# Hollywood's low marriage success rate... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280 "2010-04-25T04:52:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/41 "2010-04-26T15:34:08Z")
It’s really a matter of availablity. I recall in 2005 I read about a study regarding the urban versus rural when it came to monogomy. The differences were outstanding. The divorce rate and the rate of cheating was three times higher in urban areas. When they dived deeper into the data, it was found that rural people didn’t cheat, simply because they lacked access to others who would accomodate them. That coupled with the close nature of rural communities and gossip, it was a simple fact, rural people said, they would’ve cheated but were never given the opportunity. This fact immediately brought rural people up to the same level as their urban friends. In Hollywood, you have actors and actresses and people throwing themselves at the actresses and actors feet. And same for producers and such too. Too much availability. The more times you’re subject to temptation the more likely you’ll give into it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/42 "2010-04-26T15:59:19Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I think any job where a partner travels and stays away from home for months at a time can be hard on marriage. > Add to that, that relationships often spring from working together. The on-set environment is quite different from real life. My own non-famous cousin got married at age 20 and has just celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary. Her husband travels all over in his line of work and comes home on weekends. (there are no women he works with, BTW, it is a physical ‘dirty job’ job). That, she says, is the secret of their success!..It’s different with actors who go off on distant locations with other actors of the opposite sex, leaving spouses at home. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/43 "2010-04-26T16:05:27Z")
The fact is, they can afford divorces. Not everyone can afford an ex-wife, but like anything worth having you need to save up for it. Hollywood folk make enough money to have more ex-wives, it’s as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/44 "2010-04-26T16:11:23Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > I don’t know if Jerry Seinfeld is the best example, since he met his now-wife _right after her honeymoon_ and she divorced that husband right away. Sheesh. Marriage Ref indeed. > > . SNL joked that Jerry asked her by saying “Who wants to be a millionaire?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/45 "2010-04-26T16:24:41Z")
I’d also speculate that you’re marrying a “screen legend” or a persona, “becuase I can” and to enhance you own celebrity status. But dazzling each other with stardom and feeding off each other’s fame is no substitute for love and a personal connection. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/46 "2010-04-26T16:40:09Z")
Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks–40+ years at her death. In reference to comments such as **sqweels** ’ above–Shortly after Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel got married, they told a cute (at the time) story in an interview. Apparently, they were standing at the altar, and Billy Joel was thinking “Holy shit! I’m marrying Christie Brinkley!” And Christie Brinkley was standing there thinking “Holy shit! I’m marrying Billy Joel!” 9 years later, splitsville. So there’s an anecdote that supports that theory. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/47 "2010-04-26T16:52:29Z")
I’ll throw this into the mix: I’ve noticed that when a celebrity woman changes her public/stage name upon her marriage, that practically guarantees a divorce. Some random example off the top of my head: Rebecca Romjin-Stamos Patty Duke-Astin Jamie Lynn Whatever from the Sopranos Pamela Anderson Lee Anderson Roseanne Barr Arnold Just Roseanne Chris Evert-Lloyd (Not Hollywood, but a celebrity) I notice that in most (all) of the long-standing marriages between Hollywood celebrities, the woman maintained her own name as a stage name throughout her career. Of course, there are countless cases where a woman maintained her own name and had short marriages, but that doesn’t invalidate the above point. Note–This doesn’t apply if a woman changed her name _before_ she achieved fame. Counterexamples? Thoughts? p.s. I actually was quite sad to see that Jada Pinkett changed her stage name to Pinkett-Smith, because I’d hate to see those two get divorced. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/48 "2010-04-26T17:09:12Z")
Courtney Cox-Arquette has been married since 1999. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/49 "2010-04-26T17:18:56Z")
I heard she changed her name back to just “Cox.” It’s only been 10 years, but a good counterexample nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/50 "2010-04-26T17:36:06Z")
Some long-lasting ones: Bob & Dolores Hope: 69 years Sid Caesar & Florence Levy: 66 and counting Jane Wyatt & Edgar Bethune Ward: 65 Ricardo Montalban & Gerogiana Belzer: 63 Alec Guinness & Merula Salaman: 62 Robert Young & Betty Henderson: 61 Dennis Weaver & Gerry Stowell: 60 Henny Youngman & Sadie Cohen: 59 Joey Bishop & Sylvia Ruzga: 58 Jack Haley & Florence McFadden: 58 Ray Bolger & Gwendolyn Rickard: 57 Robert Mitchum & Dorothy Spence: 57 Ray Walston & Ruth Calvert: 57 Bud Abbott & Betty Smith: 56 Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara: 55 and counting Larry Hagman & Maj Axelsson: 55 and counting Kirk Douglas & Anne Buydens: 55 and counting (Note: 2nd marriage) Danny Thomas & Rose Marie: 55 Richard Widmark & Jean Hazlewood: 55 Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne: 55 Danny Aiello & Sandy Cohen: 54 and counting Alfred Hitchcock & Alma Reville: 54 Don Ameche & Honore Prendergrast: 54 Phil Harris & Alice Faye: 54 (his 2nd marriage, her 1st) Dana Andrews & Mary Todd: 53 Walter Pidgeon & Ruth Walker: 53 (2nd marriage) Mitzi Gaynor & Jack Bean: 52 Alan & Arlene Alda: 52 and counting ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/51 "2010-04-26T18:33:04Z")
Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber have been married for many years, though I am not sure exactly how long. Wiki has their wedding in 1987, and yahoo has it in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/52 "2010-04-26T18:41:52Z")
Robert Mitchum and his wife were married for 57 years when he died. Larry Hagman and his wife have been married for 56 years. Olympia Dukakis: 48 years. Gregory Peck and his (second) wife for 48 years. Dolly Parton: 44DD – excuse me, 44 years. Patrick Duffy: 36 years. Sissy Spacek and her husband for 336 years. John Larroquette and his (second) wife for 35 years. Jeff Daniels: 31 years. Peter Boyle: 29 years, despite being a former monk. The list could go on. I have to wonder whether the perception of short marriages is confirmation bias. On the other hand, Paula Abdul was married to Emilio Estevez for two years, so some things are just inexplicable. On preview, some of these are duplicative. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/53 "2010-04-26T18:44:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Courtney Cox-Arquette has been married since 1999. Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn have been married longer than that. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/54 "2010-04-26T18:51:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Sissy Spacek and her husband for **336** years. Wow, she doesn’t look a day over 105! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/55 "2010-04-26T18:56:36Z")
Loretta Lynn was married for 48 years, her husband died in 96. She married him at age 13. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/56 "2010-04-26T19:10:06Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Yeah… no. > > The divorce rate in the US for all marriages is 50%. Which includes plenty of 2nd marriages all the way up through couples pulling a Larry King. > > Therefore, the success rate for first marriages has to be at least above 50%. You know, that’s something that “everybody knows”, but I don’t think it’s actually accurate. I just read this somewhere - first marriages end in divorce much less than later marriages. The statistics I saw were something like 70% of third marriages ended in divorce. Sorry for being so vague. I can’t remember where I saw this, and very cursory googling doesn’t help - I’ll come back to the thread when I find something. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/57 "2010-04-26T19:19:06Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > You know, that’s something that “everybody knows”, but I don’t think it’s actually accurate. I just read this somewhere - first marriages end in divorce much less than later marriages. The statistics I saw were something like 70% of third marriages ended in divorce. > > Sorry for being so vague. I can’t remember where I saw this, and very cursory googling doesn’t help - I’ll come back to the thread when I find something. Another skewed factor in the old “50% of marriages end in divorce” has to do with who you are talking about. I remember reading that many of the same people are married and divorced several times, thus making the statistic seem that ALL people are married and divorced. For example, my idiot younger brother has been married and divorced EIGHT times! (Really!) So just using him as an example, he has screwed up the statistics for at least 7 other couples. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/58 "2010-04-26T19:21:11Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Another skewed factor in the old “50% of marriages end in divorce” has to do with who you are talking about. I remember reading that many of the same people are married and divorced several times, thus making the statistic seem that ALL people are married and divorced. > > For example, my idiot younger brother has been married and divorced EIGHT times! (Really!) So just using him as an example, he has screwed up the statistics for at least 7 other couples. Your brother is Larry King? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/59 "2010-04-26T19:35:11Z")
Okay, the numbers I remember seeing seem to match up with one particular study that a lot of websites cite: > [@](#): > > First Marriage 45% to 50% marriages end in divorce > Second Marriage 60% to 67% marriages end in divorce > Third Marriage 70% to 73% marriages end in divorce I saw the same numbers in a lot of places, but I copied this from [here](http://www.divorcestatistics.org/). They’re all citing a study by Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. I’d never heard of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, but I looked at their website and it does appear to be an actual thing, so I’m going to assume this is a valid cite. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280/60 "2010-04-26T21:03:49Z")
> [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](#): > > Wow, she doesn’t look a day over 105! 😉 :smack: 😛 > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Your brother is Larry King? 😃 His _younger_ brother, even! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hollywoods-low-marriage-success-rate/537280.md?page=4)