Given the extreme wealth of celebrities, it may come as a surprise to learn that not every couple signs a prenuptial agreement before getting married. Many A-list duos, like Prince William and Kate Middleton and Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, walked down the aisle without a prenup.
A prenup is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to getting hitched that allows them to control many of the legal rights they acquire upon marrying and what happens when their marriage eventually ends by death or divorce. Most commonly, people think of these agreements as a way to divvy up assets, money and parental rights in a civil manner in case their relationship goes south.
Of course, a prenuptial agreement isn’t an indicator that things are necessarily unsteady between the couple. Many people who decide to lay out a contract before their nuptials go on to live happily ever after while others, who decide to forgo the legal formality, end up getting divorced.
There is a third alternative with couples who gain a lot of wealth during their marriage, like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars signed a prenup when they wed in 2014. At the time, the “Runaway” rapper was worth about $100 million while Kim’s net worth sat around $30 million. In less than a decade, both parties became billionaires. Considering their finances have improved astronomically, it’s possible their prenup may not be enforced amid their divorce proceedings.
That being said, some couples like to enter their civil union without signing any paperwork. Seth Rogen opened up about not having a prenup with his wife Lauren Miller, whom he married in 2011.
“Marriage can be expensive, and if I lose millions, then it’ll be the best millions I’ve spent,” the Knocked Up actor previously told Howard Stern.
Surprisingly, Prince William and Duchess Kate also reportedly don’t have a prenup, despite his family’s impressive wealth and stature. Although there was some speculation that William shut down the prospect of drawing up a legal document before walking down the aisle in 2011, a source refuted that idea to Daily Mail at the time.
“For him to refuse, it would have had to have been suggested to him by someone and it was not,” claimed the source. “There is no prenuptial agreement in place for this wedding.”
Keep scrolling to see more couples who decided against a prenup before getting married!