Phil Collins and Orianne Cevey divorced after 9 years of marriage. The settlement was reportedly about $47M. Settlement details, timeline and prenup facts.
Figures are reported estimates. Last updated Oct 2026.
They later reconciled and moved back in together before splitting again.
Phil Collins, the English drummer and singer of Genesis and solo hits such as In the Air Tonight, and Orianne Cevey, a Swiss translator and later a business woman, married in 1999 and lived in Switzerland. It was Collins's third marriage. The couple had two sons, Nicholas and Matthew, born in 2001 and 2004, and they lived in a large house near Lake Geneva. Collins had stepped back from his heavy touring schedule to spend time at home with the family.
Collins's fortune came from record sales and touring with Genesis and as a solo artist, with hits such as Against All Odds and Another Day in Paradise. He also won an Academy Award for You'll Be in My Heart, written for Disney's Tarzan, and earned royalties from film work. His wealth, which was estimated at around £130 million, was largely created before the marriage, but he continued to earn substantial sums from music and film during it.
The couple married in 1999, and the marriage was reported to be strained by his career. Collins announced in 2006 that he was ill, and the couple's relations soured. Cevey filed for divorce in Switzerland in 2006, and the divorce was agreed in 2008 after about nine years of marriage. Collins and Cevey later reconciled and lived together again, although they did not remarry, and then they separated again in 2020.
Reports said that Collins agreed to pay about £25 million in the divorce, or around $47 million at the time, and the settlement was widely described as one of the largest in Swiss history. The payment was reportedly made in instalments. Collins later said that he had been left with considerable financial burdens by the divorce, and that he had to reduce his spending. The agreement also set out arrangements for his two sons.
Swiss courts allowed the couple's divorce to be treated under local law, which is based on equitable division, and Collins's wealth gave a high basis for the settlement. Cevey was also reported to have the benefit of the length of the marriage and of her role as a mother. Collins's fortune was largely in royalties and property, and part of the settlement was thought to be tied to future income.
Collins kept the rights to his music, and he continued to tour and make records. He published an autobiography in 2016 and returned to the stage after medical problems that affected his ability to play drums. In 2021 he sold his Genesis rights in a reported deal. The divorce settlement reduced his cash holdings, but his catalog remained very valuable.
Collins's divorce is often mentioned alongside Paul McCartney's as a major musician's divorce of the 2000s. The amount was lower, but the cases share a common feature: a very rich older singer with a younger second or third spouse. Collins's case is also an unusual example of a settlement taking place in Switzerland, where courts have different rules from those in England or the United States.
Collins briefly reconciled with Cevey and they lived together again for a time after the divorce. He has been married three times and once said that the expense of the divorces had cost him a great deal. He is one of only a few musicians to have sold 100 million records both as a solo artist and as a member of a band. The £25 million figure is reported and not confirmed.
Orianne Cevey's reported settlement was about $47 million.
They married in 1999 and divorced in 2008, a marriage of roughly 9 years.
No prenuptial agreement was reported.
Yes, the family is reported to include 2 children.
Reported assets include: Geneva estate, Miami property, music royalties.
Swiss courts allowed the couple's divorce to be treated under local law, which is based on equitable division, and Collins's wealth gave a high basis for the settlement. Cevey was also reported to have the benefit of the length of the marriage and of her role as a mother.