Mandy Moore is going all the way in her divorce demands from Ryan Adams: she’s asking him to cough up extra cash for pet support.
The singer recently filed papers asking for monthly funds from Adams to help pay for their eight cats and dogs. In the documents, the singer says it’s become “overwhelming” for her to take care of all of them and even says she had to cancel a work engagement when her housekeeper was ill so she could stay home and tend to her furry friends.
Cash flow problems
“Pet support” isn’t really accurate, of course; Moore is actually asking for spousal support and citing the animals as one of the reasons. And Moore definitely needs to give some good reasons for why she needs support from Adams. Moore is a prominent A-list singer and actress. Adams is also a singer but is known only for a cover he did of a Taylor Swift album. However, according to Cosmo, Adams earned more than Moore did last year, which is why she can ask for support.
No prenup? Weird
There are lots of things unusual about this divorce, but none weirder than this: According to a report in Hollywood Life, there’s no prenup in this case. Basically, you’re not a true celebrity (or you’ve got a really bad lawyer) if you don’t have a prenup, a legal document signed before the wedding spelling out exactly what the couple’s financial obligations are to each other in case of divorce. A prenup completely avoids battles like this one, and nobody needs one worse than celebs like Moore and Adams.
Pet support? Weirder still
The case is also unusual because spousal support is meant to provide for living expenses for the person seeking it. Spousal support is regularly granted in divorces when there is a huge income disparity within the couple or when one of the spouses needs financial help to obtain the education, training, or experience to enter or reenter the job market and become self-supporting.
There’s no such thing as pet support (though there is such a thing as pet custody). And while pet expenses contribute to household expenses, they are not normally cited as a reason for spousal payments. The average person does not need to hire someone to care for their animals—of course, the average person also doesn’t have eight of them. In most divorces, the expense of the mortgage or rent, utilities, and keeping food (and not dog food) in the house are the biggest concerns prompting a call for spousal support.
If Moore is entitled to extra cash because they have a lot of pets, other people could argue they need more spousal support to keep a collection of sports cars on the road or to pay for all the vacations they have planned. The animals may just be one in a long list of claims Moore’s attorneys are throwing at the wall, hoping something will stick so she can get more cash out of Adams. Moore reportedly collaborated on Adams’ album, which is his singular claim to fame, and her contributions to his financial success could be a catalyst for her money grab.
Image courtesy of fanpop.com
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