Prenups: The Money Conversation Every Cross-Border Couple Should Have

Recently, rumours about Zendaya and Tom Holland have been making the rounds. Zendaya was spotted wearing a gold wedding band, while her stylist joked to a red carpet interviewer, “The wedding has already happened. You missed it.”

Whether or not the rumours are true, the couple's cross-border lives raises some genuinely interesting questions about money, marriage, and what happens when two people with different passports, multiple homes, and global careers decide to build a life together.

We're not here to speculate about their private lives. But their situation is a useful jumping-off point for something worth understanding: how prenups work, and why they get significantly more complicated when a relationship crosses borders. Let’s jump in.

What A Prenup Actually Is

A prenuptial agreement, or prenup, is a contract signed before marriage that sets out how money and assets will be handled if the relationship ends, whether through divorce or death. Think of it less as planning for failure and more as having an honest conversation about money before it becomes a painful one.

A well-drafted prenup can cover what stays separate and what becomes shared, how to handle business interests, investments, future earnings, and brand deals, and what happens with property owned in different countries.

What it can't do is override the law entirely. Courts in most countries can set aside agreements that are unfair, signed under pressure, or poorly drafted. And regardless, anything involving children or custody is handled separately by the courts.

What Changes When You Add Different Passports And Multiple Countries

This is where it gets more complex, and more interesting.

For a couple who lives, works, and owns everything in one country, a prenup is relatively straightforward. Add different citizenships, homes in multiple countries, and careers that cross borders, and a single document often isn't enough to cover every scenario.

The US and UK are a useful illustration. In many US states, prenups can be fully legally binding if both parties have independent legal advice, make full financial disclosure, and sign without pressure.

In England and Wales, prenups are not automatically legally binding, though well-drafted agreements are increasingly taken seriously by courts.

What this means in practice is that a couple like Zendaya and Tom Holland, one American, one British, living in England but spending significant time in the US, would typically work with lawyers in both legal systems to coordinate their arrangements so they have the best chance of being recognised in each place, rather than relying on a single document.

Where a potential divorce might take place matters enormously, because that determines which country's rules apply. Immigration status, future moves, and where the couple ends up living long-term can all shift that picture.

Prenups Aren't Only For The Famous

Prenups aren't only for celebrities with nine-figure net worths. They're relevant for anyone whose financial life is more complicated than a single savings account in a single country.

Business ownership, startup equity, property in more than one country, royalties, or significantly unequal assets are all situations where a prenup can provide genuine clarity and protection for both people. It can also clarify how to treat future earnings from work done during the marriage, new roles, shares that vest over time, or deals signed after the wedding.

The conversation itself has value beyond the legal document. Couples who work through these questions together, with proper legal support, often find it strengthens rather than strains the relationship.

It forces clarity about expectations, fairness, and how each person thinks about money, before those conversations happen under the worst possible conditions.

What To Consider If You're In A Cross-Border Relationship

If you're in a cross-border relationship, a few things are worth knowing:

Laws vary enormously. What's enforceable in one country may not be in another. Where you live when you marry, and where you might live in future, both matter.

Get independent advice in each relevant country. Both parties should have their own separate lawyer, ideally one familiar with the laws in each jurisdiction involved. One lawyer shared between two people, or one country covered without the others, isn't enough.

Full transparency. Both parties need to fully disclose all assets, debts, and financial obligations before signing. Hiding assets or providing incomplete information can invalidate the agreement entirely.

Start the conversation early. Prenups signed under time pressure, or without proper independent advice on both sides, are far more vulnerable to being challenged or set aside.

Revisit it as life changes. A prenup that made sense when you signed it may need updating after a major career change, a move to a new country, or the arrival of children. It's worth reviewing periodically to make sure it still reflects your circumstances.

It’s not our business what Zendaya and Tom Holland agreed to in private. But situations like this aren’t unique to celebrities - and thinking this through early isn’t pessimistic, it’s practical.

A prenup isn't a plan for the relationship to fail. It's a plan for both people to be treated fairly whatever happens. For many couples, that's a solid foundation to build on.

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If you want to explore the relationship between money and partnership further, check out the Money and Relationships module in our Financial Wellbeing course linked in the Resources below.