Top 10 Celebrities Who Remarried Their Exes
Just because their first round of marriage doesn't work out, doesn't mean they gave up on their relationship! For this list, we are looking at couples who divorced, only to marry each other again. Even if they split up again later on, they're still fair game. Couples who just separated and reconciled, however, will not be counted for this list. We've included celebs like Pamela Anderson, Rick Salomon, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Gladys Portugues, Melanie Griffith, Done Johnson, Judge Judy, Judge Jerry, Natalie Woods, Robert Wagner, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, NeNe Leakes and Gregg Leakes.
#10: NeNe Leakes & Gregg Leakes
As the ultimate glam-mother, Nene is known for bringing the drama, including in her marriage. After 14 years as man and wife, NeNe and Gregg divorced in 2011, and while the reason was never disclosed, NeNe hinted to Gregg’s marital boredom, saying she wanted “ to let him see if the grass was greener on the other side”. The divorce seemed to only strengthen their love, and the Leakes announced their engagement in 2013. RHOA fans were thrilled, and Bravo shot the spinoff I Dream of NeNe, documenting the wedding prep and ceremony. With all the artifice that surrounds reality tv, it is nice to know that some feuds have authentic reconciliation.
#9: Elon Musk & Talulah Riley
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The Tesla tycoon met the “Nearly Famous” Brit star, Talulah Riley, in 2008. Marrying two years later, the couple divorced in 2012, but Musk didn’t seem to have any hard feelings, tweeting that "It was an amazing four years. I will love you forever. You will make someone very happy one day." And that someone was him! For a little while, anyway. The couple remarried in 2013, and then divorced again in 2016. This time, Musk didn’t publicize any parting words. Since their divorce, Riley went on to star as Angela in HBO’s “Westworld”, and Musk has become an advocate for regulation on artificial intelligence.
#8: Pamela Anderson & Rick Salomon
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The babe of Baywatch could have any man, so it may be surprising to some that she chose the same dud twice. In 2007, Anderson announced her engagement to film producer Rick Salomon, who was most infamously known for the Paris Hilton sex-tape “1 Night in Paris”. Anderson and Salomon married in October, but annulled it a few months later, with Anderson citing “fraud” committed by Salomon. For many people that would be the nail in the coffin, but in a 2013 Ellen appearance, Anderson claimed that she and Salomon were “best friends with benefits”. The two got remarried in 2014, but divorced in April of 2015.
#7: Jean-Claude Van Damme & Gladys Portugues
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Great muscles marry alike. The heavyweight “Bloodsport” star married bodybuilder Gladys Portugues in the late 80s, and quickly started to create a fit family with the births of Kristopher and Bianca. Even with their growing family, Van-Damme started cheating with actress Darcy LaPier, and divorced Portugues in 1992. Van Damme married LaPier, but he cheated on her too, and the marriage fell apart. Eventually, Van Damme got his life back on track, and remarried Portugues in 1999. Despite their rocky first marriage, the two have continued to stay together. Just goes to show you the importance of second chances.
#6: Melanie Griffith & Don Johnson
Trigger warning: this story is a little icky. Child star Melanie Griffith started dating her mother’s co-star, 22 year old actor, Don Johnson, when she was just 14. They got married when she was 18, and divorced 6 months later. Griffith went on to star in films like “Body Double” and “Working Girl”, getting involved in drugs and partying. After a stint at rehab, she found herself reconnecting with Johnson. The two remarried in June 1989 and divorced in 1996, but not before producing future mega-star Dakota Johnson.
#5: Judge Judy & Judge Jerry
This pair was a match made in court heaven. While they are both known for their no BS attitudes and tough rulings, J-squared have quite a romantic story. In 1977, Judy married Judge Jerry Sheindlin, the future star of the “People's Court”. However, because of familial stress related to the death of Judy’s father, the two divorced in 1990. It didn’t take long for the couple to reunite, and just a year later, they remarried. They are still married to this day, and, with 13 grandchildren, are living a happily ever after. You won’t hear any objections from us!
#4: Larry King & Alene Akins
TV journalist Larry King has had an illustrious career that spans over 6 decades, so it may not be a shock that he’s also been married eight times. He met wife number 3, Playboy Bunny Alene Akins, at a nightclub, and the two married in 1961 and divorced in 1963. A serial womanizer, King married his fourth wife, Mary Stuphin, that same year. When that marriage failed, King and Akins got remarried in 1967, and divorced in 1972. They seemed to end on good terms, and when Akins passed away in 2017, King remarked that “she was a grand lady”.
#3: Eminem And Kim Scott
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Sometimes you lose yourself in love. Legend tells that Marshall Bruce Mathers III locked eyes with Kim Scott in high school, when he jumped on a table for an impromtu performance of LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad”. The two began a relationship, and when Kim left home, she moved in with the 15 year old Eminem and his mother. They had a daughter together, married in 1999 and divorced two years later. It took quite a toll on Eminem, and he wrote the very violent “’97 Bonnie and Clyde” and “Kim” as clap backs to Scott. Their love was rekindled briefly in 2006, when they got remarried, but they divorced a few months later.
#2: Natalie Wood & Robert Wagner
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The “Rebel Without a Cause” star was thrilled when the studio set her up with her long time crush, Robert Wagner. They hit it off, and despite their significant age gap, and Wood’s mother’s protests, they tied the knot in ’57, but later divorced in ‘62. A decade later, Wood reconnected with and remarried Wagner, and had what some described as one of the best marriages in Hollywood. It came to a tragic end when Wood drowned in 1981. Although her death was ruled an accident at the time, the case was re-opened 30 years later and in February 2018, Wagner was named a person of interest in his wife's drowning. So...maybe their marriage wasn't so perfect after all? Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions: Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera Marie Osmond & Stephen Craig
#1: Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton
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… One of the OG’s of celebrity drama, this pair was known for having one of the most tumultuous relationships in Hollywood. They met on the set of “Cleopatra”, fell in love, and got married in 1964. Their ten years together were filled with stories of boozy fights and verbal abuses. They finally divorced in 1974, but before the ink could dry, Taylor and Burton remarried in 1975 and divorced again a year later. However, their love was not easily squandered, and the two stayed close friends until Burton’s death in 1984.
