A remark Katy Perry made onstage months before Russell Brand’s conviction is circulating again now that the comedian has been sentenced on rape and sexual assault charges in the UK.
During a concert in July at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, Perry was playing an interactive game that asked audience members to act out their reaction to seeing an ex. “I hope my ex isn’t here. He should be in jail,” she said, according to The Mirror. Perry did not name Brand directly, but the comment is now being widely read in that light.
Brand and Perry met on the set of “Get Him to the Greek” in 2009, got engaged in January 2010, and married in India that October 23. The marriage lasted about 14 months before Brand filed for divorce in December 2011.
Perry discussed the relationship in a 2013 Vogue interview, describing Brand’s behavior as controlling. “He didn’t like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting,” she said. “I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day. I let go and I was like: This isn’t because of me, this is beyond me. So I have moved on from that.”
Perry said Brand told her he wanted a divorce by text message, a moment captured on camera and featured in her 2012 documentary “Katy Perry: Part of Me.”
Since the sentencing, a separate clip from the 2010 Vanity Fair Oscar party has also resurfaced online, showing Brand appearing to criticize Perry for swearing on camera while wearing a badge that read “Obey.” One social media user commented on X, “He didn’t like her getting more attention than him.”
A String of Other Relationships Under Fresh Scrutiny
Brand’s history with other women has also drawn renewed attention. In his memoir “Booky Wook 2: This Time It’s Personal,” he wrote about a brief encounter with Kate Moss, describing it as a boost to his celebrity standing: “I could never have anticipated the instant elevation that this liaison would afford me, it was like being awarded a celebrity Victoria Cross.” He also wrote admiringly of her: “Kate Moss is the prettiest girl in all our schools. Behold our queen, but don’t look at her directly or all else you gaze upon till death brings down your lids will be as shadows compared to her beauty.” The connection reportedly faded after Brand downplayed it publicly.
He briefly dated Australian actress Teresa Palmer in 2008 after meeting on the set of “Bedtime Stories.” At the time, Brand said, “I’m a changed man. I’ve met someone very beautiful and I’ve settled down,” according to Cosmopolitan, while Palmer said, “We’ve only been together for a month, but it’s going brilliantly.” The two attended the O2 Silver Clef Awards together that July, but had separated by the fall.
After his divorce from Perry, Brand dated former talent agent Isabella Brewster, whom he reportedly met at a yoga class. He confirmed the relationship during a July 18, 2012, appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show, saying, “Some things in the newspaper aren’t true … that’s true, actually,” according to E! News. The pair reportedly considered renting a home together in Los Angeles, but the relationship ended by late August. A source told Us Weekly at the time, “Isabella and [Russell] broke it off. He has been in London since the Olympics and is traveling for standup.”
Brand was then briefly linked to Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, with the two reportedly growing close while preparing for the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony. They were photographed holding hands at Hampton Court Palace with Halliwell’s daughter Bluebell and reportedly had a picnic on Hampstead Heath, but the relationship ended within weeks. A source told The Mirror, “He isn’t ready to settle down so soon after coming out of marriage.”
Brand dated producer and journalist Jemima Goldsmith starting in 2013, for roughly a year. During a 2014 appearance on “The Jonathan Ross Show,” he said, “I really love her. I’m very, very happy in a relationship that feels very different from anything I’ve experienced before.” Their breakup was reported in September 2014.
In November 2026, Goldsmith spoke publicly for the first time about the relationship following Brand’s sentencing. In a statement posted on X, she accused him of “violence, coercive control and abuse,” and alleged she called police to have him removed from her home during a violent incident in 2014. She said she chose not to pursue charges or speak publicly at the time out of concern for the impact on her teenage children. “I have neither seen nor spoken to Brand since that period in 2014,” she wrote.
His Current Marriage
Brand’s relationship with his current wife, Laura Gallacher Brand, predates his marriage to Perry. The two first became involved in 2006, when Gallacher was 19 and Brand was 31, but that relationship ended the following year amid his reported difficulty with monogamy.
Testifying at Brand’s trial, Laura described that early period, according to Sky News: “When I met him, I was aware that he liked women, and I was aware toward the latter half of that year that he was engaging with other women. I was not interested in having a relationship with him if he was sleeping with other people. I was invested; we both had told each other we loved each other, but it was clear it was difficult for him to be monogamous.”
Brand and Gallacher reconnected in 2015, after his marriage to Perry had ended. They welcomed a daughter, Mabel, in November 2016 and married on Aug. 26, 2017, near Henley-on-Thames, England. Their family later grew with the birth of daughter Peggy in July 2018 and a son in 2023.
Laura defended her husband during his 2026 trial, describing him as “caring and kind, a wonderful father to our children, and an amazing, attentive husband,” and saying he has an “eye for detail I have never known before.” She added, “I feel very seen by him. We have a very honest, frank and clear relationship and marriage.… Our relationship has always been [about] honesty. I love him very much.”
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