A Brief History
On March 9, 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte, said to have more books written about him than any mortal man, married the love of his life, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Later, after Napoleon became Emperor of the French and Josephine was crowned Empress, her failure to bear Napoleon a male heir caused the great man to ditch her in favor of Marie-Louise, whom he did not love, but bore him the son he so craved.
Digging Deeper
Other marriages of major celebrities that did not last include that of Prince Charles, now King Charles III of the UK, and Lady Diana Spencer. Princess Di as she became, was loved internationally, but apparently not by Charles as the couple divorced after 15 years.
Bill Gates, for many years listed as The World’s Richest Man, married Melinda French in 1994, but the vast fortune they shared could not save their marriage and they divorced in 2021. Jeff Bezos, another sometimes World’s Richest Man, married MacKenzie Scott in 1993, but they too divorced, in 2016.
Hollywood couples and sports stars are notorious for having marriages that do not last, and include Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen, Actress, singer, and dancer Jennifer Lopez has been called the Most Beautiful Woman by People Magazine, but has been married 4 times.
Power, money, beauty, and fame just do not guaranty marital bliss!
Question for students (and subscribers): What failed marriage would you include on this list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Bankes, James. MARILYN MONROE AND JOE DIMAGGIO. Kindle, 2013.
Markham, J David and Matthew Zarzeczny. Simply Napoleon. Simply Charley, 2017.
The featured image in this article, a painting by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825) and Georges Rouget (1783–1869) of the Coronation of Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in Notre-Dame de Paris, December 2, 1804, is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer.
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