I recently read that a survey has shown that the best kind of marriage involves an ugly man with a beautiful wife. I asked my wife what she thought of these results and she just kind of smiled in a smug, satisfied kind of way.
Of course, there are plenty of other odd couples over the planet made up of ugly men with beautiful wives.
Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts

I’m sure that Lyle is a lovely singer and charming man but – Good Lord – he has a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp. The eternally pretty Julia Roberts chose him to be her ugly husband in sickness and in health etc. They lasted two years together before getting divorced.
Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley

You just knew that Billy was going to get it in the neck in this article, didn’t you? I was thinking of leaving him out just to be awkward but in the end I couldn’t resist adding him in. This was one of the most famous examples of a less than handsome man married to a stunning wife. They were together for almost a decade before getting divorced (am I noticing a pattern develop here?) and Joel also claims to have dated Elle McPherson in the distant past. After the divorce he then went on to marry an attractive lady about 3 decades younger than him.
Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter
As a fellow Scot I can only salute Rod for his fine singing voice, his business sense and his impeccable taste in partners. He married the substantially younger and vastly more attractive Rachel Hunter in 1990 and they – you guessed it – got divorced in 2006. His list of other partners includes Britt Ekland and a string of leggy models.
Salman Rushdie and Padma Lakshmi
Here’s another couple which couldn’t stick together till death did them part. Controversial writer and part time garden gnome Rushdie has been married 4 times and once was to stunning Indian model Lakshmi. You might have seen her on some cookery programme at some point. They were together for about 3 years before getting divorced.
J Howard Marshall and Anne Nicole Smith
Finally, a couple which didn’t get divorced. Hooray! Except, he died. Boo! This was a pretty famous marriage, as she was 26 and he was 89 when they tied the knot. The story then turned deeply tragic all round. The billionaire oil tycoon (that was him by the way, in case you were wondering) died about a year later. His family then fought Smith for the massive inheritance he left behind. She filed for bankruptcy, got busted for sexual harassment and died. In their whole time together their physical relationship was said to have been limited to no more than 10 kisses on the mouth.
Prince Charles and Diana

We might as well finish with one of the oddest couples of all time. She was a pretty, shy girl with a winning smile. He was a balding Royal chap with big ears and a silly voice. He cheated on her, they got divorced, she died and he got married again to someone infinitely uglier. Not exactly a fairytale ending, is it?
