John Cleese divorced his wife, psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger, in 2008 after 15 years together — a split that came with a hefty price tag. The divorce ended up costing Cleese a staggering £12million of his fortune as he had to pay out £650,000 a year to his ex-partner in what he described as “feeding the beast”. In 2015, Cleese revealed that he had paid all of the alimony, working for seven years to afford it.
The Fawlty Towers actor told Spiegel that he thought Eichelberger was now better off than he was.
He said: “I was comfortably well off before I got divorced from Alyce Faye Eichelberger.
“I never knew how much I really had — I was just comfortable.
“But now I’ve been working for seven years to pay off the alimony. She’s far better off than I am.
“So you could sit around being bitter about that. Or you can just think it’s completely ridiculous.”
Speaking on LBC’s Full Disclosure podcast, released on Thursday, August 25, he was asked at what point in his life he had become satisfied, to which he replied: “[I’m] looking forward to [becoming satisfied].
“There are so many books I want to read, but the divorce did absolutely clean me out because I never had the sort of money that people who worked in American television had.
“It cleaned me out so I’m still working and I’m nearly 83. And I’m still working and I don’t really have any savings.”
However, The Frost Report actor – whose career began following his performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – said he is hoping to make enough money on his next projects in order to stop working.
Cleese continued: “But if one or two of the bigger ones come off then I’m going to sit in the sun with a lot of animals around me and laugh with my wife.
“I have two funny people in my life: my wife and my daughter. They both make me laugh more than anyone else. And I will just read a lot and try and understand what this thing life is all about.”
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Cleese – who was also previously married to his Fawlty Towers co-star Connie Booth – is now married to jewellery designer, Jennifer Wade.
Four years after his divorce from Ms Eichelberger, the couple tied the knot at an intimate ceremony on the Caribbean island, Mustique.
He told Hello! Magazine in 2012: “We’re kindred spirits. When people see us together, they immediately get it.
“I never felt there was anything wrong with the institution of marriage – the only thing wrong was my ability to choose the right person.
“I couldn’t imagine being with anyone other than Jenny now. And with my record, that’s a pretty remarkable thing to say.”
Cleese has been married a total of four times.
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