The Rolling Stones rocker and his model "wife" formally ended their 20-plus years of coupledom today, heading off a potentially nasty divorce trial by acknowledging that their 1990 wedding in Bali was not legal under British law, the BBC reports.
In short: Mick and Jerry aren't divorcing, they're separating and getting an annulment.
The matter was resolved in a quickie 12-minute private hearing just prior to the start of scheduled divorce proceedings.
"A mutually acceptable legal and financial settlement has been reached," a statement from the fun couple's lawyers said. No one was saying exactly how "mutually acceptable."
The couple has four children--the eldest born in 1984, the youngest in 1997.
"Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall are determined that their friendship and mutual respect will endure," the statement said.
In declaring their marriage null and void, Hall's camp accepts the line Mick's camp started selling months ago: Hey, honey, remember that Hindu wedding ceremony--well, it's not recognized as legal in Indonesia, and it ain't gonna be recognized in Britain, either. (The couple apparently never got around to completing the appropriate civil paperwork.)
Officially wed or no, don't bet that Jagger got off cheap. Hall, represented by Princess Diana's legal team, reportedly was seeking as much as $50 million--and even, say, a 10 percent non-wife discount is still a bundle. British tabs say Hall got as much as $15 million.
Hall filed for divorce last January, amid the latest batch of rumors concerning Mick's extracurricular activities. (The indefatigable Jagger was said to have impregnated a Brazilian model.)
Hall, now 43, and Jagger, 55, first met backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in 1977.
(ORIGINALLY POSTED at 10 a.m. on 7/9/99)