The 12-Day Marriage That May Not Have Been Legal

What Happened

On January 20, 2020, actress Pamela Anderson and film producer Jon Peters married in a private ceremony in Malibu, California. The couple had known each other since the 1980s, when they first met at the Playboy Mansion early in Anderson's career. Their relationship had spanned decades of on-and-off romantic interest before culminating in the surprise nuptials.

Twelve days later, on February 1, 2020, the couple announced their separation. The split generated widespread mockery in tabloid media, making it one of the shortest celebrity marriages on record. Peters told the New York Post that the marriage ended because he had paid off Anderson's debts and she was 'broke,' claims her representatives called 'fabricated' and 'ludicrous.'

The story took a stranger turn when Anderson later clarified that the couple had never actually filed the legal paperwork for a marriage certificate. 'I never was married to Jon Peters,' she told interviewers. 'We had lunch and then he had a bunch of flowers there and he had everybody, all the family was there. It was just a funny moment. But I never married Jon.' The revelation meant the entire media frenzy about the 'divorce' was over a union that may never have been legally valid.

Despite the ambiguity, Peters publicly stated he was leaving Anderson $10 million in his will and that he would 'always love Pamela.' The case highlighted the critical legal distinction between a wedding ceremony and a legally recognized marriage, and how public perception can diverge sharply from legal reality.

Legal Breakdown: The legal distinction between a ceremony and a legally valid marriage

What This Means for Your Divorce