Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images To be fair, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore revealed that they were "ending their marriage" long before either of them filed the paperwork necessary to actually end their marriage.
But Kutcher did finally file for divorce in December, a little more than a year after their initial split, and Moore responded with her own sheaf of papers in March.
There haven't been any nasty public words between them, right? They don't have any minor children together, right? So, other than money, what could be the holdup?
As if there has to be a reason besides money. Amid reports that they're now playing eight-figure tug-of-war over A-Grade Investments, the venture-capital fund Kutcher cofounded with Guy Oseary and Ron Burkle, we present five couples who maybe didn't get the memo about how, in California at least, they can be free and clear of each other six months after filing for divorce.
If they can settle matters in a timely fashion, that is...
1. Heidi Klum & Seal: The Project Runway host and incoming America's Got Talent judge filed for divorce from her singer hubby on April 6, 2012—and he responded just days later. Once again, the move to legally pull the plug on their seemingly fairy-tale union came several months after they revealed their separation (crushing the hearts of those who assumed that couples who get engaged in custom igloos stay together). It's more than a year later now and public records show no advancement of their case in the L.A. County Court system yet.
2. Adrienne Maloof & Paul Nassif: Nassif filed for divorce from his Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star wife in August. Some pretty nasty mud-slinging ensued regarding the care of their children and other personal issues. And though Maloof told E! News just a few weeks ago that she's "in a great place and so excited about the future" post-Housewives, she isn't all the way divorced just yet. There's a conditionally sealed hearing (the judge will make the final decision on whether to keep it sealed later) on the books for them on June 6.
3. Courteney Cox & David Arquette: Another couple who took their sweet time to go from one phase of their split to another—the reason why so many hoped that Coco's mom and dad might reconcile. But Arquette ultimately made the first legal move, filing for divorce in June 2012. We're coming upon the one-year anniversary of that big day, but the last thing the courts appear to have heard of those two still-friendly yet separated spouses was a Jan. 23 procedural hearing.
4. Jenny Garth & Peter Facinelli: It was such a bummer when these two broke up after nearly 11 years of marriage and three daughters together. Facinelli pulled the first legal plug, filing for divorce in March 2012 and citing their date of separation as Jan. 1 of last year. A judgment package was received by the court on April 18 (still, more than a year later), so it's possible a settlement is in the works. A hearing was on the books for yesterday, but public records show that counsel for one of the two parties was unavailable.
5. Maria Shriver & Arnold Schwarzenegger: Seriously, what's up with these two?
—Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum