Tinseltown Nuptials

While marriage is a ‘till death us do part’ affair for many, in celebrity circles it may be a pit stop to fame, observes                                                      PETER NDORIA

Reality is sometimes too unmeshed into the fame game that any distinction is blurred.

The hallowed institution of marriage has not been spared; some celebrities are famous for being spouses to stars and for how fast they walk away, after being famous.

A good example is the cast of Basketball Wives — a reality TV show, which stars the ex-wives of and former fiancées to, NBA stars.

Now in its third season, the series is a soap opera gone surreally real with parties, friendship alliances, catfights and the occasional ‘feel-good-about-yourself’.

Kevin Federline is undoubtedly the headline act for this on-then-off-again phenomenon.

 A back-up dancer, he married multiple award-winner Britney Spears, had two children and launched a music and acting career.

When they divorced after three years, Spears agreed to a settlement and because of her behaviour, Kev easily won both legal and physical custody of their children.

Since then, the former ‘Mr Spears’ has landed modelling and film roles.

Material Girl

Guy Ritchie would also have passed off as any other start-up director in the film industry had he not married Madonna.

The couple enjoyed celebrity status and Ritchie got the chance to shoot films and even some music videos for his wife.

When they finally filed for divorce citing that they “can’t bear to live with the pretence any longer”, Madonna agreed to a divorce settlement with Ritchie, granting him about £50million (Sh750,000,000).

He was already well-known and for good measure.

Perhaps that would not be as sad as Terry McMillan, the famous author whose bookWaiting To Exhale was turned into an award-winning film.

McMillan, then in her mid-40s met and married 20-something year old Jonathan Plummer; he was the inspiration for her novel How Stella Got Her Groove Back, which was also turned into a movie.

However reality cannot be scripted and after six years of marriage, the Jamaican husband — now resident of USA, thanks to McMillan — told her that he was gay; their divorce was settled for an undisclosed sum to his benefit.

Kimora Lee Simmons rise to the top owes much to ex-husband, Russell Simmons. The former model married the media mogul and got into the Simmons business empire, including the Phat Farm line of design.

DJ AM was a celebrity DJ famous for dating Nicole Richie for two years before they broke off their one-year engagement.

As Nicole’s fiancé, he was called to entertain in major celeb gigs.

He later dated a fashion model before he died of an apparent drug overdose— ironically; he had reportedly kicked the habit for eleven years and was held up as a positive example of recovery. How real!