Joan Collins has been happily married to Percy Gibson since 2002, but before that she was pretty unlucky in love with four divorces under her belt. However, her split from singer Peter Holm was particularly tough (and it also came at a massive price for the “Dynasty” star).
Collins’ marriage to Peter Holm was her shortest to date, with the actor seeking an annulment in late 1986, about a year after they were married. Collins asked for the annulment on the grounds of irreconcilable differences and fraud, but made it clear that she wanted the marriage to end, period, and told the court that while the marriage could not be annulled, she wanted divorce proceedings to begin. Among her complaints against her husband were that he had controlled her movements, misappropriated funds and even turned violent during an argument. Collins also claimed he had become abusive with one of her children’s nannies, who subsequently quit. Holm denied any wrongdoing, but Collins still got a restraining order.
Unfortunately, the drama was just beginning and Holm was soon requesting a whopping $80,000 in spousal support. There was also a fight over the house that Collins had bought a few months before their estrangement. At one point, Holm began taking over the home and dramatically locked herself in, chains on the gates and all. He was ultimately kicked out, but responded by setting up a protest outside the house, complete with posters with complaints such as: “Is there one law for a soapopera (sic) actress and another for the homeless?” Ultimately, the marriage was not annulled, but Collins and Holm divorced in early 1988, with the actress paying her ex $180,000 and letting him keep a car worth $400,000. Our favourite unabashed 80s icon told Los Angeles Times of the settlement, “That’s fine.”
Joan Collins’ divorce from Peter Holm was dramatic
Unfortunately for Joan Collinson top of her massive payout to Peter Holm, the run up to that had been unusually dramatic. We already said there was a dash involved, but that’s not all.
Days after Holm’s protest outside his and Collins’ marital home, his rumored mistress was called to the stand, and to say to was like something out of “Dynasty” would be a sore understatement. For starters, as reported by Los Angeles Timesthe mistress claimed in court that Holm had made a plan that they should both marry rich, have their spouses’ properties jointly registered, and then go public with their relationship a few years later. That would be dramatic enough in itself, but there was more. The woman also collapsed after her testimony and had to be taken out of court on a stretcher. Oh, what we’d give for Andy, a camera and a time machine.
For what it’s worth, Collins has learned over time to laugh off the drama. In fact, in a 2022 interview, Collins even made fun of all her ex-husbands. Talking further “The Graham Norton Show” of the first, she explained that she had known before the wedding that it was a disaster waiting to happen, but that her father had told her she had to go through with it because the who’s-who of Hollywood had already said yes. Regarding subsequent marriages, she said: “The second and third, they were fine, okay-ish, but fourth a…” Fortunately, even though I told it UPI that her takeaway from the experience was to never walk down the aisle again, Collins eventually found her true prince charming in Percy Gibson. She certainly fought long and hard for her happily ever after!
