Hollywood’s Longest, Shortest Marriages: Celebrity Couples

The bonds of matrimony can be make-or-break in show business. Some Hollywood couples have spent decades of wedded bliss together while others split after a few months or even days. These couples make up some of the most and least successful Tinseltown marriages.

Charleton and Lydia Heston: 64 Years

“You’ve got to find the right girl. If you do that, it should work out, no matter what,” Charlton said of the secret to his marriage to Lydia, whom he met at Northwestern University at age 17 and wed in 1944. “That was my first date with anybody. But I obviously found the right girl the first time out. And I had the brains to recognize that, even at 17.”

Nicholas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley: 4 Months

After tying the knot in Hawaii on August 10, 2002, Nic filed for divorce from Elvis’ daughter less than four months later. But they “shouldn’t have been married in the first place,” Lisa Marie said. “We were both these gypsy-spirited, tyrannical pirates. And one pirate marries another, they will sink the ship.”

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: 35 Years

“Our relationship isn’t magic the way it’s shown in movies,” admits Tom of his years with Rita. “But we both know that no matter what, we’ll be with each other — and we’ll get through it.”

Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman: 32 Days

When they got hitched on June 27, 1964, it was the last of her four marriages and the third of his five. And yet the union was so tumultuous, Ernie said, “I was married to her for 32 days, and that was enough.”

Denzel and Pauletta Washington: 40 Years

“Everybody has their ups and downs; we’ve had ours. It’s hard work, you know,” said Denzel of his and Pauletta’s long relationship. “It’s a commitment. It’s not all the honeymoon, so you work at it.”

Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton: 6 Months

At 18, Liz was “very naive” when she wed for the first of eight times on May 6, 1950. “Then came disillusionment, rude and brutal,” and she’d split from the hotel heir, claiming he “became sullen, angry and abusive, physically and mentally.”

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean: 57 Years

“We both have a warped sense of humor, and I think humor, honestly, is one of the best things when you’re married,” shared Dolly of what’s kept her in tune with Carl for decades. “If you say something you can’t take back, [you] usually have some crazy way of getting out of it!”

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Esposito: 4 Months

After getting hitched in 2006, this duo realized they’d been hasty and mutually agreed to split. “You have to move on,” remarked Jennifer. “That’s what life is about — taking a situation, making the best of it, and moving on.”

Meryl Streep and Don Gummer: 45 Years

“You have to listen to your partner’s problems, suggestions and advice, and accept that you’re not always right. Conversation is the key to a successful marriage,” offers Meryl of what she’s learned from her years with sculptor Don. But it also takes “goodwill and a willingness to bend — and to shut up every once in a while

Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips: 8 Days

They’d wed on the set of The Last Movie on October 31, 1970, but Michelle soon found Dennis’ wild ways to be “excruciating” after succumbing to her own “Florence Nightingale instinct” about him. “Just for the record, girls, it doesn’t work.”