In 2010, Russell Brand married Katy Perry. 14 months later, he said it was over via text.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand's romance wasn’t the most effortless of relationships, even by celebrity standards. 

After the couple met on the set of Get Him to the Greek, Brand popped the question a mere three months later. What followed was a very elaborate wedding, 14 months of marriage and a divorce initiated by text. It was more of a heads-up on Brand’s part.

Here's a look back at Katy Perry and Russell Brand's short-lived marriage.

How did Katy Perry and Russell Brand meet?

After a chance meeting at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Perry and Brand were brought together by Brand and Jonah Hill’s 2010 film, Get Him to the Greek.

In a now-deleted scene, Perry appears as herself in a cameo which was supposed to see her make-out with Brand.

“It seemed too much of a literal movie then, which I totally understand from a director’s perspective or from a moviegoer’s [perspective],” she told MTV News in 2010.

“If you saw me and Russell making out, [it would feel like] ‘there’s Russell Brand in the movie,’ not Aldous Snow, and they want it to be Aldous Snow, [so it’s] completely understandable.”

Read: Russell Brand performed hours after being accused of rape. He got a standing ovation.

Their wedding.

It took three months of dating for Brand to propose. This happened on New Year’s Eve in 2009 outside the Taj Mahal while the couple were on holiday in India. He would later text her that he wanted a divorce two years later to the day.

Before that, however, the couple said ‘I do’ in Rajasthan, India in a private ceremony at the luxury Aman-i-Khás resort, next to Ranthambore tiger sanctuary. Perry was 25 while Brand was 35.

A reported 21 camels, elephants, horses, traditional dancers and musicians formed part of Brand’s wedding procession.

The BBC reports that rapper P. Diddy also performed at the October ceremony with the comedian gifting Perry one of the sanctuary’s rare female tigers.

Pretty swish, huh?

Image: Getty.

Why did their relationship end?

Despite their luxurious, extravagant and romantic wedding, things quickly began to crumble. Judging from the quotes given to various sources, it was a mix of their demanding schedules and Brand’s aversion to fame that saw their marriage disintegrate.

Speaking to Vogue in 2013, Perry was selective about what she shared.

While she referred to him as “a magical man,” the ‘Roar’ singer also made it clear that there were several issues in their relationship.

“At first when I met him he wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, I can’t handle the equal-ness,” she said.

“He didn’t like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting. I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day. I let go and I was like: This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me. So I have moved on from that.”

Jokes in Brand’s comedy routines were also made at Katy’s expense.

“Hysterical in some ways,” she said of Brand’s humour.

“Until he started making jokes about me and he didn’t know I was in the audience, because I had come to surprise him at one of his shows. So. Hysterical to a point.”

In his 2015 documentary Brand: A Second Coming, Brand is seen as extremely critical of Perry’s fame and media attention.

“Oh my f**king God. I’m living this life of the very thing I detest. Vapid, vacuous celebrity. Fame and power is bullsh*t,” he said.

By 2017, it seemed like his feelings towards his ex-wife had ‘warmed’.

“I still feel very warm towards her,” he told UKTV’s John Bishop. “I feel like when I hear about her or see her, ‘Aw there’s that person. There’s that person in the world.’”

He still maintained fame was the reason for their marriage breakdown.

“Katy was obviously very, very occupied and busy. I was occupied and busy but not to the same degree,” he said.

“The marriage didn’t last for a very long time and I think that is due to the undulating nature of fame, living in those conditions.”

The infamous breakup.

For Perry, this involved receiving a text message.

In the same 2013 Vogue interview, she confirmed she hadn’t heard from Brand in the one-and-a-half years since their divorce.

“Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me. December 31, 2011.”

Five years after that infamous text, Perry began a relationship with Bloom.

They confirmed their relationship in May 2016 while they were both at the Cannes Film Festival. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor proposed mid-helicopter ride on Valentine’s Day in 2019.

 

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A post shared by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on Feb 15, 2019 at 2:07am PST

The pair have since welcomed a daughter.

As for Brand, he’s since remarried, too. The podcast host shares a one-year-old and three-year-old daughter with UK entrepreneur, Laura Gallacher.

The pair have been married since August 2017 after a much less extravagant wedding (in comparison) near their UK home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Appearing on an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge, Brand detailed why his marriage to Perry ultimately broke down. 

“Some aspects of it were, like, amazing. She’s an amazing person, and it was kind of incredible to live for a moment in that eye of the cyclone-type aspect of fame,” he said.

“Aside from my sort of feelings of affection for Katy, it’s a time that I remember being a little bit chaotic and a bit, for me, to speak for myself, a little disconnected.”

In 2020, Perry spoke to Stellar Magazine about how she'll approach her second marriage differently.

“I call myself a ‘bridechilla’ as opposed to a bridezilla. Orlando and I are united with our approach,” she said.

“It’s not about the party, it’s about the coming together of people who will hold us accountable when things get really hard. Because it’s really great and then it’s really hard. Those are just the facts when you’re with someone who challenges you to be your best self.”

Although she made no mention of her ex-husband, the subtext was difficult to ignore.

This post was originally published on March 3, 2020, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Getty.

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