The think-tank, which was set up by former High Court family law judge Sir Paul Coleridge, estimates that divorce rates amongst celebrities is nearly double that of the general public.

Researchers at the Marriage Foundation chose 500 famous couples who got married between 2001 and 2010. They recorded who stayed together and who separated, then compared the results to figures for married couples throughout the UK. By 2015, 50% of the celebrity couples they tracked had divorced, which was considerably higher than the 26% equivalent UK divorce rate for the same period.

Shortest marriages and long-lasting couples

Of the couples included in the study’s sample, the celebrity pairs whose relationships fared best over the 14-year period included Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson, both of whom were married for 11 years before separating. Still together after 10 years are Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, while topping the list for relationship longevity are Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith, as well as J.K. Rowling and Neil Murray, both couples having survived the full fourteen years of marriage.

Worst offenders included Drew Barrymore and Tom Green, Eminem and Kim Mathers, and Britney Spears - who appeared twice on the list for short-lived marriages to Jason Alexander (less than 1 year) and Kevin Federline (three years).

Why is the divorce rate so high amongst celebrities?

With their lavish, fairytale weddings and even more glamorous and expensive lifestyles, celebrity couples are a source of envy and fascination for many of us. However, it seems that wealth and fame do not protect celebrities from the stresses and pressures of marriage – in fact, according to the Foundation’s research director Harry Benson, the opposite can be true:

“Usually people with huge wealth are cushioned from the kind of stress and tensions than can lead to family breakdown – so it would be reasonable to think that wealthy celebs would have the lowest rates of divorce.

“In fact the reverse is true: celebrities as a group divorce at roughly double the rate of us ordinary mortals.”

While celebrity marriages and bitter divorce battles are often considered a source of entertainment and gossip for tabloid newspapers and many of their readers, there is a darker side to the Marriage Foundation’s latest research to consider – the impact of divorce on children. This difficult subject is something that Gwyneth Paltrow spoke about during a 2015 interview. Sir Paul Coleridge explains why celebrities and their lifestyles aren’t always to be envied:

“They may dazzle us with their £100,000 fairy story weddings, 15 tier cakes and house-drawn carriages but all too often these weddings are followed, in quick succession by a bitter and tortuous fallout and divorce played out in the public eye in grisly detail. And behind too many of these high profile family breakdowns sits a set of confused and distressed children who have felt the two tectonic plates of their lives pulled apart under the full scrutiny of the media.”

For expert advice on all legal and practical aspects of divorce, as well as how to minimise the impact on children, the team at Tracey Miller Family Law are perfectly placed to help – get in touch for access to over 25 years of legal experience.