Sinead O'Connor's 16-day marriage not as rare as you think

Irish singer Sinead O'Connor attends the Irish Meteor Awards March 3, 2003, in Dublin.)

/ Getty Images

Sinead O'Connor's 16-day marriage to therapist Barry Herridge has tongues wagging, coming as it does just weeks after Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries ended their 72-day union that began with a televised "fairytale" wedding.

But short-lived marriages are not uncommon in Hollywood. Does anyone remember Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage to Jason Alexander?

Pictures: Hollywood's short-lived marriages

Nor is it a modern pattern. The late actor Dennis Hopper and The Mamas & the Papas songstress Michelle Phillips were married on Oct. 31 and divorced a week later on Nov. 8. The year was 1970.

In that same decade, Cher and musician Gregg Allman stayed married just long enough to produce a son, Elijah Blue.

There does seem to be some patterns emerging, however. A lot of these short-lived marriages began in the wedding chapels of Las Vegas.

[debbie1120]

I guess she thought that she would do this to get some spotlight. She hasn't been in the spotlight for a while.

[EyesOnYeshua]

12/5/11 From The Lord, Our God and Savior - The Word of The Lord Spoken to Timothy, For All Those Who Have Ears to Hear

Thus says The Lord: Behold, I have come down! Yes, I AM HERE! I have come down to dwell in My chosen and to deliver My elect, even every lamb! For I am The Lord! And My jealousy has come to the full!...
I shall no more tolerate all this injustice and murder! All these abominations! All this wickedness! I shall no more endure all this persecution!... Even by My own people, who pollute My name day and night, without ceasing! For I shall stand upon the earth in My fierce anger, and REPAY! And I shall defend My elect and protect the weak and the needy! And the cause of the widow shall be fulfilled in her deliverance! For I am Lord and God! THE DELIVERER!... Yes, I AM HE!


Behold! LOOK! For The Lord your God shall do a new thing!...

A new and terrible thing!
An astonishment!
A great wonder!...

The likes of which this world has never seen!


The faces of the multitudes shall pale! The hearts of many shall fail them for fear! Many shall collapse, gathering blackness, on account of that which is coming to pass before their eyes!... The mighty and awesome power of The Lord your God put on open display! For who can stand against His coming?! Who will not fall down at the sound of His voice?!

Thus says The Lord: It is time!... My hand shall reach down, lo it shall plunge into the earth! It shall pass through every tomb and every mausoleum, through every grave! Behold, My hand shall pass through the dust and sift the sands of the desert! Even unto the depths of the sea My hand shall grab hold, and the whole earth shall give up its dead!... Every child of God, every servant of The Most High, every sheep beloved of The Shepherd.
Then shall I turn to the multitudes and pass through! Behold, I shall pass through and steal them away!... Babes from every womb, children from every corner, and My elect from every nation! The world shall be left utterly desolate and in tears! Heavy sorrows shall overtake every land! Behold, an outcry shall rise up, such as has never been heard!... Much weeping and lamentation, anger and many raised fists, a great gnashing of teeth! Yes, among every tribe, people and nation, a great noise shall be heard! For three full days it shall not subside, and for three full nights it shall not lessen.


Thus shall their first reward be given,
For they have shown themselves fully worthy...

Then shall they know, I AM THE LORD!


And thus shall the great and terrible day of The Lord begin!...

Behold! The wrath of The Lamb!

~ http://trumpetcallofgodonline.com/index.php5?title=Epilogue:_A_New_and_Terrible_Thing

[pbaird2]

These are but a few examples how the sanctity of marriage is being protected by conservatives. The Hollywood crowd was always rife with short-term marriages, which were contrived for publicity or to protect Gay film star images. Ancient royalty used marriage to affect diplomatic relations with other countries (of course, those marriages often ended with the spouse's untimely death).

[rwsmith29456]

I just saw a much more recent picture of her and she is one ugly mamma-jamma.

[texbelle123]

And yet people go ballistic if they think somebody somewhere is going to make it legal for gays or lesbians are in 30 plus years of a relationship to be able to marry as freely as idiots like O'Conner or Spears.

[rwsmith29456]

Nothing but publicity. Who gives a rat's behind.

[Jaylah54]

I can't help but wondering what kind of a "therapist" this dude really was if he answered a blog post from a "sex starved" woman looking for a guy to satisfy her needs. And then "rushed" into a marriage with her....her words, not mine.

And for all those saying marijuana isn't habit forming...this chick had to go out for a "wild ride ... looking for a bit of a smoke of weed for me wedding night..."?

Besides, didn't she "out" herself several years ago, claiming to be "a ****"?

[ralphem]

And sooooo... just how rare are they, Johnnie? This is supposed to be a news item about short-term marriages. It mentions just five and then throws in the towel. The story is shorter than the marriages. There are probably a lot of very interesting stories to be written about short-term marriages, but this obviously isn't going to be one of them. Used to be that news stories needed to cover "who, what, when, where, and how or why."

[tomanyt]

Ummm....How many examples of short-term marriages do you need?

[bobnjersey]

[There does seem to be some patterns emerging, however. A lot of these short-lived marriages began in the wedding chapels of Las Vegas.]
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good thing there's no alcohol in las vegas ... or that might another pattern.

[yolo112]

I'm highly annoyed with the "celebrities" that are using marriage to either get their name in the media or use their name to get more media attention. Sinead got what she was seeking - her name in the spot light again. I'm sure this is a publicity stunt for an upcoming record...one that I won't be buying...mostly because nothing compares to her big hit from back in the day.