Latest celebrity news is one of the top subjects that people love to read about. This is mainly because celebrities are treated as idols and common people love to keep themselves updated about what is going on in their favorite celebrities’ life. Most often celebrities are known for excess and exaggeration, and unfortunately for them their divorces are often extreme as well. So, when it comes to divorce, people usually want to know about popular divorce cases of celebrities.

Here are some of the popular US celebrity divorce cases:

Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen Divorce Case:

Denise Lee Richards, an American actress and former fashion model got married to Carlos Irwin Estevez, an American film and television actor, on June 15, 2002. In March 2005, Richards filed for divorce on grounds of her husband being an alcohol and drug abuse, threats of violence, and addiction to both pornography and prostitutes. The divorce was finalized in November 2006 and preceded a custody dispute over their two daughters.

Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey Divorce Case:

Iconic singer Neil Diamond married Marcia Murphey in 1969. After 25 years of marriage, Neil Diamond divorced his wife in 1994 on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Murphey, who had two sons with Diamond, was awarded a $150-million settlement after she asked the court to grant her half the couple’s marital assets and eventually settled for $150 million. The $150 million divorce settlement helps her to maintain the quality of life she had enjoyed before getting divorced.

Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia Johnson Divorce Case:

The wrestling champion and former football player, Dwayne Johnson got divorce from his wife Dany Garcia Johnson. Johnson and his wife decided to get divorced after 10 years of marriage. According to the divorce settlement, Dwayne Johnson need to pay $22,000 in child support plus $5,000 per month to a trust fund account for their 7-year old daughter’s college expenses and private school tuition. He do not have to pay alimony to Garcia. The couple married in 1997 and separated in June 2011.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren Divorce Case:

Tiger Woods, the star golfer married to Elin Nordegren, a former Swedish model on October 5, 2004. Together, the couple has two children Sam Alexis Woods and Charlie Axel Woods. They officially got divorced on August 23, 2010 after Woods had a few indiscretions, which ended up getting; well, more than a little media coverage. Initially it was reported that Nordegren would receive nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars but in the end she received a little over $100 million from their divorce settlement.

Mel Gibson and Robyn Gibson Divorce Case:

Mel Gibson, an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter got married to Robyn Denise Moore, a dental nurse on 7 June 1980. After 26 years of marriage, Mel and Robyn Gibson separated on 29 July 2006 after having seven kids together. A divorce case was filed by Robyn Gibson on 13 April 2009 on the grounds on irreconcilable differences. This famous celebrity divorce case was finalized on 23 December 2011. It was reported that Robyn Gibson got $450 million which is one of the highest divorce settlement amount in the history of Hollywood.

Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy Divorce Case:

Michael Jordan, a retired American professional basketball player and active entrepreneur married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, and they have two sons and one daughter. The couple filed for divorce after more than 21 years of marrige on January 4, 2002 on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, but soon reconciled. They again filed for divorce and finally got divorced on December 29, 2006. Michael Jordan has to pay $168 million as settlement to Juanita Vanoy, making it one of the most lucrative celebrity divorce settlements in history.

Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving Divorce Case:

Amy Irving, an American actress got married to Steven Spielberg, an American film director in 1985. They remained married for four year and got divorced in 1989 after having one child together. As per the divorce settlement agreement, Amy Irving received an estimated $100 million settlement after a judge controversially vacated a prenuptial agreement that had been written on a napkin. Following the divorce, Spielberg and Irving shared custody of their son, Max Samuel. This divorce case is recorded as one of the most costly celebrity divorce cases in history.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie Divorce Case:

Pop superstar Madonna married British filmmaker Guy Richie in December 2000 in an exclusive ceremony in Scotland. They have a son together named Rocco Ritchie. After living together for eight years, Madonna filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. The couple finally got divorced in December 2008. As per the divorce settlement clause, Madonna eventually paid her ex a reported $90 million.

Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva Divorce Case:

Actor Kevin Costner married Cindy Silva in 1978 and remained for a long period of time. In their long sixteen years of marriage the couple became proud parents of three children: Anne “Annie” Clayton, Lily McCall and Joseph “Joe”. The couple divorced in 1994 after 16 years of marriage. Though their divorce was settled privately, later on the news was confirmed that Silva received a whopping $80 million as per the divorce settlement agreement.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver Divorce Case:

Movie star and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver, have announced a separation after 25 years of marriage. The couple got married on April 26, 1986, and has four children: Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher. On May 9, 2011, Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced their separation, and Shriver officially filed for divorce on July 1, 2011 on the ground of irreconcilable differences. As part of their divorce settlement Schwarzenegger will keep the Brentwood home and they will share custody of the two minor children.

Rupert and Anna Murdoch Divorce Case:

Rupert Murdoch is considered to be one of the world’s richest men. He married Anna Torv, a journalist who was working for one of his newspapers in 1967. The couple remained together for 32 years. In 1998, after Anna discovered that Murdoch was having an affair she filed for divorce. After the divorce, the business tycoon paid a whopping 1.7 billion dollars mostly in assets to his wife Anna!

Craig McCaw and Wendy McCaw Divorce Case:

Craig McCaw, a successful businessman and entrepreneur got married to Wendy McCaw, a California newspaper publisher in the year 1974. Craig McCaw met his wife while he was working at Stanford University. After two decades of marriage they planned to divorce and finally got divorced in 1997. The settlement gave Wendy a whopping $460 million, enough to support her $200,000 per week lifestyle.

Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison Divorce Case:

Harrison Ford, an American film actor and producer got married to Melissa Mathison, an American film and television screenwriter in the year 1983. The couple has two children: Malcolm Carswell Ford and Georgia Ford. In 2004, the two called it quits and at last ended their 20 year long married life. Before the couple was divorced, they already living separately for four years. Mathison received $85 million settlement as well as a share of all future earnings on movies he made while they were together.

Greg Norman and Laura Andrassy Divorce Case:

In 1981, Greg Norman, the well known golfer, married Laura Andrassy. After nearly 25 years of marriage,in May 2006, Norman announced that he was going to divorce Andrassy. He did not disclose the reasons behind the divorce. However, later it was found that Norman was having an illicit affair with Chris Evert and that was the reason for divorce. The golf legend, Norman, paid a huge amount of $103 million to his wife as per divorce settlement agreement.

To conclude, the above mentioned divorce cases of popular celebrities are some of the most expensive divorce settlements in the history. With more than 43% of marriages doomed to end in divorce in United States according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and more and more celebrities getting divorce, the divorce rate will increase more in the future.