I hope my blogging is not the kiss of death for celebrity marriages! In May, I wrote that Cameron Diaz was seeing illusionist Chris Angel, of A&E’s “Mindfreak” fame. The two were seen closerthanthis in Las Vegas and attended the VH1 Rock Honors ceremony together. Of course, when I wrote that, I had no idea Chris was married! Turns out, his estranged wife, Joanne Sarantakos of Long Island, NY, has filed for divorce, stating mental cruelty and abandonment. She plans to list Diaz as being his lover.
Apparently, I was not the only one that did not know Chris Angel had a wife. Reports are that he kept her a secret to help further his career. Sarantakos says Angel has not shared any of his career wealth with her, a claim that Angel’s lawyer, Elliot Weiner, says is “not accurate.” The two had been together for fifteen years and married for five. Angel and Sarantakos met in court last Friday, where sources say Angel touched his wife’s shoulder. When he tried to shake his father-in-law’s hand, he was rebuffed. The judge encouraged the couple to settle the case out of court. A public divorce could take up to two years before it is finalized. Diaz’s camp is keeping quiet about the whole thing. Her reps refused to return calls to People Magazine.
In June, I wrote a blog about author Salman Rushdie being knighted by the Queen of England. I was surprised to read that he was married to “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi. I never would have guessed these two were married. She is a tall, beautiful former supermodel who is over 20 years younger than the 60-year-old Rushdie who is…well, let’s just say he is less than supermodel beautiful.
The two married in 2004, but Rushdie spokesman Jin Auh said they are divorcing due to Lakshmi’s desire to end the marriage. Unfortunately, Rushdie should be well versed in divorce proceedings – Padma was his fourth wife.