Katy Perry and Russell Brand Are Officially Kaput

By Kat Giantis

July 16, 2012

Katy Perry and Russell Brand have officially reclaimed their single status. E! News reports the former flames finalized their divorce on Monday, a little more than six months after the hirsute British funnyman surprised the popster by pulling the plug on their 14-month union, citing the standard irreconcilable differences.

A split agreement was hammered out in February, and Brand is believed to have walked away from their prenup-free marriage without asking for any of Perry's $40 million-plus fortune.

After a whirlwind romance that began when a flirtatious Katy winged a plastic bottle at Russell's head at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, they tied the knot in an elaborate, elephant-inclusive celebration in India on Oct. 23, 2010.

But rift rumors soon began in earnest, with the speculation centering on career commitments and angry disagreements over family planning (Brand, 37, reportedly wanted kids sooner rather than later; Perry, 27, preferred to wait).

"I thought to myself, 'When I find that person that's going to be my life partner, I won't ever have to choose [between the partner and my career]. They won't be threatened or have weird motives,'" Katy admits in her "Part of Me" documentary, which captured the breakdown of their marriage. "I started to realize, that's not true. That fairy tale I had is not true for me right now."

Both rebounded fairly quickly from the fizzled romance. Russell, who told Ellen DeGeneres in May that he still loves his former missus "as a human being," has been seen with a variety of dark-haired model types, while Katy has been dating Florence + the Machine guitarist Robert Ackroyd.

"My fairy tale has absolutely changed," Perry explained to USA Today earlier this month. "I don't need the Prince Charming to have my own happy ending. I can make the happy ending myself."

Click on for a look back at Katy and Russell's relationship ...