Divorce no laughing matter for Cleese

John Cleese's divorce from his third wife, the psychiatrist Alice Faye Eichelberger, looks set to become every bit as messy – and expensive - as Sir Paul McCartney's very public battle with Heather Mills. When the couple (pictured together last year) announced four months ago that their 15-year marriage was over, Cleese let it be known he did not want one of those "horrible Hollywood divorces". But if yesterday's court hearing in Santa Barbara is any indication, it's going to be just that.

Cleese, 68, was ordered by the judge to pay his estranged wife £77,500 a month in temporary maintenance while an assessment was made of his personal wealth. "It's going to be very, very expensive - but it will be worth every penny," he said. He joked that he'd sent his wife's legal papers to his old Monty Python colleagues, saying they could use them as a script for a reality show. However, he was clearly angered by the ruling, and by the claim, made by his wife's lawyer that she has no money. "How could she be staying at the Carlyle Hotel in a room that costs $1,185 a night?" he asked.

In documents filed with the court, Cleese estimated his average monthly income this year at £55,500 and argued that his wife's demands were based on his income during a "banner year" - 2007 - when he earned an "unusually high" amount, including a bonus from the movie Shrek 3 and £750,000 from a property deal.

But lawyers for 63-year-old Eichelberger, who was not in court, claimed Cleese's monthly earnings were more in the £93,000 league. As part of her settlement, she is also demanding two houses, half of Cleese's earnings since 1992, plus maintenance of £900,000 a year.