Eddie Murphy, Tracey Edmonds and other failed celebrity marriages: The Writer’s Guild of America Strike notwithstanding, things move pretty quickly in Los Angeles. No-name actors become overnight sensations, impulsive marriages are fairly common and, if medical science could find a way for a woman to give birth just two weeks after conception, Britney Spears probably would be first in line for the treatment.
Add Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds to the list of Hollywood unions that can be measured in weeks, not years. The Associated Press reports that after a spiritual ceremony in Bora Bora on New Year’s Day, Murphy and Edmonds have decided not to make their marriage legally binding.
Murphy, who previously had been married to Nicole Mitchell Murphy, and Edmonds, divorced after a 12-year marriage to Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, joined a growing pool of the rich and famous whose marriages just didn’t last:
The Eddie Murphy/Tracey Edmonds Quickie Divorce Kit: Drew Barrymore and Tom Green (Divorced After 5 Months)
One of the most mismatched couples of the new millennium, comedian Tom Green and actress Drew Barrymore split up after only a few months, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason. The couple had only just tied the knot in March 2001.
Green, who had a meteoric rise to fame thanks to MTV’s “The Tom Green Show,” made his battle with testicular cancer the subject of “The Tom Green Cancer Special.” Drew Barrymore can be seen in this detailed documentary about Green’s cancer surgery; medical experts even praised Green for increasing awareness about testicular cancer.
As a publicity stunt, Green and Barrymore originally were supposed to get married on “Saturday Night Live,” but the show ended with Green standing alone on the stage screaming Barrymore’s name while the closing credits rolled. All things considered, that was quite prophetic.
Source: People.com,”Tom Green Files for a Divorce from Drew,” Jeanne Darst
The Eddie Murphy/Tracey Edmonds Quickie Divorce Kit: Lisa Marie Presley and Nicolas Cage (Divorced After 4 months)
After just four months, actor Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley were divorced late in 2002. Presley had previously been married to Michael Jackson and Cage split up with actress Patricia Arquette in 2000. Ironically, Cage impersonated Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie’s famous dad, in “Wild at Heart” and even serenades Laura Dern with an Elvis standard, “Love Me Tender.
Source: CNN.com (November 26, 2002), “Nicolas Cage, Lisa Marie Presley divorcing”
The Eddie Murphy/Tracey Edmonds Quickie Divorce Kit: Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman (Divorced After 6 months)
Though earlier reports said that Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman’s marriage ended amicably, the ex-“Baywatch” star and her basketball playing ex-husband were arrested after fighting in a Miami Beach hotel months after their divorce.
Source: People.com (December 11, 1998), “Rodman-Electra Drama”
The Eddie Murphy/Tracey Edmonds Quickie Divorce Kit: Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney (Divorced After 4 Months)
The quick marriage and even speedier divorce of actress Renee Zellweger and singer Kenny Chesney became the stuff of tabloid headlines, especially after Zellweger said “fraud” was the reason for the split.
Source: WFLX Fox 29 in West Palm Beach, “Kenny Chesney talks about his divorce from Renee Zellweger,
Additional Resource: Associated Press, “Eddie Murphy: I won’t marry Edmonds”
Additional Resource: Starpulse.com, “In Hollywood, Quickie Marriages Are Usually Doomed”
