Celebrity Divorces in the News 2019

Identity Theft in Space

The closely guarded private life of a NASA astronaut burst into spotlight in a New York Times report Friday (Aug. 23) on a messy divorce battle involving American astronaut Anne McClain that has apparently led to claims of identity theft against the spaceflyer.

Is Sacramento Divorce Court worse than others? Watch this video.

The incident is rooted in a bitter separation with McClain's spouse, Summer Worden, the Times report continued. According to Worden, her bank account was accessed without her permission from a NASA-affiliated computer network, prompting her to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. A family member also filed a complaint with NASA's internal Office of Inspector General.

Before the separation, McClain had been helping to raise Worden's young son from a previous relationship. That role included providing financial support, the New York Times report stated, and her lawyer said that she accessed the bank account for that purpose and without knowing Worden had requested she no longer do so.

Sacramento: A California businessman is renewing a campaign to give voters a say over the state’s divorce and spousal support laws. An initiative proposed by Steve Clark of Huntington Beach would restrict judges from ordering someone to pay more than five years of alimony to his or her divorced spouse. He must collect signatures from 623,212 registered voters by Feb. 3, 2020 to qualify the initiative for the ballot that year, according to an announcement from Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

No Sense in Waiting for Reconciliation

Liam Hemsworth officially filed for divorce from Miley Cyrus on Wednesday, and now we may finally know why. Cyrus and Hemsworth just separated this month, and many expected it take longer for them to reach the point of an official divorce. Sources close to Hemsworth said that he did not want to waste any time.

Hemsworth and Cyrus announced their separation on Aug. 10. This week, Hemsworth took the next step, filing divorce papers in the Los Angeles court. Sources close to the 29-year-old actor told Entertainment Tonight that he simply felt it was "time to move on."

"Liam's decision to file for divorce is sad, but in the end, it was never going to work," the source said. "They are too different. Liam never wanted to share Miley with anyone. He loves her and he is far too traditional. He finally realized he just wants to start fresh."

"Liam has come to terms that it was time to move on," they went on. "Liam's family has been incredibly supportive. They are relieved it's over."

The source added that Hemsworth saw no benefit in drawing the separation and the divorce out. The actor knew that fans would have a field day with the breakup, so he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

"At first, Liam wanted to just give it time but he finally felt like things were getting nasty and he didn't want to drag it out publicly," they explained. "He decided it was all too much."

Many sources agreed that Hemsworth was caught off guard by the split. The whole thing began when Cyrus was spotted kissing reality star Kaitlynn Carter on a vacation in Italy. A few hours later, they announced their separation. Another source told ET that Hemsworth never stopped feeling reactive to the breakup, feeling as if it was foisted upon him without much warning.

And then came the "Wrecking Ball" for real: On Aug. 21, 2019, TMZ reported that Liam Hemsworth filed for divorce from Miley Cyrus, hiring celebrity "disso queen" Laura Wasser to represent him in the split; Hemsworth claimed "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the divorce, but no date of separation has yet been listed. Sources claimed that the couple had a prenuptial agreement, and since they didn't have kids (save for their pets), the division of property in their divorce settlement should be a relatively simple one. Insiders also claimed that Cyrus was desperate to make it work with the Aussie actor, and "made overtures" to him even while she was reportedly getting publicly wild with rebound fling Kaitlynn Carter, but that he refused to reunite with her, saying he was "over the marriage."

Divorce When You're a Billionaire

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, are set to finalize their divorce settlement during the week of July 1.

After a 25-year marriage, the couple filed for divorce in January.

Bezos, who has a reported net worth of nearly $157 billion, lives in Washington, a community-property state, meaning all assets acquired during marriage are to be divided equally, unless they signed a postnuptial agreement. (According to TMZ, the couple did not sign a prenup.)

In a statement, MacKenzie Bezos said she was granting Jeff Bezos all of her interests in The Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75% of the Amazon stock co-owned by the pair and voting control over the shares she's retaining.

When billionaires like Bezos get divorced, they more commonly have to deal with complex and illiquid assets, company issues, and public perception, divorce attorneys say.