Inside Joan Collins’ Most Costly and Dramatic Divorce of the ’80s

Collins’ union with Peter Holm was her briefest, as she sought an annulment in late 1986, just a year after their wedding. Citing irreconcilable differences and fraud, she was determined to end the marriage, requesting that if annulment wasn’t possible, a divorce should proceed. Collins accused Holm of controlling behavior, financial misconduct, and even violence during disputes. Additionally, she claimed he acted aggressively toward her child’s nanny, prompting the nanny’s resignation. Despite Holm’s denials, Collins secured a restraining order against him.

The saga intensified when Holm demanded a staggering $80,000 in spousal support and engaged in a legal tussle over a house Collins had bought shortly before their separation. Holm dramatically barricaded himself inside the residence, going so far as to chain the gates. Evicted eventually, he staged a protest outside with placards questioning if different laws applied to soap opera stars and the homeless. Although the marriage wasn’t annulled, Collins and Holm finalized their divorce in early 1988, with Collins paying $180,000 and relinquishing a $400,000 car. In response to the settlement, Collins nonchalantly told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s fine.”

Joan Collins’ ordeal with Peter Holm was laden with drama beyond the financial settlement. Just days after Holm’s protest, his alleged mistress took the stand, dramatically unfolding a narrative that seemed lifted straight from “Dynasty.” According to the Los Angeles Times, the mistress testified that Holm had concocted a scheme for both to marry wealthy partners, register assets jointly, and later reveal their relationship. This revelation was dramatic enough, but the scene escalated when the mistress fainted and was carried from the courtroom on a stretcher. It was a spectacle worthy of its own soap opera episode.

Unfortunately for Joan Collins, on top of her massive payout to Peter Holm, the proceedings leading up to it had been exceptionally dramatic. We already said there was a picket involved, but that’s not all.

A few days after Holm’s protest outside his and Collins’ marital home, his rumored mistress was called to the stand, and to say that was like something out of “Dynasty” would be a sore understatement. For starters, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, the mistress claimed in court that Holm had hatched a plan for both of them to marry rich, have their spouses’ properties registered jointly, then go public with their relationship a few years later. That would be dramatic enough on its own, but there was more. The woman also collapsed after her testimony and had to be taken out of the court on a stretcher. Oh, what we’d give for Andy, a camera, and a time machine. 

For what it’s worth, over time, Collins has learned to laugh at the drama. In fact, in a 2022 interview, Collins even poked fun at all of her ex-husbands. Speaking on “The Graham Norton Show” of the first, she explained that she’d 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 RSVPed yes. As for subsequent marriages, she quipped, “The second and third one, they were fine, okay-ish, but the fourth one…” Thankfully, despite telling UPI that her takeaway from the experience was to never again walk down the aisle, Collins eventually did find her true prince charming in Percy Gibson. She certainly fought long and hard for her happily ever after!