Yesterday saw the big announcement from the Palace that Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged to be married sometime next year. For some this feels a bit like dejavu as we remember Prince Williams parents’ fairytale wedding in 1981, and we all remember how that ended as well so what if the new Royal couple end up in Divorce?

No one goes into a marriage thinking that it will end and the long relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton makes us think this isn’t just some whirlwind romance but the couple have gone into it responsibly, however sense doesn’t guarantee a long and successful marriage and many marriages in the public eye end up in divorce.

At the moment Pre nuptual agreements are necessarily legal in the UK, although steps are being made to change this, therefore a pre nupt between Prince William and Kate Middleton may not be worth a great deal. Legally, unless agreed by a judge, the couple are entitled to a 50/50 split of assets. For you and me that is the house, the TV etc but for Prince William in 20 years time this could be the UK!

As heir to the throne and rumours of the Queen missing out Prince Charles to leave her Knigdom to Prince William, whether true or not, Prince William will most likely be King at some point in the future, and as his wife Kate Middleton will be Queen. Therefore logically in the event of a divorce she will be entitled to half a Kingdom.

This was never an issue in the old days, you may rmember Henry the 8th had no problems with divorcing or beheading his wives, but today equal rights play a part and the Royal family do not have the same power in a democratic community and do have to answer to the public.

I don’t think it will be a huge issue as we are probably looking at it being a few years down the line and Pre nupts will probably be legal if and when the coupld decide to split. Also fair arrangements would be made with Kate and her family to see she is fairly compensated and any children the couple may have.

What do you think? Discuss this and more in the My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.

The bookies have been taking bets on how much serial adulterer Tiger Woods would have to pay his ex wife Elin Nordegren from the moment she first filed for divorce. Tiger Woods affairs earlier combined with his wealth meant that this was one of the most talked about celebrity divorces this year.

Today the Swedish beauty and long suffering wife, Elin Nordegren, walked away with $110 million! This amount will have hurt Tiger Woods financially and I’m sure would do a lot for his ex wife in terms of recovery from the strings of adultery with many different women.

With an amount such as this we can assume that Elin will be financially secure for the rest of her life, as long as she doesn’t do something really stupid, but she has claimed that she will not let the money go to her head and is hoping to live a modest lifestyle away from Tiger Woods. I’m pretty sure her idea of a modest lifestyle is probably very different to mine though!

Sources say that when flying between Orlando to California she could have hired a private jet but instead opted for a seat on a Virgin plane – well at least it wasn’t a flight service like Ryan air

“She could afford the jet but didn’t even consider it,” the source said. “She’s not cheap, but she’s just not throwing money around and wasting it the way some people would.”

“Tiger is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, with his earning, investments and the endorsement deals he’s made over the years,” a source told RadarOnline.com. “Elin got a lot of money, but she could have received more.

“She wanted enough money to not change her luxurious lifestyle but she didn’t try to take him for every penny that she could.”

We wish Elin every luck in the future as she gets over the break up from Tiger Woods, after having marital problems and affairs exploited in the press this must have been a very hard year for her, but I’m sure the $110 million will go some way to helping her get over it all.

The X Factor judge, Cheryl Cole, is releasing her second solo album titled Messy Little Raindrops, and it is supposed to be debuting a song called ‘Happy Tears’ the lyrics of which sing about a cheating man. Many people have speculated that this song is based on her relationship and divorce with her ex husband and Cheating love rat Ashley Cole.

The lyrics are said to include lines about slashing his tyres, burning his suits, knocking back apologies, blocking calls and selling all her diamonds,” The Sun reports.

The song starts off like a weepy heartbreaker singing, ‘I cried when I heard you were cheatin’/ I cried when I said I was leavin’/ I cried when my heart stopped believin’/ But I’m all out of tears’.

However in the chorus Cheryl explains these aren’t just tears of pain but ‘happy tears’

The new album is packed with great hits and has been helped with stars such as Will.I.Am and Travie McCoy and has a completely different sound to her Girls Aloud hits she is famous for.

Many artists use past and present experiences as inspiration for their songs and Cheryl had her first solo hit with fight for this love in which she describes how she got through her husbands last affair and the couple came back stronger. Ironic now that after a divorce that song seems quite heartbreaking as Cheryl had obviously hoped their married life was at a turning point only to be hurt again.

The nations sweetheart isn’t one to lie down and take it though, her northern courage has come out and after a fast divorce is now putting her life back together, and with help from a few select celebrity friends is now more popular than ever and her new songs will probably do well in the charts.

Cherly’s song may be about her cheating ex but she has obviously managed to turn it around and sees the divorce as a positive step in her life as she looks forward to a better future without her love rat husband.

What do you think? Woulod you love to publicly get back at your ex? Do you think Cheryl is brave or is she using her public divorce to gain fans and sell her song? Discuss this and many other stories at the My Mad Ex Divorce forum.

If you have been through a divorce recently you may have had a nasty Divorce settlement that has left you pretty skint, or perhaps you think your partner took an unfair amount of your money? Spare a thought for these 10 divorcees who had to shell out billions!

Here are the top 10 highest divorce settlements to date:

• Rupert Murdoch and Anna Murdoch – $1.7 billion
  Rupert married Anna in the 60s, and after 32 years of marriage, three children and lots of media speculation the pair separated in 1998. The split was said to be amicable and the divorce went through in June 1999 when Anna Murdoch left with $1.7 billion. Only 17 days after his divorce was finalised Rupert Murdoch married Wendi Deng.
• Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi – $874 million
  Adnan Khashoggi is a Saudi businesman who made his money as an international arms dealer working for the Saudi royal family. His riches increased as he set up a company in Switzerland, Triad, that tok over banks, hotels and real estate all over the world. Adnan married his former wife Soraya in 1961 but in 1982 their divorce cost him a staggering $874 million, bear in mind this was 28 years ago and due to inflation was probably worth more than todays millions.
• Craig and Wendy McCaw – $460 million
  Craig McCaw is an entrepeneur worthy of Dragons Den status as he made his money turning businesses around and growing them to sell on at huge profits. His first success was a TV cable service which Craig turned into successful business and sold for $755 million. In 1981 he had the forsight to aquire cellular phone licenses, which he was able to sell to a phone company AT&T for  $12 billion, becoming its largest single shareholder.
  Craig and Wendy were University sweethearts who met at Stanford University when Wendy tutored Craig, they married in 1974. In 1995 the divorce went through and Wendy’s significant pay out was allowed as she had to support the lifestyle she was now used to, costing appoximately $200,000 a month!
• Roman and Irina Abramovich – $300 million
  Roman and Irina Abromovich were in the media alot during their divorce proceedings and many speculated that the settlement could have left Irena as the world’s richest ever divorcee. However Russian news sources suggeest that Mrs Abramovich settled for $300m (£155m). The $300m figure included the value of the couples homes in Britain and Moscow, as well as ownership of a yacht and private plane. It seems Roman Abramovich got away quite lightly as at one point many thought he would have to pay out at least $1 billion.
• Michael and Maya Polsky – $184 million
  Energy Magnate Michael Polsky married Maya in the Ukraine in 1975 and reports have said that after they married they traveled to America with only 4 suitcases and $500 cash to find their dreams. Things seemed to go well for the couple until their split in 2003 where Maya filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. In 2006 after a long and drawn out divorce battle a judge in Chicago ruled that Maya Polsky should be entitled to half of the couples assets and she was awarded $184million!
• John ‘Jack’ Welch and Jane Beasley – $180 million
  John ‘Jack’ Welch was the Chairman and CEO of General Electric, the worlds largest technology and service conglomerate which is based in New York. Mr and Mrs Beasley married in April 1989, and divorced 14 years later in 2003. Reports say that Welch hadwritten a prenuptial agreement, however the prenupt had a 10-year time limit. Those extra four years of marriage entitled Jane Beaslet to walk away with $180 million.
• Michael and Juanita Jordan – $168million
  In 2007 the former Chicago Bulls Basketball player Michael Jordan divorced his wife of 18 years in a celebrity fuelled media fest that had everyone wondering how much he would have to pay his former spouse. Juanita Vanoy had previously filed for a divorce in 2002 but apparently the couple had made the marriage work for a further 5 years before eventually splitting for good. Juanita agreed a settlement but reports suggest that Michael and Juanita negotiated an additional $20 million to be added to the final sum after the settlement was agreed in principal.
• Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey – $150 million
  This wasn’t the first divorce singing legend Neil Diamond has had to shell out for as he was actually still married to his first wife when he met Marcia Murphey in 1994.
  Their isn’t much information over the cause of the split or how the settlement was agreed but Neil Diamond claims he was happy to give his ex wife the money.
• Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving – $100 million
  Both stars in their own rights Amy Irving was thrown into the limelight in 1976 when she played the lone teen survivor in the classic movie Carrie. Spielberg got his big break in in Hollywood after the production of the film Jaws and has gone on to make many succesful blockbuster movies. The couple married in 1985, however the marriage didn’t last long and the couple split up only four years later. Irving, the mother of their son Max was awarded $100 million from Spielberg.
• John and Beverly Charman – $95 million
  These childhood sweethearts met at School in1969 they married in 1976 with no real wealth or assets. However by the time of their split in November 2003 John Charman had been dubbed “King of the London Insurance Market”, Mr Charman reportedly told his wife he was leaving for Bermuda and their marriage was over. The divorce got messy after John Charman offered his ex wife £6 million cash, however Beverly argued this was not enough. After many court hearings a  judge decided a fair settlement would be for John Charman to give Beverly  37 per cent of his assets. Mr Charman apealed but this was quickly dismissed, this is thought to be the highest divoce settlement in Britain to date.

There are many other celebrity marriages on the rocks and many of these high sums were from years ago, we will see if the likes of Tiger Woods will soon be topping the Divorce settlement charts after his infidelity. What are your thoughts? Discuss at the My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.

News has come out today that Michael Jacksons parents are looking to get divorced after 60 years together. Over the years there have been reports of trouble in the marriage but this is the first time divorce has been mentioned. It is unclear if this is true or if it is just a rumour but it seems Katherine and Joe Jackson’s relationship is on the rocks.

Marriages in the limelight are always put under additional pressure and the past year has been very emotional for the Jackson family after the death of Micheal Jackson, public appearances and tributes as well as court appearances to determine any suspicious circumstances over Michael Jacksons death. All of these combined would put a strain on most peoples relationship.

There have been many rumours surrounding Joe Jacksons behaviour including gossip around domestic abuse for his wife as well as his children. But 60 years is an accomplishment in any marriage let a lone one that is constantly being inspected under the bright lights of showbiz.

The latest reports state that it is Katherine Jackson, Michael Jacksons mother, who has filed for divorce after she was disgusted at her husband Joe’s behaviour over Michael Jacksons death. She has been appauled by her husbands conduct after the stars unexpected death rocked the family and the world.

If this is true and the couple are divorcing it does not come as a huge surprise as the couple have been living in different houses for years, but Katherine had always refused to divorce Joe Jackson for religious reasons, she is a practising Jehovas Witness and divorce is against their beliefs.

I’m a Celebrity and Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona is facing what could be a very messy divorce from her estranged husband Mark Croft. Mark is planning to divorce the  I’m A Celebrity star on grounds that she is unreasonable and her addictions have runied there marriage.

Mark Croft, the former cabbie, claims that Kerry Katona’s drink and drug binges were so wild that they destroyed their marriage, and many of her public appearances seem to back this up as she famously embarrased her self on talk shows and breakfast shows where she appeared to be under the influence..

Since the couple split Kerry has been publicly working hard to improve her image  with help from her management and celebrity friends such as Peter Andre. She has started a new health regime and had plastic surgery to remove excess weight to help her confidence during this time.

It seems that Mark Croft has a good case as Kerry’s behavour certainly backs up his claims but the divorce proceedures will no doubt get messy as the former Atomic Kitten is allegedly blaming Croft getting her hooked on cocaine and booze, thus wrecking the marriage. It is very difficult to see what has happened in their relationship but the cringeworthy reality TV shows they appeared in were obvious that the couple were in a destructive relationship but this hurt and heartache looks set for the long haul as neither party wants to be to blame for the break up of the marriage.
Kerry told the press:

“Our relationship was just about coke. I had to stop. I had to get out.”

However, we expect that Mark will be sharing his side of the story very soon as he has already contacted his lawyers about puttingout his version of what happened and revealing his experiences of the marriage.Many are suspecting that Mark will reveal Kerry was unbearable to live with due to her addiction to alcohol and cocaine, Mark knows that this is very believable as many peoples relationships break down from addictions as peoples personalities can change and Kerry has a reputation for being unreasonable at the best of times with ‘diva’ type demands on the sets of the Iceland adverts.

It looks like Mark wil really hit Kerry where it hurts in his statements adding that she was incapable of acting like a caring and loving mother to her children and was unwilling to have sex with him, contributing to the breakdown of the relationship.

Croft is reported to have told a friend: “I’m looking at divorcing Kerry for her unreasonable behaviour whatever the f*** else she decides to say.

“Once she got on the coke and booze Kerry ceased to function as a wife and mother as far as I’m concerned.

“In fact it turned her into a living nightmare no husband should have to put up with. It made our marriage a complete and utter sham.”

What do you think of Kerry and Marks Divorce? Should Mark have been a better husband? Is it all Kerry’s fault? Did your relationship break down because of drugs or alcohol? Discuss celebrity separations or your own stories at the My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.

Shania Twain and music producer Robert John “Mutt” Langehave finalised there divorce, say reports today. The couple that got married in December 1993 split in 2008 after Langehave was caught cheating. But it seems not only has the divorce been finalised but Shania Twain has moved on as she is escorted by new lover Frederic Thiebaud.
Twain’s 14-year relationship with Lange ended 2 years ago in May 2008 when he had an affair with Shania’s friend Marie-Anne Thiebaud. Shania Twain is said to be “radiantly happy” now the separation is finalised and was made official in Switzerland, she is looking forward to moving on and getting on with her life. And with her new bloke Frederic she looks happier than ever!

“Shania and Fred are a couple that fit together. Things are getting really serious with Fred,” a friend said. Twain has previously admitted she wanted to “go away and disappear” when her marriage ended.

“I feel like in a way I’m starting over, with everything.. I was in a very deep, dark slump, and I needed to find a way to get myself out of it. I had to force myself back out into life, back out into experiencing things,” Twain had said.

“There were moments when I really just thought, ‘I don’t need anything and I don’t need anyone. I just want to go away and disappear.’ So, that was a bad slump,” she added.

Many people who have been through a divorce or separation will be able to relate to Twain and it must have been terrible to have to add the betrayal of her friend Mary Anne who is still in a relationship with Twains ex. Although things seemed to turn out all right as Shania Twains new partner is Mary Anne’s ex!

Have you ever been in a tricky situation like this? How did you move on from your divorce or are you still learning to cope? Share your stories on our Divorce forum and meet other people in the same situation as you.

Cheryl Cole, announced in February that she had split up from her husband Ashley Cole , and is now in two minds as to whether she should  start divorce proceedings against her cheating footballer ex.

Cheryl Cole  has been keeping up a brave face, even hours after Ashleys infidelty was in the newspapers she got up and performed on the Brits and this weekend managed to keep smiling throughout her appearance on Sport Relief. But is the nations sweetheart thinking about making the separation more permanent and finally preparing to divorce estranged husband Ashley Cole?

The singer who’s most famous song ‘fight for this love’ has been a loyal wife through reports of her husband cheating on her with more than 4 different women. It seems Cherly Cole (Tweedy) can’t find any more and is hoping for a clean break from the marriage. Newspapers have also said that she doesn’t want any of his money and is hoping things won’t get too ‘messy’.

Rumours have it that Cheryl has met with infamous divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton over the past few weeks but she is waiting another 6 month until after the World Cup before starting formal divorce proceedings. Fiona Shackleton was thrown into the limelight herself after she represented both Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney in theie divorce’s.

It is very gracious of Cheryl Cole to wait until after the World Cup before she starts Divorce proceedings, Ashely is hopiong his ankle will be healed in time to play in the WorldCup and a Divorce from Miss Tweedy would certainly affect training.

Cheryl announced her separation from Ashley on Twitter in February;

At the time, her PR company tweeted: “Cheryl Cole is separating from her husband Ashley Cole. Cheryl asks the media to respect her privacy during this difficult time.”

However, it has been revealed that Cheryl changed this tweet last minute in the hopes of giving her marriage another go;

The original draft is said to have read: “Cheryl Cole has announced the end of her marriage to Ashley Cole. Great efforts have been made to make the marriage work but they have failed.

What do you think? Do you think Cheryl should give her Ex another go? Should she get rid of him? Discuss Cherly Cole’s Divorce in our My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.