John Cleese & Alyce Faye: The $20 Million Divorce That Launched a Comedy Tour — 'I Keep Getting Older but My Wives Stay the Same Age'
The Monty Python legend did a comedy tour called 'The Alimony Tour' just to pay off his ex-wife
Key Facts
What Happened
John Cleese — the Monty Python co-founder, Fawlty Towers creator, and one of the most celebrated comedians in British history — has been married four times. His third marriage, to American psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger, produced what he has called a 'tsunami of debt' that triggered a nervous breakdown and forced him to keep performing well into his 80s. The divorce, finalized in 2008, resulted in a settlement of $13 million in assets plus over $900,000 per year in alimony for seven years — totaling approximately $20 million.
Cleese and Eichelberger married in 1992 after meeting at a party. She was his third wife (after Connie Booth, his 'Fawlty Towers' co-star, and Barbara Trentham). The marriage lasted 16 years. When it ended, California law — where the divorce was filed — required an assessment of the marital standard of living and equitable distribution of assets accumulated during the marriage. The judge found that Cleese had earned substantially during the marriage and that Eichelberger was entitled to maintain the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed.
Cleese responded to the financial devastation with characteristic dark humor. He launched 'The Alimony Tour' — a one-man show at colleges and theaters where he performed comedy, told stories about his career, and openly joked about his marriages and divorces. 'If Alyce had been satisfied with a mere $15 million,' he told audiences, 'I wouldn't be forced to go on being a huge international megastar, a comedy icon, a national institution, a living legend.' He estimated that by the time alimony payments ended in 2016, he would have paid approximately $23 million total.
The case became a public symbol of what critics call the 'lifestyle maintenance' doctrine in alimony — the principle that a lower-earning spouse should be able to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage. Cleese has spoken extensively about how the financial pressure affected his mental health, describing panic attacks and a period of depression. He married his fourth wife, Jennifer Wade, in 2012 — reportedly with a prenuptial agreement this time. 'What I find is that I keep getting older but my wives stay the same age,' he once quipped, channeling Matthew McConaughey's famous line from 'Dazed and Confused.'
Legal Breakdown: Alimony, Lifestyle Maintenance & Serial Divorce
California's Community Property and Lifestyle Maintenance
California is a community property state where all assets acquired during marriage are presumed to be owned equally by both spouses. Additionally, California courts can award spousal support (alimony) based on the 'marital standard of living' — the lifestyle the couple enjoyed during their marriage. For high earners like Cleese, this means a spouse who did not earn income during the marriage can receive substantial long-term support. The doctrine is designed to prevent one spouse from benefiting from years of the other's labor and then being left destitute, but critics argue it can produce windfalls for spouses who contributed less to the marriage's financial success.
Serial Divorce and Cumulative Financial Impact
Cleese's four marriages illustrate a pattern that family law attorneys see regularly: each successive divorce compounds the financial damage. Assets divided in divorce #1 are not available for divorce #2. Alimony obligations from divorce #2 continue during marriage #3. By the time Cleese reached his third divorce, his financial exposure was already layered with prior obligations. The lesson is mathematical: serial divorce without prenuptial agreements is a wealth-destruction machine. Cleese reportedly signed a prenuptial agreement before his fourth marriage.
UK vs. California Divorce Law
Although Cleese is British, his divorce from Eichelberger was filed in California, where the couple had lived. California's community property law is significantly more generous to the lower-earning spouse than English law, which uses an 'equitable distribution' model with more judicial discretion. Had the divorce been filed in England, the outcome could have been very different. This is a textbook example of why jurisdiction matters enormously in high-net-worth divorces — and why wealthy individuals sometimes try to file in the jurisdiction most favorable to them.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →Get a prenuptial agreement. Cleese learned this lesson after $20+ million in divorce costs. His fourth marriage reportedly included one. Do not let romantic optimism override financial reality.
- →The jurisdiction where you file matters enormously. California community property law produces very different outcomes than English equitable distribution. If you have connections to multiple jurisdictions, consult lawyers in each before filing.
- →Serial divorce without financial planning is catastrophic. If you have been divorced before, your financial planning for your next marriage must account for existing obligations.
- →Humor can be a coping mechanism, but it does not replace professional financial and mental health support. Cleese turned his pain into comedy — but he also described panic attacks and depression.
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