From Ben Affleck to Saif Ali Khan, 10 of the messiest divorces in Hollywood and Bollywood

Divorces are never easy, but celebrity divorces are even more complicated with child custody battles and ego tussles in plenty. Here is a round up of Hollywood and Bollywood most complex splits:

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: On the outside, Hollywood couples may look picture-perfect. But dig a bit deeper and things get murky. Earlier this year, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard went through a very public trial following their divorce. Here is a look at some of the messiest divorces, break-ups and ego battles from tinsel town: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: The Pirates of the Caribbean star and the Danish Girl actress were in the public eye throughout their bitter court battle. In 2022, the duo were locked in a highly publicised defamation trial where each other accused the other of abuse. The jury ultimately ruled in favor of Depp, ordering his ex-wife to pay him $15 million in damages and finding that she acted with "malice." The jury determined that Depp's attorney did make one defamatory statement about Heard and awarded her $2 million in compensatory damages. They got divorced in 2017.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher: Infidelity is a deal-breaker in any marriage and this is what got to this couple who called it quits after eight years of marriage. In Demi Moore’s memoir, the actress has claimed that Kutcher had strayed and was unfaithful to her. She also claimed in her memoir that she took extreme steps to salvage their relationship. But none of these steps worked.

Sandra Bullock and Jesse James: In 2010, news broke that television personality James had cheated on his wife, actress Sandra Bullock, a number of times. Soon after, he admitted to his affairs and apologised. “Yeah, I did cheat on my wife, yeah,” he said at the time. “I stood up and took accountability for it and apologized.” Bullock and James had gotten married in 2005.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck: After a long marriage starting in 2005, it was surprising when Garner and Affleck announced in 2015 they’d be getting divorced. However, it dragged on for a while. The official filing was done in 2017 and the divorce finalised in 2018. Now they seem to be on good terms and co-parent their three children — Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock: ‘Miss Independent’ singer Clarkson and her husband of seven years were one of those couples whose relationship couldn’t withstand the COVID-19 ‘always together’ effect. The bickering resulted in the original ‘American Idol’ filing for divorce in 2020. Sadly, this didn’t mean curtains closed on the drama; custody battles and property disputes ensued, with the court finally ordering Clarkson to cough up nearly $200,000 per month in spouse and child support.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: The Maddox plane fight was just the last straw in this high-stakes divorce. By the time Pitt had yelled at one of the six kids he shared with Jolie, their relationship was already showing splinters. Yet, ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ actors did not go their separate ways without mud slinging and court trips. The custody battle continues till today.

Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh: This marriage was embroiled in a lot of controversy due to the age gap - Khan was 13 years younger than Singh. There were also reports of family turmoil but the couple stayed together for 13 years before separating. The separation was ugly and Khan ended up paying a huge amount as alimony.

Aditya Chopra and Payal Khanna: The marriage of childhood sweethearts Aditya Chopra and Payal Khanna went awry for a lot of reasons. One of the controversial reasons reported at the time was an unverified claim of an affair between Chopra, a successful Bollywood director, and Rani Mukerjee. After the highly public divorce, Chopra got married to Mukerjee in 2014.

Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur: Fans were surprised when Kapoor got married to Delhi-based businessman Sunjay Kapur in 2003, just months after calling off her engagement to actor Abhishek Bachchan. The couple welcomed two children — daughter Samaira in 2005 and son Kiaan in 2010. However, there were reports of issues in the marriage. In 2014, they filed a petition for divorce by mutual content. In 2015, things got ugly over financial matters and custody of the children. Karisma also raised dowry allegations against Sunjay. The divorce was granted in June 2016.

Jennifer Winget and Karan Singh Grover: The couple took a collective call to part ways. But Winget had a nasty shock when her divorce papers got leaked and her private affair were out for public scrutiny. The actress took to her social media to express her disgust and claimed she was appalled at the invasion of privacy. But it’s all in the past now. Grover is now married to Bengali bombshell Bipasha Basu.