RUSSELL Brand filed for divorce from Katy Perry because she refused to settle down and have his children, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.
The couple had a series of huge bust-ups over her partying and boozy lifestyle in the run-up to the collapse of their 14-month marriage.
Comedian Russell, 36, has beaten booze and drugs addictions and wanted to shun the Hollywood clubbing scene and start a family with the Firework singer.
But Katy, 27, didn’t want to become a “Hollywood housewife”.
A source close to the couple said Katy took off her wedding ring and handed it back to Russell after one last devastating row a week before Christmas.
The I Kissed A Girl star thought she had called her husband’s bluff and he would come running back.
But it was the final straw for Russell, who simply shrugged his shoulders and flew home to his mother Barbara.
The couple spent Christmas 7,000 miles apart – Katy in Hawaii, Russell in Cornwall – before he instructed his lawyers to start divorce proceedings on Friday.
Today we reveal how the rot set into their marriage SIX MONTHS ago and how close friends thought it would end in disaster even BEFORE their Hindu wedding ceremony at a wildlife resort in India in October 2010.
Insiders have also told us how the couple had marriage counselling to try to avoid a divorce while keeping up a public pretence that they were happy together.
Their lawyers were twice close to an agreement to put out a statement that they would be spending some time apart only for Katy and Russell to pull back from the brink.
But since the split the ding-dong behind -the-scenes battle between the two has been stepped up. It remains unclear whether the decision to end the marriage was mutual.
Last night sources close to Katy claimed the singer WANTED Russell to file court papers because she didn’t want to upset her religious parents.
And she is said to have told a friend: “I wish I’d never married him.”
Just four weeks ago, Russell told a chat show host who asked about rumours of a divorce: “I’m really happily married. Perpetually, until death do us part was the pledge.” And a few weeks earlier, Katy had told the same show she “would love to have children” with Russell.
But a friend said last night: “The marriage was over a long time ago, and they both knew it.
“Their lives were heading in completely opposite directions and they realised they had nothing in common and no future.
“Russell left his party lifestyle behind a long time ago because it nearly killed him. All he wanted to do is stay at home, do his yoga, keep his demons away and have a family with Katy.”
The first year of the marriage was dominated by her 122-date California Dreams tour. “But when Katy had rare time off from her touring all she wanted to do was go out partying in Hollywood,” said the source.
“Russell was not interested and he’d had enough of the rowing. When Katy took her ring off he decided it was best he walked away. She flew off to Hawaii and Russell headed back to the UK. Katy turned off her mobile so he couldn’t get hold of her. He was going mental.
“Once he was back in Britain he started making the preparations for the divorce.
“Katy was surprised that Russell didn’t come running back but she had met her match. They are both strong-willed people and there has been a lot of game-playing going on.”
Our source said the rows started as far back as June as the two struggled with their time apart pursuing their careers amid growing resentment from Russell over Katy’s bigger fame.
“Russell is very good at acting out and about in public all happy, but behind closed doors he can be quite moody,” said our source. “After the high of the wedding, reality kicked in. Katy was away all the time and she became more and more successful. She is doing so well and Russell couldn’t handle it.”
Russell has become a star in his own right in the US with the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall and more recently Arthur.
“He was doing well in America but Katy is on a different scale of fame and success,” said the source.
“I think there is resentment between them that their careers were keeping them apart.
“He wanted her to stay at home, do the whole Hollywood housewives thing. But that was never going to happen for Katy, she loves her singing career.
“Perhaps there was an element of jealousy on Russell’s part. And while Russell is happy in America, he does like coming home to the UK.
“Katy prefers him to be with her LA friends rather than his friends back home. This also caused resentment because Russell has long-standing friends back home in England.”
The rows had escalated by October as former hellraiser Russell, who has been treated for drug and alcohol addiction, began to argue with Katy over her partying lifestyle.
The friend said: “Russell may have this wild image but he takes his recovery very seriously because he knows his problems with drink and drugs in the past nearly killed him. Because of her tour commitments, Russell’s time with Katy was precious and he didn’t want to spend it partying all the time.
“He couldn’t handle Katy’s drinking. They didn’t get on when she went out and this caused further resentment and rows.”
Talking about his sex life before he married Katy, Russell was asked in a magazine interview how many women he has sex with a month.
He answered: “Work out how many days and, here’s a simple rule, triple it! I love it. I’ve a very addictive personality.”
And alongside a raunchy photoshoot, Katy told how she tamed womaniser Russell by making him wait for sex when Brand assumed he would be taking the singer home.
“Can you imagine the horrible feeling he had when he was used to getting everything he wanted?
“He was a heroin addict and now he’s not. He was addicted to all kinds of things and now he’s not. And he basically used to be a professional prostitute and now he’s not. “
The couple realised their marriage was on the rocks and called in professional help, although friends believed it was too late.
The source continued: “They had therapy and marriage counselling sessions for about six weeks. They were doing the sessions in three-way conference calls with all parties in separate locations – it was all typically Hollywood.
“Their representatives were called in twice to discuss the possibility of putting a statement out to say they were having time apart and then on both occasions it cooled down and the counselling seemed to work.”
As reports emerged from America last night that Katy didn’t want to be the one to end their marriage and upset her evangelical Christian parents, our source said friends of Russell feared the marriage would end in tears BEFORE they even got hitched.
The comic began dating Katy after the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2009. They had met on the set of his movie Get Me To The Greek.
He proposed to her only three months later on New Year’s Eve.
The source said: “It was very much a fairytale and whirlwind romance. “They were a high-profile couple. Russell has a big ego and loved the attention.
“But even before they got married people close to Russell were a bit concerned at the speed at which it was going and whether they were right for each other. Friends close to him said it would end in tears when reality set in.”
Now the couple will have to face sorting out the financial issues of the divorce settlement – but a friend of Russell said he wants a quick and amicable solution.
They own a £2.5million Californian mansion and the comedian has a £2million London home. Katy is worth £35million, more than double his £15million.
In her first interview after the wedding, Katy said: “It feels lovely. I want to have children and start a family.”
But a pal said last night: “The reality was it was too soon for Katy to think about settling down.”
