Justin Timberlake affair would cost $500K under Jessica Biel 'love contract'
'Nothing happened between me and my co-star'
As speculation swirls over how close Justin Timberlake is to actress Alisha Wainwright, his co-star in the upcoming film "Palmer," fans are obsessing over his prenuptial agreement with wife Jessica Biel that would cost the boy-band singer half a million dollars if he strays.
After Timberlake and Biel tied the knot in 2012, the New York Daily News reported that they had signed a contract specifying how they would divide their property if they ever divorced and holding Timberlake financially liable if he were unfaithful. Timberlake's net worth topped $200 million as of 2019.
"Reports of the Timberlake-Biel prenup infidelity clause in 2012 began a trend in so-called 'lifestyle' clauses within prenups, postnups and cohabitation agreements," asset-protection attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza told FOX Business. "These clauses can deal with items of concern such as substance abuse, infidelity, weight gain, spending" and more, she said.
Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel attend a ceremony in Los Angeles (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
The infidelity provision is a common feature of so-called lifestyle clauses, also known as "love contracts," in prenuptial agreements that cover how the people in the marriage will behave including setting the frequency of sex and bodyweight requirements.
“We’re living in an age where people want certainty before they say ‘I do,' " said Robert Wallack, a partner at The Wallack Firm. "And as a result, these types of clauses have gained popularity. I see them in about one-third of the prenuptial agreements I draft."
In Timberlake's case, the 38-year-old actor and musician apologized on Instagram for what he called a “strong lapse in judgment” after photos and video surfaced in November of him and Wainwright at a bar in New Orleans. The images showed the two holding hands and, at one point, Wainwright's hand on Timberlake's leg. They play lovers in "Palmer," a drama that follows a college football player after his release from prison.
Representatives for Biel and Timberlake didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from FOX Business.
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Reports haven't specified what would be considered infidelity under Timberlake's contract with Biel, and Carrozza told FOX Business the couple's current residence in Tennessee would also affect the agreement's terms.
Tennessee is a so-called equitable distribution state, where judges are generally freer to rewrite the terms of an agreement to achieve fairness, said Carrozza, the author of the book "Love and Money: Protecting Yourself from Angry Exes, Wacky Relatives, Con Artists, and Inner Demons," published in 2017.
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This isn't the first time such stipulations have made headlines.
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When speculation surfaced that celebrity golfer Tiger Woods wanted to reunite with ex-wife Elin Nordegren in 2013, she reportedly demanded an infidelity clause with a $350 million penalty, according to HuffPost.