Rock Musicians That Had The Shortest Marriages

Long-term marriages are somewhat of an exception for rock musicians. Relationships can be severely strained by the hectic nature of celebrity, life on the road, and the continual attention of fans. When you combine that with the occasional episode of emotional immaturity, it’s no surprise that the rock star lifestyle frequently conflicts with the notion of a “happily ever after.”

However, some rock stars have elevated short marriages to a whole new level, often lasting only a few months rather than years. These fast-paced couplings were characterized by separations, turmoil, and even the odd twist fit for a tabloid. These examples demonstrate how quickly love can burn out in the spotlight, whether it was a brief breakup, several divorce filings, or something far more catastrophic. Let’s examine the rock artists whose marriages ended nearly as soon as they started.

Axl Rose and Erin Everly
The love between Axl Rose and Erin Everly may have inspired Guns N’ Roses’ well-known song “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” but their actual tale was far from idyllic. During their turbulent four-year romance, Everly accused Rose of physical assault, which he denied. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1992, Rose stated, “Erin and I treated each other like s***. Sometimes we treated each other great because the children in us were best friends. But then there were other times when we just f***ed each other’s lives completely up.”

Everly later disclosed that the couple’s April 1990 elopement wasn’t voluntary, claiming Rose had threatened to kill her if she didn’t wed him. They experienced devastating separation, a tragic miscarriage, and numerous reconciliations during their less than nine-month marriage. Everly sold Rose’s breakup letters at auction in the next years, and they brought in over $5,000.

Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson
Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson squeezed a whirlwind of drama—and multiple weddings—into their incredibly short-lived marriage. They first met in 2001, got engaged a year later, and then split before walking down the aisle. Fast forward to 2006: the couple rekindled their romance and decided to get married after just a month. Their first ceremony, on July 29 aboard a yacht in France, featured Anderson in a white bikini—but it wasn’t legally binding. No problem, though. As Pamela explained, “I’m going to get married a few times this month to the same guy… Malibu, Detroit, Nashville.” They even surprised bar patrons in Nashville with an impromptu wedding.

Unfortunately, multiple weddings didn’t translate to lasting love. Less than four months later, Anderson announced their divorce. One rumored reason? Sacha Baron Cohen claimed Kid Rock was enraged after seeing Borat, which included a wild scene involving Anderson being “kidnapped” by the fictional character.

Jerry Lee Lewis and Shawn Stephens
Jerry Lee Lewis had a famously chaotic love life, with seven marriages marked by controversy and heartbreak. But none were as short—or as tragic—as his fifth, to 25-year-old Shawn Stephens. Their story began in February 1981 when Stephens was pulled from the audience at one of Lewis’s concerts to join a party. Despite a 20-year age gap, the pair hit it off, began dating, and eventually tied the knot on June 7, 1983.

By all accounts, Stephens was happy and optimistic about their future—she even believed she might be pregnant. But just 77 days later, tragedy struck. On August 22, Stephens was found dead in their home from an overdose, with mysterious injuries adding to the speculation surrounding her death. Lewis, who was present at the time, denied any wrongdoing. In 1985, he told the Chicago Tribune, “I know it’s a very suspicious-looking situation… but believe me, [I] would never harm a hair on nobody’s head, much less take someone’s life.”

Sinead O’Connor and Steve Cooney
Sinead O’Connor, the iconic Irish singer-songwriter, had a life filled with passion, music, and a few whirlwind romances. While her fourth marriage to therapist Barry Herridge often grabbed headlines for lasting just 16 days, the truth was more complicated. Though they had their struggles—including a wild wedding night escapade searching for drugs—the two reconciled quickly. As O’Connor later shared (via Rolling Stone), “We decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend again and stay married, but we did rush [into marriage].”

But it wasn’t Herridge who marked O’Connor’s shortest marriage. That title goes to her third husband, Steve Cooney, a longtime friend and musician she had known since the 1980s. Married in 2010, the couple’s union lasted just eight months before they amicably separated. Despite the brevity, O’Connor once said they were happy together—a bittersweet reminder of her complex and colorful personal life.

Michelle Phillips and Dennis Hopper
Michelle Phillips, of the famous band The Mamas and the Papas, married actor Dennis Hopper in 1970 after meeting him on the set of The Last Movie. Their wedding, held on Halloween, was far from traditional, with a mysterious, almost mystical vibe. But their marriage quickly took a dark turn. Hopper reportedly got so high he didn’t recognize Phillips, and rumors swirled about guns being shot in the house, restraining Phillips against her will, and pressuring her into uncomfortable sexual situations. After just eight days, Phillips filed for divorce.

Hopper later shared his side of the story with Vanity Fair in 1987, saying, “We got married on Halloween, had a big wedding, 200 people or so. And we were married for eight days. I got Michelle a job with Leonard Cohen as a backup singer, and she called me from Nashville and said, ‘I’m not coming back.’”

Phillips called the marriage “excruciating” and recalled how her father encouraged her to divorce Hopper. “Men like that never change,” he told her.

Vince Neil and Heidi Mark
Vince Neil, lead singer of Mötley Crüe, met Playboy playmate Heidi Mark after she graced the magazine’s cover in 1994. Intrigued by her, Neil tracked her down, but Mark later admitted, “It was a perfectly bad setup from the get-go. Young girl, Florida, Playboy mansion, rock star. He was completely predatory, hunting me down.” Despite their rocky start, the couple dated for years and married on May 28, 2000.

In Neil’s autobiography, Tattoos & Tequila, Mark shared her side of their story, recalling how Neil was initially impressed by her independence—her career and ability to pay her own way. But after their wedding, things changed. Mark claimed Neil expected her to stay home, and alleged that his behavior became abusive, with alcohol misuse. The couple’s marriage ended in divorce after just 15 months, with Mark choosing her career over the relationship.

Lisa Marie Presley and Nicolas Cage
Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley, carved out her own path in music with three albums between 2003 and 2012, two of which hit the Billboard Top Ten. But her personal life was just as eventful as her music career, especially when it came to her marriages. While her second marriage to Michael Jackson was her most famous, it was her third marriage to actor Nicolas Cage that stood out for how quickly it unraveled.

Presley and Cage met in 2000, and though she was engaged to someone else at the time, she soon ended that relationship and began dating Cage. They married on the 25th anniversary of Elvis’s death in August 2002, but the union lasted just four months before Presley filed for divorce. She later said, “I’m sad about this, but we shouldn’t have been married in the first place. It was a big mistake” (via Access Hollywood). Cage admitted to Barbara Walters that they rushed things, and he still missed her every day.

Tommy Lee and Elaine Starchuk
Tommy Lee’s first wife, Canadian model and dancer Elaine Starchuk, flew under the radar compared to his more famous marriages to Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear. A former Playboy and Penthouse model, Starchuk had connections with Mötley Crüe long before marrying Lee, and she even dated the band’s frontman, Vince Neil, before Tommy.

Their whirlwind romance saw them engaged after two years of dating, with the couple marrying on November 24, 1984, when Lee was just 19. However, the marriage was short-lived, with reports saying they separated almost immediately—some estimates say after just a few days, others say a few months. In his autobiography, Tommyland, Lee compared the marriage to Britney Spears’ 55-hour union. They finalized their divorce in 1985.

Starchuk, who was notably absent from The Dirt movie, expressed her disappointment on Instagram, saying, “I was around during many of the stories that were in this film… I helped those boys out a lot for two years… in return, they buried their first wives!”

Hayley Williams and Chad Gilbert
Hayley Williams of Paramore started dating Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory when she was just 18 and he was seven years older and still married to his first wife. So, right from the start, their relationship had some serious complications. After Gilbert’s divorce, they were together for eight years before getting married in February 2016. Interestingly, Williams had actually called off the engagement before they ended up tying the knot anyway.

Williams later opened up to Rolling Stone, saying, “I needed this relationship to work so badly. I just knew that when I was headed into marriage that not only was I making a terrible decision for me, but I was also making a terrible decision for my partner.” She also reflected on how unresolved childhood trauma from her own parents’ divorce influenced her choices.

After just 17 months of marriage, the couple split, with Williams sharing a heartfelt message on Instagram. She later wrote in Paper magazine, “Writing kept me alive… It helped me realize that I shouldn’t have ever married my ex.”

Gregg Allman and Cher
In 2024, Cher made a shocking revelation in the first volume of her autobiography: she filed for divorce from her second husband, Gregg Allman, after just nine days. This came shortly after her infamous marriage to Sonny Bono ended, and she quickly remarried the Allman Brothers musician. But Allman’s struggles with drugs and alcohol made their marriage difficult for Cher. She even said that he was so out of it, that he didn’t even understand when she told him she was leaving.

Despite the quick divorce filing, Cher and Allman reconciled and had a son together, Elijah Blue. In 1976, Cher told People, “I’ve always loved Gregory, but until now, I never felt it was going to last. For the first time, I feel like married people.” However, after two years, Cher filed for divorce again, saying, “I just didn’t have the juice anymore,” explaining how Allman’s struggles kept pulling them apart.