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Russell Brand‘s ex Jordan Martin has alleged that the disgraced comedian once told her he “always wanted” to marry someone famous before dating his future wife Katy Perry.
“[Russell was] doing exactly what he always wanted to do [with Perry] and be married to someone famous, which he always said he would be,” Martin claimed in the new Netflix documentary Russell Brand: Open Secret.
Martin reportedly dated Brand, 51, for several months in 2007 while he was filming his breakthrough movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In the documentary, Martin recalled that Brand summoned her to the movie’s set in Hawaii because he “wanted someone there to stop him from ‘trying it on’ with people on set,” per Page Six.
“He said to me I should be dating somebody more famous than you,” Martin recalled.
She accused Brand of turning their Hawaiian vacation into a traumatic experience by complaining that she was “dressing like an attention-seeking tart” and insisting he “didn’t feel comfortable” with her sunbathing.
Us has reached out to Brand and Perry’s representatives for comment.
Brand tied the knot with Perry, 42, in India in October 2010. Their marriage proved to be short-lived as he allegedly texted Perry a mere 14 months later in late 2011 to announce he was filing for divorce.
The “Watch It Burn” singer’s raw reaction to Brand’s devastating text message was caught on camera as she was filming her 2012 documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me at the time.
“In the very beginning of me getting into the industry, I would be out and about and I would hear girls, or actresses or musicians or whatever, they would say, ‘Oh no, I don’t want to be in a relationship because I don’t want to have to choose between being in a relationship and having a career,’” Perry explained in Part of Me. “I thought to myself, ‘Pfft, when I find that person that’s going to be my life partner, I will never have to choose because they’ll be accepting of me completely. … They won’t be threatened or have weird motives.’”
She continued, “[My partner] will be accepting of me, the things I love, the ambition, what I aspire to, what I want to create. They’ll be accepting and supportive. I started to realize, ‘Oh my God, that’s not true. That fairytale I had for me is not true for me right now.’”
In another unguarded moment, Perry insisted that she’d done “everything it takes to not fail” in her marriage to Brand.
“[The marriage] still failed,” she lamented. “The bad that comes along with the good is a journey and I learned so much from that journey.”
In a 2013 Vogue interview, Perry alleged that Brand struggled to see her as an “equal” when they were together.
“I felt a lot of responsibility for [the marriage] ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day,” she teased at the time. “I let go and I was like: This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me.’ So I have moved on from that.”
Katy Perry and Russell Brand at the 28th Annual MTV Video Music Awards. Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
Brand has also spoken publicly about his marriage breakdown over the years, including claiming on his “Stay Free With Russell Brand” podcast in 2025 that Perry was “not entirely normal.”
“She’s an extraordinary, massive star — but she’s not weird or off key,” he said at the time. “And wasn’t involved in anything nefarious, as far as I could tell. … The reasons that a marriage didn’t work are the normal human reasons [why] marriages don’t work, and I have nothing but respect for her.”
However, the Get Him to the Greek actor reacted harshly to Perry’s newfound romance with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling the politician a “globalist stooge.”
“I was OK with Orlando Bloom, but Justin Trudeau? Come on, man! Don’t put me in a category with that guy,” he sniped at a December 2025 Turning Point USA event.
Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison on Monday, November 9, after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. He is being held in HMP Wandsworth in South London. (The comedian was accused of multiple instances of sexual abuse between 2004 and 2009 by four women.)
Russell Brand’s past marriage to Katy Perry was reportedly blocked from being mentioned in his London rape and sexual assault trial. According to legal submissions obtained by The Telegraph on Thursday, November 5, Brand, 51, and his legal team successfully challenged the inclusion of Perry, 42, in the prosecution’s opening statement, claiming it was unrelated […]
In the wake of the verdict, London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to Us that its officers were investigating additional rape allegations made by two unidentified women.
“The suspect has previously been interviewed under caution in connection with the allegations,” a Met spokesperson stated. “Files have been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to both complainants.”
Brand has always maintained his innocence and has denied ever having nonconsensual sex.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
