Julianne Phillips Divorce Settlement: Terms, Amount, and Court Process

The Julianne Phillips divorce settlement with Bruce Springsteen was confidential, but contemporary reporting placed it at roughly $16 million paid over five years, with some later accounts citing a figure closer to $20 million. Neither number has ever been officially confirmed. The agreement, reached in Los Angeles Superior Court in December 1988 and finalized on March 1, 1989, also barred Phillips from publicly discussing the marriage.¹²

How the Case Moved Through Court

Phillips filed for divorce on August 30, 1988, in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The petition did not formally allege adultery, even though Springsteen’s relationship with E Street Band member Patti Scialfa had by then been the subject of widespread tabloid coverage.³

The case resolved unusually fast. Phillips and her attorney, Arlene Colman-Schwimmer, appeared in court on December 12, 1988, to sign papers dividing the couple’s property, less than four months after the filing. Colman-Schwimmer called the timeline “unusual” for a couple with significant assets and told reporters Phillips “wanted to handle it in a dignified manner.”³ The divorce was finalized on March 1, 1989.²

What the Settlement Included

The financial terms were sealed by mutual agreement. On the courthouse steps, Colman-Schwimmer would say only: “We reached a settlement. We are pleased with it. It was fair.”³

The backdrop was California’s community property framework, which entitled Phillips to half of all money and property acquired during the roughly three-and-a-half-year marriage.²⁴³ There is no public record confirming whether the couple had a prenuptial agreement.

The settlement also functioned as a non-disclosure agreement. The Morning Call reported in March 1989 that Phillips had agreed not to write a tell-all or discuss the marriage with reporters, and a 20th Century Fox publicist confirmed at the time that “on advice of her attorney, Julianne can’t answer any questions about Bruce Springsteen or their divorce.”¹

Why the Exact Amount Is Uncertain

Two figures have circulated for more than three decades. The earliest, published in The Morning Call in March 1989, described a “reported divorce settlement of $16 million over five years,” characterizing it as a phased payout.¹ Later outlets have placed the total at $20 million. No source explains how the two numbers relate, and neither has been officially confirmed. The $16 million figure is the earlier and more contemporaneous report.

What Springsteen and Phillips Have Said Since

Springsteen said almost nothing publicly about the divorce for decades. In his 2016 memoir Born to Run, he took responsibility for the breakdown, writing that at 35 he had been “emotionally stunted and secretly unavailable” and that he “placed her in a terribly difficult position for a young girl and I failed her as a husband and partner.”⁵

He also expressed regret about the way the separation became public. By insisting the matter stay private and refusing to issue a press statement, he wrote, the news leaked in a way that created “furor, pain and ‘scandal'” and made the experience “more heartbreaking than necessary.” He added: “I deeply cared for Julianne and her family and my poor handling of this is something I regret to this day.”⁵

Phillips, bound by the settlement’s confidentiality terms, has spoken about the marriage only once on the record, in Peter Ames Carlin’s 2012 biography Bruce. She said: “The period was a time of incredible growth and introspection for me. And I will forever give that credit to Bruce.”⁶

1
The Morning Call. A Calm Eye in the Storm Julianne Phillips Wont Pay Price of Privacy for Success
2
Los Angeles Times. Springsteen Phillips Divorce Agreement
3
UPI. Rocker Springsteen Wife Reach Divorce Agreement
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Los Angeles Times. Forbes Magazine Rock Earnings Report
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Showbiz411. Bruce Springsteen Comes Clean About Divorce From Julianne Phillips
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People. Who Is Julianne Phillips Bruce Springsteens First Wife