<p>When the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/celebrity-relationships/”>marriage</a> of a heavyweight in the music industry comes to an end, the divorce will be trending news. It’ll also probably be expensive. Here are seven <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>musicians</a> who faced costly divorce settlements. </p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-custom-image-1200″><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1300″ height=”1049″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=1200″ alt=”A black and white picture of Kenny Rogers and his wife Marianne Gordon posing in front of a sign.” class=”wp-image-3437620″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg 1300w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=620&h=500 620w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=768&h=620 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=1024&h=826 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=1200&h=968 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=74&h=60 74w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/musician-divorces.jpg?w=150&h=121 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kenny Rogers and Marianne Gordon | Bettina Cirone/IMAGES/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<h2 id=”h-lionel-richie-and-diane-alexander”>Lionel Richie and Diane Alexander</h2>
<p>Lionel Richie reportedly began a relationship with designer Diane Alexander while he was married to his first wife, Brenda Harvey. Richie and Alexander married in 1995, two years after he finalized his divorce from Harvey. The couple shares two children, and they divorced in 2003.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-custom-image-1200″><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1300″ height=”928″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=1200″ alt=”Lionel Richie and Diane Alexander wear coats outside of a theater.” class=”wp-image-3437604″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg 1300w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=640&h=457 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=768&h=548 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=1024&h=731 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=1200&h=857 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=84&h=60 84w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Lionel-Richie-Diane-Alexander.jpg?w=150&h=107 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Lionel Richie and Diane Alexander | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p>Per <a href=”https://www.eonline.com/photos/5534/most-expensive-celeb-divorces” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>E!</a>, Alexander reportedly claimed that she bought $15,000 of clothes a month and spent $20,000 on plastic surgery annually. The musician paid roughly $20 million in the divorce.</p>
<h2>Phil Collins and Orianne Cevey</h2>
<p>Phil Collins and Orianne Cevey married in 1999 after meeting when he was still married to his second wife, Jill Tavelman. They remained married until 2006 and share two sons together. </p>
<p>When they divorced, the musician paid Cevey $46.7 million. This didn’t end their legal disputes, though. Collins sold the Miami home the couple once shared for $40 million in 2021. Per <a href=”https://pagesix.com/2022/08/26/ex-wifes-20m-lawsuit-against-singer-phil-collins-dismissed/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Page Six</a>, Cevey sued him for half the proceeds. In 2022, a Florida judge dismissed Cevey’s case, telling the couple that “enough is enough.”</p>
<h2>Paul McCartney and Heather Mills</h2>
<p>After Paul McCartney’s wife of nearly 30 years, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-last-words-dying-wife-linda-mccartney-helped-gently-slip-away.html/”>Linda McCartney, died</a>, he eventually began a new relationship with former model Heather Mills. The two married in 2002 and share a daughter together. </p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-custom-image-1200″><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1300″ height=”847″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=1200″ alt=”Paul McCartney holds up a peace sign and holds hands with Heather Mills, who holds flowers.” class=”wp-image-3437610″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg 1300w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=640&h=417 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=768&h=500 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=1024&h=667 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=1200&h=782 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=92&h=60 92w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Paul-McCartney-Heather-Mills-1.jpg?w=150&h=98 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Paul McCartney and Heather Mills | Joe Dunne/Jetty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p>By 2006, the couple separated and spent two acrimonious years <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-divorce-heather-mills-cost-48-7-million.html/”>finalizing their divorce</a>. Mills initially asked for over $250 million but ultimately received $48.6 million from the musician (via <a href=”https://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/03/17/mccartney.mills/#:~:text=LONDON%2C%20England%20(CNN)%20%2D%2D,and%20have%20a%20young%20daughter.” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>CNN</a>).</p>
<h2>Kenny Rogers and Marianne Gordon</h2>
<p>Kenny Rogers was married five times, but his divorce from his fourth wife, Marianne Gordon, was the most expensive. Rogers and Gordon married in 1977 and shared a child together. As their marriage wore on, though, the couple <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kenny-rogers-wife-marianne-gordon.html/”>began to drift apart</a>.</p>
<p>In 1993, the couple divorced after well over a decade of marriage. He reportedly paid his fourth wife $60 million in their settlement. </p>
<h2>Madonna and Guy Ritchie</h2>
<p>In 2000, Madonna married director Guy Ritchie several months after she gave birth to their first son. They shared two children together by the time they <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/madonnas-guy-ritchie-divorce-cost-her-76-million.html/”>divorced in 2008</a>. The couple pointed to irreconcilable differences and deepening cracks in their relationship as the cause of their split.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-custom-image-1200″><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1300″ height=”995″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=1200″ alt=”Guy Ritchie and Madonna both wear black and stand together in a crowd.” class=”wp-image-3437613″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg 1300w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=640&h=490 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=768&h=588 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=1024&h=784 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=1200&h=918 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=435&h=332 435w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=260&h=200 260w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=280&h=215 280w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=78&h=60 78w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Guy-Ritchie-Madonna.jpg?w=150&h=115 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Guy Ritchie and Madonna | Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Upon finalizing their divorce, the musician paid Ritchie between $76 million and $92 million, per <a href=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-madonna-divorce/madonna-settles-divorce-for-up-to-92-million-idUSTRE4BE5I520081215″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Reuters</a>.</p>
<h2>Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphy</h2>
<p>In 1969, Neil Diamond married TV producer Marcia Murphy, reportedly falling in love when he was still married to his first wife, Jaye Posner. The couple share two children together and divorced in 1995 after 26 years of marriage. The divorce was reportedly one of the most expensive of all time, with Diamond paying Murphy $150 million. </p>
<p>Diamond later said that the rumors of the expensive divorce were not accurate. He felt guilty about the split, though, so he didn’t bother to correct them. While he didn’t share the exact amount of money, he said that Murphy was happy with the settlement.</p>
<p>“She was,” he told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2777738/I-ve-finally-stopped-torturing-Ten-years-therapy-wife-30-years-younger-given-Neil-Diamond-peace-craved-last.html” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Daily Mail</a>. “She got enough to live on for the rest of her life.”</p>