Hollywood Relationships: Love, Marriage, and the Money in Between

By Victor McGlothin

Katy Perry was in love with Russell Brand. They got married, and then 14 months later, they experienced a celebrity divorce. When Hollywood relationships heat up so fast and end just as quickly, we all go running to blogs and message boards looking for answers. Often, reasons why celebrity couples break up are obvious…and it usually involves money.

Causes of Failed Hollywood Relationships

In Perry’s case, she was a popular singer before marrying Brit uber-talent Brand. Both of them were exceedingly busy on photo and movie shoots, concert tours, and everything else that accompanies stardom. With so much time spent apart, it’s no wonder they experienced problems that ultimately resulted in a failed celebrity marriage. The question is: What makes celebs think they can sustain a healthy relationship and love while living apart and chasing the almighty dollar rather than the connection that keeps the home fires burning?

Related Link: Why Celebrities Fall In and Out of Love So Quickly

Perry and Brand aren’t the only culprits to this type of demise. Perhaps the biggest wedding sham of all time was Kim Kardashian’s televised nuptials to NBA power forward Kris Humphries of the New Jersey Nets. After 10 million viewers watched the choreographed broadcast on E!, 72 short days later, it was all over.  Once it occurred to Humphries that Kardashian got what she wanted — astronomical wedding coverage gracing dozens of magazine covers and an $18 million payday for the exclusive rights — he filed to have the marriage annulled, citing fraud allegations. It was merely an attempt to save face after being used and branded in the national tabloids as the villain and then subsequently lambasted online by Kardashian’s family.

Kardashian refused to ante up the $9 million owed to Humphries for his role of a lifetime in the wedding plot, but then, she offered $7 million as a consolation prize. Over 90 days after the 72 day scam marriage ended, their celebrity divorce is still pending and adoring fans are still choosing sides. Yet another hot mess caused by money!

Related Link: What Kim Kardashian Taught Me About Marriage

Money, Relationships, and Love

Stories of Hollywood relationships like Brand and Perry’s or  Kardashian and Humphries’s are all over the place, and there’s usually the issue of money behind all of them. Even if money doesn’t destroy a relationship and love, it always has a place. Even famous couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie use money to buy happiness on occasion (see her massive engagement ring and $25 million donation toward children’s image rights).

Although us normal folk don’t typically have the type of cash that popular celebrities bring to the table, it’s still good to learn from the often careless ways in which they throw that money around. We should keep cash in the back of our minds, if at all possible, while pursuing a deep connection.

Victor McGlothin is a best-selling novelist and writer for wastedcash.com, providing commentary on celebrity spending and consumerism.