The 55-Hour Las Vegas Marriage
Married at 5 AM, annulled by Monday
Key Facts
What Happened
In the early morning hours of January 3, 2004, pop superstar Britney Spears and childhood friend Jason Alexander rented a bright green limousine and drove to A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. After a night of partying with friends including Paris Hilton, the pair exchanged vows at approximately 5:00 AM. Spears later admitted in her memoir The Woman in Me that she was 'just honestly very drunk' and 'in a more general sense at that time in my life, very bored.'
The marriage lasted exactly 55 hours. Spears' family descended on Las Vegas the next day in a fury, and the annulment was filed almost immediately. The official annulment petition stated that Spears 'lacked understanding of her actions, to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage.'
Alexander later gave a different account of events, claiming 'The men in black swooped in, along with her mum and other family members, and they made us sign paperwork under duress to end our marriage. We didn't want to annul it. They lied to us. It was always about controlling Britney and controlling her money.' He maintained that he had been genuinely in love with Spears.
The incident became one of the most referenced moments in celebrity culture and foreshadowed the conservatorship battles that would dominate Spears' life for the next 13 years. It raised serious questions about the ease of obtaining a marriage license in Nevada and the legal standards for annulment based on incapacity.
Legal Breakdown: Annulment grounds and the legal concept of capacity to consent
Annulment Based on Incapacity
The annulment was granted on the basis that Spears lacked the capacity to consent to marriage. Under Nevada law, a marriage can be voided if either party was unable to understand the nature of the act due to intoxication or mental incapacity at the time of the ceremony.
Duress Claims in Annulment
Alexander's later claims that family members pressured both parties into signing annulment papers under duress raise a legal paradox: the very mechanism used to void the marriage (lack of free will) was allegedly applied to the dissolution itself. However, Alexander never filed a legal challenge.
Nevada Marriage Law
Nevada's marriage license process requires no waiting period and no blood test, making it one of the easiest jurisdictions in the country to marry impulsively. This case highlighted calls for reform, including mandatory waiting periods or sobriety requirements, though none were enacted.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →Impulsive legal decisions made under the influence can have lasting personal and legal consequences even when quickly reversed
- →Annulment is a distinct legal process from divorce, effectively erasing the marriage as if it never existed
- →Family pressure in legal proceedings can itself raise questions of duress and consent
- →The speed of marriage in certain jurisdictions creates vulnerability for individuals in emotionally compromised states
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This article is based on publicly available court records, news reports, and legal analysis. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this content.
Divorce laws vary by jurisdiction. Always consult a licensed attorney in your area before making legal decisions.