It sounds like something out of a soap opera -- or at the very least, Elizabeth Taylor's biography.
Media reports are circulating about Alison Smith, a 29-year-old Scottish woman, who is said to be preparing to get married for the fifth time, after having had four weddings by the age of 24, according to the Scottish Daily Record.
Multiple marriages are no joke -- academic studies have found that 'serial marriers' (those who have been married three or more times after repeated divorces) -- are at risk for psychological problems and, perhaps unsurprisingly, a greater incidence of divorce.
Examples of multiple marriages are easy to find in the celebrity world, and debates are waged about whether this means they're believers in the institution of marriage -- or merely addicted to the notion of getting married. Interestingly, a 2006 StatsCan report revealed that those who have been married three times or more are less likely to state that being married is important or very important to their happiness.
According to the Record's story, Smith has been married to four different men, and engaged to five, since she was 17 years old. Her first husband, George Greenholme, admitted ten days after the ceremony that he had slept with her mother and that they were in love. By the time his once-mother-in-law became his wife a few months later, Smith was engaged to one of Greenholme's friends, Peter Knight, reports the Daily Mail.
When Knight broke up with her before the wedding, Smith reportedly married an old boyfriend and the relationship lasted less than two years. Her next marriage (number three) was to William McKellican, whose charge with bigamy (which was later dropped by the courts) nullified his and Smith's nuptials. In 2008, the Record reported that she married Shepherd, her fourth husband.. Now Smith is apparently getting ready to marry Matthew Hume, a relationship that is said to have begun during her marriage to Shepherd, says MSNLiving.
If that's the case, then she's in good company -- stars ranging from Joan Collins to Danielle Steel to Rita Hayworth were all married five times. Others were at the altar even more, often returning to previous spouses. It's always nice to know you have options.
SEE: These serial marrying celebs were known as much for their marriages (six and more) as any of their artistic pursuits:
