Bad break-ups in Hollywood and Bollywood: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard go mud-slinging in court

On the outside, Hollywood couples may look picture-perfect. But dig a bit deeper and things get murky. This week, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s court trial has thrown up a few ugly details indicating that glamorous couples can have toxic relationships too. Here is a look at some of the messiest divorces, break-ups and ego battles from Tinsel Town:

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.

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries: This 72 days marriage is right up there with Britney Spears’ short-term entanglement with Jason Alexander (they lasted 55 hours). After a lavish wedding in 2011, the reality TV star decided that this match was not for her. Fair enough. Only Humphries felt he got the short end of stick; he felt he was used by the family to gain viewership for their show, ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’. They reached a settlement in 2013.

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.

Fans were surprised when Karisma 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 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.