Back together again: divorced couples who remarry their ex
Would you consider remarrying your ex after you have divorced? According to the best estimates available (as no official figures are recorded), approximately 6% of divorcees who remarry do so with a former spouse. This includes a surprisingly long list of celebrities who have remarried their ex-spouse after divorcing them, sometimes just months earlier.
The recent news of a “remarried” couple getting divorced highlights one of the key issues around any remarriages, the importance of a pre-nup.
Love is patient?
In 2003, actors Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck met on the set of "Gigli", and planned to marry. However, their relationship ended the following year. Fast forward to 2022, and the couple got married in Las Vegas
“Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” Lopez said at the time of the wedding announcement.
Sadly, however, not that patient, as in April 2024, Ms Lopez filed for divorce. It seems that neither had prepared for this possible scenario, as it appears that Ms Lopez
"Did not list any details of a prenuptial agreement in her petition for divorce."
Net worth then and now
The young acting couple who decided against getting married in 2003 were quite different people to the two celebrities who got married in 2022. Their personal wealth, assets and financial responsibilities would also be considerably different, developing through previous marriages, having children, and experiencing considerable individual professional success between 2003 and 2022. This makes the lack of a pre-nup all the more surprising.
Pre-nups are not legally binding in the UK. However, they are taken into serious consideration by the courts should a couple get divorced. For second marriages and remarriages, it is particularly important in our view to:
- Define precisely what each person brings to the marriage.
- Protect the interests of children from any previous marriages.
A Will is also very important in this respect, as all previous Wills are revoked when you marry / remarry.
Five famous remarriages to former spouses
- Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
The two Hollywood stars first married in March 1964, with Ms Taylor declaring that "I'm so happy you can't believe it. This marriage will last forever." The superstar Hollywood couple divorced 10 years later in 1974. Burton was briefly engaged to Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia before he and Taylor remarried in 1975, and then divorced again in 1976.
- Elon Musk and Talulah Riley
Tech billionaire Musk and English actress Riley were married from 2010 to 2012, and again from 2013 to 2016. At the time of their second marriage, Musk had five children from his first marriage.
- Marie Osmond and Steve Craig
Singer Marie Osmond and motivational speaker Steve Craig were first married in 1982 and divorced in 1985. They remarried in 2011. Ms. Osmond told People Magazine in 2019, “The thing about a second marriage is that you realize things you thought were so important aren’t.”
- Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson
Actor Melanie Griffith was just 14 years old when she first met 22-year-old actor Don Johnson, and their relationship turned into a six-month marriage from January to July 1976. After reconnecting in 1988, the two remarried in June 1989, before separating in May 1995, and finally divorcing in 1996.
- Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner
When child star Wood and rising actor Wagner first met, she remembered that:
“I turned to my mother and said, ‘I’m going to marry him.’”
She did, in 1957, before divorcing Wagner in 1962. Both remarried and divorced other partners before Wood remarried Wagner in 1972, three months after her second divorce. The couple remained together until Wood’s death by drowning in 1981.
Why do people remarry their ex?
An article on the psychology of remarriage suggests that:
”The most common reason couples get back together is that they recognize and resolve the problems that plagued their marriage. If something didn’t work out in your marriage, something has to change, or it won’t work out when you get back together.”
Quoted in a Guardian article, Dr Nancy Kalish of California State University suggests that:
“(Couples) separate for situational reasons, and when they get back together those reasons aren’t there any more. … Children are grown up; money is not so tight. The slings and arrows of everyday life no longer rain down on them in the same way.”
The legal status of remarrying your ex
When you get divorced, your legal relationship is ended. You may have existing commitments through your divorce financial settlement or for ongoing child maintenance or school fees. If you have minor children at the time of your divorce, you are both usually co-parents.
In terms of new relationships, both of you are free to remarry if you wish. If you choose to remarry your former spouse, under law that is a brand-new marriage, so you are essentially starting from scratch.
Pre-nuptial agreements from LGFL
After time apart, you will both inevitably have new financial positions, larger pension pots, new assets including property, different lives - and (hopefully) fresh approaches.
That’s why a new pre-nuptial agreement tailored to your individual personal circumstances is important, alongside its value in reducing the risk of an acrimonious and expensive second divorce should you separate again.
You can also do a post-nup just after marriage, or even a pre-nup and a post-nup if required, as circumstances change.
To discuss your requirements for pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, just contact us.