It was one of Hollywood’s most high-profile marriages, until it wasn’t.
Russell Brand on Thursday told Wendy Williams that his 14-month marriage marriage to Katy Perry ‘was a very, very wonderful time’ in his life.
The English comedian, 42, and the Chained to the Rhythm songstress, 32, tied the knot October 23, 2010, but Brand filed for divorce on New Year’s Eve of 2011 citing irreconcilable differences, with their split subsequently finalized on July 16, 2012.
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Memory Lane: Russell Brand, 42, fondly looked back on his former marriage to Katy Perry while appearing on The Wendy Williams Show on Thursday
Brand said ‘she was lovely’ and ‘such a lovely person,’ adding, ‘I’ve got nothing but love for her.’
Looking back on the doomed celebrity marriage, the 42-year-old said that ‘it’s a bit difficult to tell what’s going on in such a situation’ when knee-deep in it.
When asked about the singer’s new gig on American Idol – for which she’s reportedly earning a $25 million payday – the 6ft1 Brand demurred on getting too in-depth.
‘I don’t know much about American Idol or things like that,’ he said. ‘I certainly think that she’s probably a very good judge so I certainly wouldn’t comment on how much she’s earning in the negative.’
Kind words: Brand said that Perry ‘was lovely’ and ‘such a lovely person’ amid their 14-month marriage
Keeping mum: Amid reports there’s issues at ABC over Perry’s $25 million salary for American Idol, Brand said he ‘wouldn’t comment on how much she’s earning in the negative’
His remark came as a New York Post report published Thursday quoted ABC insiders as saying that Perry’s huge salary caused a negative domino effect on the budget in casting the rest of the show, which later added Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan as judges.
‘Katy is effectively taking money from the other judges, who then had to be paid way less,’ the source told the paper.
New project: Brand appeared to promote his new book Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions
Ill-fated: Perry and Brand were snapped in LA in December of 2011, weeks before he filed for divorce from the Roar songstress
Change of tune: Brand, seen here with Perry in London in 2011, reflected on his marriage wistfully after describing his time with the singer as enmeshed in an ‘vapid, vacuous celebrity’ lifestyle in 2015
Brand said he wishes Perry ‘all the best in all of her endeavors,’ coming off much softer less than two years after he criticized her ‘vapid, vacuous celebrity’ lifestyle in his BRAND: A Second Coming.
Brand also chat with Williams about his August wedding to Laura Gallacher, 30, who’s the mother to his baby daughter Mabel.
‘We’ve known each other for a very long while,’ he said of his new spouse, saying that he’s happy to leave bachelorhood behind. ‘We loved each other very much but I thought the world was like an amusement park made out of orgasms so I didn’t know how to sort of sit still. I was too excited.’