In the marriage capitulations that Ferdinand II of Aragon signed in March 1469, it was established that his wife, Isabel I, would hold and exercise the Crown. The protocol of the Catholic Monarchs continues to be very common among those who want to safeguard their heritage when, if that happens, the days of wine and roses are over.
Tamara Falcó and Íñigo Onieva have just become, in the end, husband and wife. Even without the affair that truncated the initial roadmap, it is very likely that the couple would have signed capitulations. And it’s that Tamara has regular sources of income (in addition to exclusives, advertising and the new gastronomy avenues opened up by MasterChef), an own penthouse designed by Joaquín Torres and half of the lavish palace El Rincón, in Aldea del Fresno ( Madrid). A heritage worthy of protection. The chasm that opened between Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Josep Santacana after their divorce revealed the marital capitulations that the real estate salesman was forced to sign: in 2008, the tennis player’s family commissioned the Método 3 detective agency a full report on a man they did not trust, and although nothing appeared in the file so relevant as to invalidate the engagement, the condition imposed was a rigid separation of property. Given that Banque de Luxembourg will take them both to trial for the seizure of assets due to an unpaid loan since 2010, Santacana could plead incapacity to manage his wife’s estate and irresponsibility for a debt that is not his, as he signed to the capitulations.
The divorce of Alejandro Sanz and Raquel Parera was not amicable either. Although their capitulations determined that Spanish justice would be the one to settle any conflict (she demanded 40,000 dollars a month while he offered 15,000), Parera asked the American justice to seize all the assets of the artist until an agreement is reached. Finally, the singer won and a court in Pozuelo (Madrid) ruled that she would receive 10,000 euros a month, 5,000 for each of her children, a figure that would be reduced to 6,000 euros in 2023.
The divorce of Infanta Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin has been very civilized, as they agreed in 1997 that the separation of assets would also extend to future compensation. Neither would pay a penny to the other, as they ratified in March.
Perhaps more concerned about his image than the economy, José Ortega Cano signed with Ana María Aldón that, when the separation came and if the two agreed to issue a statement, they would say that the breakup had been decided by mutual agreement and she, less famous than the extorero, could not grant interviews about their life together. Tom Cruise did the same when he introduced a similar clause in his marriage to Katie Holmes: if he broke up before 11 years of marriage, she would receive three million dollars for each year (they lasted six) and also could not statements about the protagonist of Misión Imposible for five years.
Something similar was signed by Beyoncé and Jay-Z: in case of dissolution, the singer will receive five million for each child and one more per year of marriage. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were together for more than 10 years, although their marriage only lasted two. The most remarkable epigraph of the pact was that, in case of unfaithfulness, Pitt could not fight for the custody of his children. Justin Timberlake is not very reliable for Jessica Biel either, although the actress’ clause is only $500,000 if he ends up being unfaithful to her. Possibly, the most famous capitulations of the star system are those attributed to Jennifer López and Ben Affleck. In 2021, a multitude of American media published that she imposed as a condition sine qua non to enjoy at least four intercourses per week. As unusual as it sounds, neither has denied it.
