John Cleese Spouse: How many times has John Cleese been married?

John Cleese became a comedy icon in the 1970s for his work on Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers. Later, while continuing to act, he ventured into corporate training, producing videos that mixed management wisdom with dry British wit.

 In the late 1960s, Cleese co-founded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Along with his Python costars Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Graham Chapman, Cleese starred in Monty Python films, which include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983).

Who are John Cleese’s spouses?

John Cleese has been married four times during his life. The Monty Python star appeared on the US chat show Conan O’Brien where he hit out at his ex-wives for costing him so much money – and prompted him to wish they would all die, Daily Mail reported. The comedian has forked out more than £25million in divorce settlements across three failed marriages. Who are John Cleese’s spouses?

Connie Booth is the actor’s first wife

Connie Booth is an American actress and writer. John and his first wife Connie Booth met in the United States of America and tied the knot in 1968. The duo later became famous for writing the scripts and starring in both renditions of the sitcom Fawlty Towers.

During their marriage, they welcomed daughter Cynthia in 1971, before they divorced seven years later in 1978. Cleese won the 1980 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for Fawlty Towers. In 2000, the show topped the British Film Institute’s list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, and in a 2001 Channel 4 poll, Basil was ranked second on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.

During their marriage, Connie Booth and John Cleese welcomed daughter Cynthia Cleese in 1971, before they divorced seven years later in 1978. According to reports, the couple were divorced before the second series was finished and aired. Cleese and Booth are said to have remained close friends since.

ALSO, READ; Cynthia Cleese: Inside the Life of John Cleese’s Daughter

Barbara Trentham

American actress Barbara Trentham was the second wife of John. The model and actress has appeared on many prominent magazine covers, including the British edition of Vogue. As an actress, she starred in the 1975 film Rollerball and had supporting roles in numerous other 1970s films.

In 1980, while working in Los Angeles as a reporter and producer of Those Amazing Animals, she met Cleese at a Monty Python performance. One thing led to another and the couple walked down the aisle in 1981. John Cleese and his ex-wife had a daughter Camilla Cleese. They separated in 1990 but remained on good terms until Barbara’s death from leukaemia, aged 68.

Alyce Faye is the third wife of John Cleese

In 1992, Cleese married his third wife, American psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger. The former couple called their marriage a quit in 2008; the divorce settlement left Eichelberger with £12 million in finance and assets, including £600,000 a year for seven years.

Talking about the Divorce, Cleese said, “What I find so unfair is that if we both died today, her children would get much more than mine … I got off lightly. Think what I’d have had to pay Alyce if she had contributed anything to the relationship—such as children, or a conversation“.

In an interview in 2014, the comedian blamed his mother, Muriel Evelyn Cross Cleese for his problems in relationships with women, saying: “My ingrained habit of walking on eggshells when dealing with my mother dominated my romantic liaisons for many years.” Cleese said that he had spent “a large part of my life in some form of therapy” over his relationships with women.

ALSO, READ; Muriel Cleese: What happened to John Cleese’s mother?

John Cleese is currently married to Jennifer Wade

John Cleese is currently married to jewelry designer and former model Jennifer Wade. The couple met through mutual friends in 2009. John and Jennifer then went on to say “I do” in August 2012 in an intimate ceremony on Caribbean island Mustique.

ALSO, READ; Jennifer Wade: Who is John Cleese’s wife?

The comedian admits that he “finally got it right.” “I really recommend it. If you can find a wife you really like …” the actor said during an interview on the British show Lorraine. John Cleese is 32 years older than his current wife.

In an interview with Hello! magazine, John said “ I knew from the first moment I met her that this could be something very serious. She is an extraordinary one-off. I never felt there was anything wrong with the institution of marriage – the only thing wrong was my ability to choose the right person.” Meanwhile, Jennifer told the magazine: “We’re kindred spirits. When people see us together, they immediately get it.”