A Look Back At Katy Perry And Russell Brand's Brief Marriage

Katy Perry and Russell Brand met in 2008 when she was brought in to film a cameo role on "Get Him to the Greek." The two even kissed during one scene, and while they may have hit it off, Perry was still dating Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy. Not to mention, the scene ended up being cut from the film. Not long after, Perry found herself single and in the presence of Brand at the 2008 MTV VMAs. "I was 25, 30 feet away from him. And I threw the bottle straight at him: Hit him smack dab on the head. Can you imagine the horrible feeling he had when he was used to getting everything he wanted? I was like, 'You've met your match, motherf***er.' A week later we went on vacation in Thailand," Perry told Esquire (via Huff Post).

Perry and Brand announced their engagement in January 2010. Brand proposed in India on New Year's Eve, according to the Mirror. He and Perry would return to India for a wedding in October 2010. Dressed in traditional Indian-inspired garb, Perry and Brand exchanged vows in a Hindu ceremony surrounded by close family and friends. The pair even got matching tattoos! From there, if you can believe it, things got even more chaotic, and rumors that Perry and Brand were on the brink of a split were plentiful, and the pair would eventually announce their divorce in December 2011.

During the course of their marriage, Russell Brand and Katy Perry spoke very highly of one another and seemed to be very much in love. During an interview on "Ellen," Perry explained that she and her then-husband never went more than two weeks without seeing one another. Making note of their one-year wedding anniversary, Ellen DeGeneres asked Perry if she wanted to have a family with Brand. "I would love to have children," she responded. "I think that's one of the reasons you get married," she continued.

Not unlike other celebrity couples, Brand and Perry found themselves in the tabloids more often than not. "First I'm pregnant & then I'm divorced. What am I All My Children?!" Perry tweeted in November 2011, just weeks before she and Brand called it quits. Without much notice, after just 14 months of marriage, Brand and Perry's relationship came to an end. "Sadly, Katy and I are ending our marriage. I'll always adore her and I know we'll remain friends," Brand said in a statement in December 2011, according to TMZ. The outlet obtained official court documents, in which Brand cited the ever-popular "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the divorce.

Katy Perry spoke out about her relationship with Russell Brand a couple of years later, telling Vogue that she hadn't spoken to Russell Brand "since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011." In that same interview, Perry shared some additional details about her short-lived marriage. "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," she explained. Then, when Perry released her "Part of Me" documentary in 2012, fans saw some of this play out. According to Mirror, there were moments when Perry would be visibly upset following fights with Brand. 

In 2013, Perry spoke to Marie Claire about her past marriage, saying that Brand really wanted to start a family but it wasn't the right time for her. "I think it was a way of control," she said. About five years after her split from Brand, Perry did end up starting a family after finding love again with actor Orlando Bloom. The two share one daughter named Daisy Dove Bloom.

On an episode of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge" that aired in August 2023, Russell Brand opened up about his marriage to Katy Perry. "She's an amazing person. It was kind of incredible to live for a moment in that eye of the cyclone-type aspect of fame," he said. "Aside from ... feelings of affection for Katy, it's a time that I remember [as] a little bit chaotic and ... a little disconnected," he added.

In September 2023, Brand found himself in the news after being accused of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse, according to BBC. Ahead of the bombshell allegations, Brand denied any wrongdoing in a video shared on his Instagram feed. Many of the allegations are said to have occurred during Brand's time with Katy Perry. 

Some think that the "I Kissed a Girl" singer may have known about her ex's alleged shady past. The one clue that has resurfaced is in a quote from Vogue: "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," Perry told the outlet. She has not commented on the allegations involving her ex-husband at the time of this writing.