Matt Lauer got fired from the Today show after being exposed as a sexual predator in the workplace. His long history of bad behavior was instrumental in his divorce from wife Annette Roque, whom he’s now supposed to pay $50 million. He’s unhappy about that.
In terms of celebrity divorce settlements, trust us when we say that the Lauer’s is on the modest side. Most settlements involving celebrity husbands who behaved badly should make Matt slightly less unhappy — it’s all a matter of perspective.
Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva’s divorce = $80 million
Oscar winner and star of Waterworld Kevin Costner cheated on his former wife Cindy Silva and ended up divorced. We did not make a passing reference to his infamous 5-star flop to be mean. We mention it because it played a big role in the split from his wife.
In 1994, the two were divorced after 16 years of marriage. As his star rose in the ‘90s, so did speculations of his womanizing ways. While shooting Waterworld, Kevin reportedly had an affair with a hula dancer in Hawaii where the “aqua-epic” was being shot.
However, they didn’t split only because of Kevin’s cavorting. Cindy reportedly got jealous of his co-stars and grew tired of his hunky leading roles. Persistent rumors of his flirtatiousness eventually led to their separation and a cool $80 million payout to Cindy.
When couples like Kevin and Cindy want to split amicably, they may decide to leave lawyers out of it and keep the divorce “simple.” One spouse may propose a divorce agreement that the other may be amenable to, which sounds nice, but is often a costly mistake.
Having a family-law attorney represent you during your divorce in Seattle ensures you’ll have someone looking out for your best interests, not your partner’s.
Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison’s divorce = $85–$118 million
Alleged womanizer and strip club specialist Harrison Ford forked out more than Kevin Costner when he and the now deceased screenwriter Melissa Mathison filed for divorce.
At the time of Harrison and Melissa’s split, the settlement was rivaled only by power couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s. But unlike Tom and Nicole’s more complicated case, Harrison and Melissa’s divorce was widely believed to be caused by Han Solo’s mid-life strip-clubs-and-womanizing crisis.
They had been married for 18 years, which is fairly long by Hollywood standards, so you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking the huge payout was at least partly due to their relatively long marriage.
In fact, the length of the marriage is a crucial factor in a divorce, particularly when determining the division of marital property and alimony.
Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore’s divorce = $425 million
Mel Gibson and ex-partner Robyn Moore didn’t separate because of infidelity. Nevertheless, it was Mel’s bad behavior that ended their marriage.
In 2006, Mel got arrested for DUI and famously unleashed an anti-semitic tirade at the officer who apprehended him. It was widely reported that the incident was instrumental in Robyn’s decision to separate from Mad Mel.
The length of their marriage certainly accounted for some of the huge settlement, but it actually had more to do with the fact that Mel made tons of money from his real estate investments and the more than $600 million he collected from his passion film, The Passion of the Christ.
Robyn ended up taking $425 million, which was half of Mel’s net worth at the time, because they did not get a prenuptial agreement. Under California law, they had to split their finances and assets equally, which was too bad for the man who wanted to keep his island in Fiji and ranch in Costa Rica — properties obtained during their 26-year marriage — all to himself.
Mr. Lauer should feel lucky he has to pay only $20 million to his former wife in their almost-finalized divorce.
For your divorce in Seattle, family lawyers Buckingham, LaGrandeur & Williams will make sure you get a settlement agreement that will be favorable to you, celebrity or not. Call us today.