actress Amy Irving from 1985 to 1989. Though he was still not as financially successful as he is today, his fortune at the time of the divorce was still worth a cool $200 million. During the divorce proceedings, Spielberg claimed that he and Irving had signed a prenuptial agreement—written on a cocktail napkin. Of course, the judge declared the prenup as void and Irving was rewarded $100 million, half of Spielberg’s fortune. Not bad, but of course, she would have gotten more if they had divorced a few years later, when Spielberg hit the billion dollar net worth mark.

Jay Z and Beyonce

If arguably the most powerful couple in the music industry didn’t have a prenup, the public would probably go into a frenzy. Rumor has it that Beyonce asked to receive $5 million for every child she bears Jay Z and $1 million for every year of marriage should they decide to call it quits. So now that they have one daughter, Beyonce is most likely $5 million richer. If she wanted easy money, she could always bear twins for her and Jay Z’s next pregnancy!

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

Being a former cocaine addict, Nicole Kidman made sure to include that part of country singer Keith Urban’s past when she drew up a prenup before they married. Should they divorce, Urban will receive $640,000 for every year they were married, unless he goes back to his drug use. This stipulation was actually the idea of Kidman’s advisers, though she herself found it to be crude and unromantic. But she reluctantly agreed in order to protect her $150 million net worth. On the bright side, it will hopefully keep Urban from having a relapse.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel

Being well-aware of Justin Timberlake’s bad boy ways, Jessica Biel ensured a prenup was drawn up before she married him. It was reported that she included an infidelity clause, which states that if one party is involved in an extramarital affair, the injured party gets a financial award from the one who strayed. Biel reportedly asked for $500,000 in damages if Timberlake cheated on her during their marriage. Fortunately, the marriage looks to be going strong, so Timberlake doesn’t have to worry about coughing up $500,000-which is in fact, a meager portion of his fortune—anytime soon.

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline

Though she initially didn’t prioritize the whole prenup issue when she married Kevin Federline, it’s a good thing Britney Spears listened to her parents and her lawyer and signed a 60-page prenup to protect her then $65 million fortune. The contract stipulated that should they split, Federline would get a flat amount of $1 million and nothing more. The bizarre portions of the prenup were the “fake wedding date” clause, stating that the couple would have a faux wedding on a certain date; and gifts they received worth more than $7,000 had to be documented legally regarding who got to keep the gift upon the divorce!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt didn’t have a prenup when he married (and then divorced) Jennifer Aniston. The public wasn’t privy to the details of their divorce settlement, but it seemed to have been an amicable agreement. Maybe his and Angelina Jolie’s previous dissolved marriages were what made them hesitate so long before finally tying the knot. But the couple was smart about their union and made sure to draw up a prenup. The division of assets in the prenup aren’t known, but regarding the kids, rumor has it that should the golden couple split, their six kids will be in the custody of Jolie.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones

High-profile power couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones signed a prenup, but the main reason wasn’t to protect their respective assets. It was to ensure that Douglas wouldn’t cheat on Zeta-Jones, like he did with his first wife! Zeta-Jones stipulated that if her husband cheated on her, she would get a $5 million bonus. And of course, she also asked to be given $2.8 million for each year of marriage prior to the divorce. Perhaps to soften the seemingly harsh stipulations, Zeta-Jones reasoned that the prenup was also to protect Douglas’ fortune and that she didn’t want half of it, which would be her entitlement if there was no prenup signed.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan

Facebook founder and multibillionaire Mark Zuckerberg was just an ordinary guy in college when he met and started dating Priscilla Chan. But ordinary as he was, their relationship started on a most bizarre note. Zuckerberg had to sign a dating prenup that stated “one date per week, a minimum of a hundred minutes alone time, not in his apartment and definitely not at Facebook.” Well, he did end up marrying Chan and of course, there was a marriage prenup that was drawn up and signed, which was an absolute necessity in order to protect Zuckerberg’s astounding $33 billion personal net worth.

Donald Trump and Ivana Trump

When a billionaire businessman gets divorced, you can be sure a lot of money is involved in the settlement. This was precisely the case when The Donald split up from his first wife Ivana Trump. The public isn’t aware of what was written in the couple’s prenup when they got married, but somehow, his ex-wife was able to work around the legal document and walk away with more than she was entitled to! She received $20 million in cash, the family home worth $14 million, and $350,000 a year in alimony.

Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo

It’s a good thing Jessica Simpson and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo never made it down the aisle because their relationship was besieged with issues. Simpson’s presence in Romo’s life was said to have been affecting his performance in his games. There were rumors as well that Romo’s friends had jokingly told him that should he and Simpson marry, he should include a “porker clause” in the prenup. The joke was probably in reference to Simpson’s erratic weight changes and the clause purportedly stated that she had to give Romo $500,000 for every pound she gained over 135 pounds. Rumor or not, the joke was plain mean and it’s a good thing the couple never married.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren

With a fortune as massive as his, of course pro-golfer Tiger Woods had a prenup drawn up when he married au pair Elin Nordegren. The prenup stated that Nordegren would get $20 million for ten years of marriage. But everyone knows the marriage didn’t reach the ten-year mark, no thanks to Woods’ philandering ways. Because of his actions, his wife ended up walking away with even more than the $20 million she was entitled to. She was initially being offered $5 million as an apology and as a means to get her to stay with him. She walked away from the marriage with $110 million and custody of the children.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

With rumors swirling that the marriage was a sham, it’s no surprise that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ prenup had stipulations about getting paid for the number of years the couple was married. According to reports, Holmes would get $3 million for every year she was married to Cruise and half of his $250 million fortune if she stayed for 11 years. But apparently, Holmes just wanted to make a clean and quick break. As a result, the prenup wasn’t honored and she ended up with $400,000 a year in child support for their daughter Suri, but zero spousal support.