S26E3: Sweet Home Alabama | America’s Surprise Divorce Capital (A Trashy Divorces Encore Plus!)

As much as we love a Vegas wedding and a Reno divorce – or a Tijuana divorce – the truth is that for a sparkling 25 or so years in the mid-20th century, Alabama abolished any residency requirements in divorce matters, and cheap, quickie divorces became a mainstay for Alabama lawyers. And as you would expect, this wild west environment drew a lot of high profile names – including some TD Alums – to the state, if only briefly.

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Alicia’s Receipts

Steve Flowers of the Andalusia Star-News has the rundown:
https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2013/11/20/we-were-once-divorce-capital/

1970 reporting from the New York Times on the big mess caused by the quickie divorce schemes:
https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/23/archives/alabama-indictments-cast-doubt-on-legality-of-quickie-divorces-by.html

AL.com has more on the famous people who headed to Alabama to get un-hitched:
https://www.al.com/living/2013/03/when_alabama_flourished_as_div.html

“Onassis divorce case in Alabama recalled.” Oops.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19750316&id=jqsfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=o9YEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,2542289

Some dirt on Peyton Place and its author, Grace Metalious:
http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/peyton-place-town-its-scandals-and-the-woman-who-told-the-world/