The Truth About Christina Aguilera's First Marriage

In January 2020, Christina Aguilera took to Instagram to celebrate the birthday of her son, Max, whom she shares with ex-husband Jordan Bratman. Alongside a shot of the three of them beaming around a cake decorated with lit candles, the '90s icon wrote simply, "We make blended families work. It's a beautiful thing." All these years after their difficult divorce, it's wonderful to see Aguilera and Bratman putting their differences aside to ensure the focus is on their son.

In the decade since they separated, the superstar singer has been upfront about what really went wrong between them. And, to her immense credit, Aguilera has taken her fair share of the responsibility for the relationship going south. As CheatSheet notes, she married Bratman incredibly young and, judging by her own troubled family history, Aguilera knew when it was time to call it quits for her own sanity. 

The couple met in 2002, when Aguilera was 21 years old, and got married three years later, per CheatSheet. Aguilera has several very personal songs about her family, which suggest she survived an incredibly abusive home environment. Bratman reportedly was an anchor for her at a time when the singer felt un-moored. They tied the knot in a $2 million ceremony in Napa Valley, Califonia, with 150 guests in attendance and Aguilera clad in a spectacular $80,000 gown.

In an impressively open 2010 interview with People, conducted soon after she filed for divorce, Aguilera admitted, "At the time, it felt absolutely right. Jordan and I were best friends first, and then it grew to be more. He represented stability and love and safety — qualities I never got from a male figure growing up. I felt we could share the rest of our lives together." However, after years of soul searching and trying to make it work for their son's sake, the singer admitted defeat.

Aguilera admitted to People that, although she's a child of divorce herself, "I knew Max would benefit from us separating. He'd be happier to see both his parents happy." The former Voice host expressed hope for finding common ground with Bratman in the future, which certainly seems to have come to fruition. In a subsequent interview with W Magazine, looking back on the marriage, Aguilera acknowledged, "At one time or another, we were both not angels."

Referring to the difficult living situation, she noted, "It got to a point where our life at home was reminding me of my own childhood. I will not have my son grow up in a tension-filled home." Aguilera wasn't afraid of what the public would say, revealing, "I knew there would be a negative reaction in the press to my divorce, but I am not going to live my life because of something someone might say. That goes against everything I sing [about] on my records. I have to be myself." Luckily, being strong and trusting her gut paid off for all involved.