The Edmonds-Murphy Union is No More

The world of Eddie Murphy is one of movies, music and marriage. The Dreamgirls star was getting off a rocky divorce from his wife of 12 years, model Nicole Mitchell and establishing a relationship with Melanie Brown of The Spice Girls. Then there was a change in the wind. And they called that wind Tracey Edmonds. Like Mel B, we were all notified of the breakup and that he was then seeing the former wife of famed songwriter-producer-singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

After a couple of months into their new status as a couple Mel B announces that she is pregnant and Eddie is the father; with full confidence mind you. Till the end he denied it and stated that he no one is sure until there is a blood test. Now we all know there wasn't a need for it because in the back of our minds we knew he was the father. And the outcome came as such - Eddie, you are the father. Now don't get it confused here, Eddie is a great father, a loving father that he plans on being to his new daughter Angel Iris Murphy Brown.

Speed up to the New Year, after dating for only one year they get married off Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Two weeks later they call it quits and everyone wants to know what could have happened to a couple who looked like they fit together. Well if you remember the circumstances surrounding his first divorce then that could shed some light on this 'symbolic union'.

Nicole has stated in numerous interviews that Eddie was more or less a homebody. That he never wanted to go out unless it was for a premiere for one of his films. He wasn't the awards show type of person and that he didn't really want to travel. Something she felt would be good for their children to see the world, especially when they have the resources to make that happen. Eddie has been viewed as a recluse since the slight slump in his career during the 90s. It was reported in People magazine that Eddie was shouting at Tracey in front of other people on a few occasions, including the ceremony, which embarrassed Tracey.

Marriages like this one shouldn't come as a surprise to most because there's not any real time to get to know a person. You're in the moment and think that this is the person you want to be with and after some time has past, you realize that this wasn't the best of moves. Take for example Britney Spears and Kevin Federline.

Britney met Kevin at a time when her personal life was falling apart and she must have wanted to distract herself from the heartache of losing Justin Timberlake (Kevin was a backup dancer for Justin when Britney & Justin were dating) but to fall into the arms of someone like K-Fed should till this day baffles many. Here is a man who before actually meeting Britney, was a back up dancer for Michael Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Christina Milian, and LFO just to name a few. He had a part in the film You Got Served and if you blinked you missed him. Other than that, he didn't have much to offer to relationship. Not to mention he was coming out of a relationship with actress Shar Jackson (Moesha, Love & Basketball) who was expecting their second child when he began his whirlwind romance with Miss Spears. Two years of one of the wildest marriages and two beautiful boys later, Kevin looks to be the model parent while Britney looks like a beyond lost mental patient. At least with Eddie and Tracey we knew what each had to offer to the relationship.

Another marriage that was doomed to fail was one of Liza Minnelli and David Guest. What looked like a glamorous wedding, turned out to be a wedded nightmare for David. He claimed to say, according to The Smoking Gun, that he became a "victim of domestic violence" who, as a result of Minnelli's beatings, now lives in "virtually constant, unrelenting pain" that requires "11 prescription medications per day, some more than once." These medications, according to his medical records entered by his lawyer into court evidence during the divorce, include Celexa for depression, Xanex for anxiety, Amitriptiline for headaches, Morphine, Oxycontin, and Famvir and Acyclovir. He also takes large dosages of botox for "headache relief." They've put new meaning to the vows in sickness and in health. To this day Liza denies his claims.

Then of course there was the almost wedding of the century of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. If you followed Lopez's love life then you would have known that the marriage wouldn't last or it wouldn't happen at all like many of us figured. Jennifer, a very talented singer/actress was for a time a serial monogamist who didn't fully end the last relationship before starting the new one.

The signs were all there. First off, a lot of Hollywood relationships lately have started out on set while filming a movie and that's how Bennifer was born. Their working together was supposed to be work as usual; certainly you remember that at the time of filming the box-office bomb Gigli she was married to Chris Judd. She was married to Chris for about nine months before People had Jennifer and Ben on the cover saying they were in love. After that, the media used them like an all you can eat buffet. Everywhere you turned there they were but we all knew it wouldn't last and who is to blame for all of this - the media. They can't take some of the responsibility of their defunct relationship, too much press in the relationship.

At least with Eddie and Tracey they amicably decided to not go further with their relationship on that level. And since the wedding was only ceremonial and not legal, there's no need for all the separation proceedings and the drama that comes with it. These are two very intelligent people who thought that they found that special one and nipped it in the bud before things escalated and became worse. Best wishes to both Eddie and Tracey and may they find happiness again - just not with each other.