Prenuptial agreements, in which couples who are not yet legally married create contracts which state how property should be divided in the event of divorce, are fairly common in some countries. They might strike some as cynical, but they do safeguard against situations such as nasty breakups, where either spouse might have cause to act unfairly. While prenuptials aren’t particularly common in the UK, they are in the US, especially amongst celebrities. Many prenups now contain a ‘lifestyle clause’ which may cover everything from weight gain to sex and cheating.
Perhaps in Hollywood, where there are plenty of young actors and actresses desperate to get their big breaks, prenuptials regarding infidelity are common for a reason. With the kind of wealth and power even the ugliest stars command, they certainly wouldn’ have a shortage of volunteers should they decide to cheat on their spouses. Catherine Zeta-Jones, according to NY Daily News, would be paid a ‘bonus’ of $5 million (in addition to $2.8 million per year of marriage) if Michael Douglas were to cheat.
Even more bizarre, perhaps, are prenuptials in which spouses set the maximum weight gain each partner is allowed. One source claims that some couples have lifestyle clauses which fine a spouse a specified amount of money for every pound by which he or she exceeds an agreed upon weight at the time of divorce. Forget wanting to fit into an old pair of jeans – losing thousands of dollars over an expanded waistline would motivate many to keep trim.
Because some celebrities have hectic schedules and almost no spare time to spend getting cosy with their significant others, they have special agreements which hold them to spending a certain amount of time face to face each week. The wife of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, for example, reportedly had a clause included which sees to it that the busy tech guru sees her (in person and not through a screen) once a week.
While many might not spend much time worrying about prenuptial agreements, when one considers the average length of Hollywood marriages (read: extremely short), it makes sense that people would want to safeguard their private assets. But the latest craze has seen many supposedly safeguarding their spouses’ privates to boot.
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