Divorce lawyer reveals 'most shocking' demands he's seen in a prenup agreement

Although couples hope for the best after saying their I do's, a lot also prepare for the worst - which is where prenups come in.

A lot of people panic when the legal agreement crops up in conversation in the lead-up to their wedding, but according to this divorce lawyer, you'd be a fool not to do it.

However, James Sexton admitted that some of the clauses snuck in by spouses who have retained his services have been 'really shocking' - so brace yourself for the possibility of a war of words with your other half while you iron out the details of your prenup.

The legal eagle and author, who runs a law firm in New York, explained that taking a gamble and blindly trusting the person you love often backfires spectacularly.

But if you get all your ducks in a row before heading down the aisle and the rules are all in writing, it will apparently make your breakup a lot less messy when it comes to dividing your assets.

Sexton recently sat down with LADbible for an episode of Honesty Box to share some of the wisdom he has picked up on in regard to love, marriage and divorce during his 20 years of practising family law.

To kick things off, the 52-year-old broke down exactly what a prenuptial agreement is in layman's terms, explaining: "It's a before-marriage agreement.

Sexton revealed the details of the 'craziest' clause a client has ever included in their prenuptial agreement (Getty Stock Image)

"It's a written contract between two people, which essentially governs the rules - particularly of their finances - in the marriage. What I tell people is, everyone who is married has a prenup.

"It's either one which was written by the government, or it's one that was written by you and the person you allegedly like more than the eight billion other options in the world.

"I really do think that's the best way to look at prenups."

Sexton sees marriage as being a lot similar to buying a lottery ticket, as 'you're probably not going to win'.

He added: "So in that situation, why wouldn't you want to create the rule set while the two of you are getting along and make rules that both of you are comfortable with?" Fair point, Mr Hot Shot Lawyer.

As a divorce attorney, marriage breakups are big business for Sexton - and he revealed that he charges a whopping $850-an-hour for the privilege of being his client.

He's represented thousands of scorned spouses during his career, and a lot of these people have called on him to help them put together a prenuptial agreement.

But out of all of these folks, there's one fella in particular who sticks in Sexton's mind because of the 'crazy' clause he wanted to include.

The divorce lawyer reckons that prenups aren't as scary as people think and are in fact a positive thing (YouTube/LADbible)

The divorce lawyer explained that the bloke added a stipulation into his prenup which stated that, for every 10 pounds of weight that his wife gained during their marriage, she 'forfeited $10,000-a-month worth of alimony'.

"That to me was the most shocking thing I've ever seen in a prenup," Sexton said. "Not just because it's the most boorish clause I'd ever seen, but because she still f***ing married this guy!

"He presented that, and she was like, 'Yeah, okay, that seems fair'. I mean, there was something honest about it. He was basically saying, 'Look, you know, I want you to stay skinny and hot'.

"That was his definition of what hot was, that she was skinny. So there's something honest about it, and there was an incentive for her, financially, to do that."

Although he can somewhat sympathise with the couple, the New Yorker said it was still 'really shocking' to him that they included this demand as an enforceable clause in their prenup.

Then again, Sexton says that 'people put all kinds of stuff' in the legal agreements - such as the 'number of times per week they have to have sex' and even stipulations forbidding certain styles of facial hair.

"I actually had a woman put in a goatee clause," he continued. "Her husband kept growing a goatee, it was very out of fashion, but he didn't realise it.

"So she wanted to put in the prenup that he's not allowed to have a goatee and if he does, there is a financial penalty in the event of divorce."

But Sexton admits that in the real world, a lot of these bizarre prenup clauses are 'almost totally unenforceable'.

"Ultimately, there's things that get put in these prenuptial agreements that make people feel good, but it's no real protection," he added, explaining: "As a lawyer, it doesn't matter what I know, it matters what I can prove."

You know what they say - marriage is love, and divorce is business.