Without a Prenup, David Geffen's Divorce Could Get Interesting

New York Times

22-05-2025

For a man whose name is affixed to concert halls, medical programs and drama schools, David Geffen probably never wanted his name where it landed last week: on divorce papers.
Mr. Geffen, 82, was the instigator in a divorce petition filed on Friday in Los Angeles, signaling a split from his husband of two years, David Armstrong, a 32-year-old dancer he married in March 2023.
While the legal grounds were familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of divorce — 'irreconcilable differences,' according to the petition — the circumstances of the dissolution raised some eyebrows because of one detail: The petition also indicates that Mr. Armstrong did not sign a prenuptial agreement with Mr. Geffen, the entertainment mogul whose net worth has been estimated at more than $8 billion.
Whether that will lead to financial distress for Mr. Geffen remains to be seen, say experts in California divorce law. The filing last week shows that Mr. Geffen intends to pay spousal support, which — considering the brevity of the marriage — is generally disbursed over a period equal to about half the length of a marriage.
Still, that support could be sizable considering the luxurious world in which Mr. Geffen — and, until recently, Mr. Armstrong — resided.
Samantha Bley DeJean, a family law attorney in San Francisco, said she would guess that the couple's lifestyle 'was fairly significant,' though she also noted that Mr. Geffen could probably afford whatever the court deemed support to be.
'No matter how nice their lifestyle is, his net worth is so significant that I could imagine that any spousal support that he'd be ordered to pay probably will not make a dent for him,' said Ms. Bley DeJean.
What led to the breakup is unclear, though the two men had very different public personas and were separated by a half-century age gap. Mr. Armstrong, who The New York Post described as 'a former go-go dancer with a murky past,' has a limited social media presence, though he posted several selfies — some shirtless — on Instagram in 2017 and 2018. He has also used the name Donovan Michaels, per court papers.
Mr. Geffen rose from modest beginnings in Brooklyn to become one of the world's best producers, in multiple mediums, including rock 'n' roll, where he was central to the careers of the Eagles and Jackson Browne and worked with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. (Known as a sometimes bruising boss, Mr. Geffen had falling-outs and legal battles with some of those figures.) He dated Cher and Marlo Thomas before coming out as gay in 1992.
Mr. Geffen's credits also include the films 'Risky Business' and 'Beetlejuice,' as well as the original Broadway production of 'Cats.' In 1994, he formed DreamWorks Pictures with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg; the company was sold to Paramount for $1.6 billion 12 years later. In 2008, at 65, he effectively stepped away from the business.
In recent years, Mr. Geffen has been more likely to be found on his yacht, the Rising Sun, or at one of his homes, which include an estate in the Hamptons.
Mr. Geffen's relative lack of current business ventures — and the briefness of his marriage — may actually work out in his favor financially, lawyers say. Under California law, Mr. Armstrong would be entitled to half what was earned by Mr. Geffen through the broad terms of 'time, skill and effort' during the marriage, said Ms. Bley DeJean, but not from more passive means like residuals or dividends.
Moreover, that so-called community property is limited to the moment you marry until the moment 'of separation,' which is roughly defined as when the relationship was over. (In Mr. Geffen's case, he put that date in late February, though he didn't file for divorce until mid-May.) That's only about 23 months of income for Mr. Geffen.
What could be more problematic is public perception, said Ms. Bley DeJean, who has represented celebrity clients like Angelina Jolie and Claire Boucher, the singer who is known professionally as Grimes.
'They have all the same issues and problems that you and I have, usually with a lot more zeros,' she said. 'And their life is under a microscope.'
It's not clear why Mr. Geffen, known as a tough and savvy negotiator, did not apparently have a prenup. Mr. Geffen's lawyer, Laura Wasser, did not return requests for comments; Mr. Armstrong also could not be reached for comment.
But Susan Myres, a family law specialist in Houston and a former president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said that some couples were reluctant to make such an agreement because of the message it could send.
'One reason he might not have insisted on one is he didn't want his husband to think he didn't trust him,' Ms. Myres said. 'That is a huge trigger for a lot of people: 'You're planning our divorce!''
Early indications are that the Geffen-Armstrong divorce is amicable thus far — there have been no tabloid tell-all interviews, no accusations in court or elsewhere. And Ms. Myres said that, in her experience, it often behooved 'high-wealth, high-profile people' to be civil, despite the stakes involved.
'It doesn't do either of them any good to go all vitriolic,' she said.
'So if they're keeping things close to the vest, great for them,' she added.
Still, while the marriage was brief, Mr. Myres also said that Mr. Armstrong probably wouldn't be hurting for money any time soon.
'If he plans well,' she said, 'he could be nicely set up.'