Hollywood history is littered with "what were they thinking?" moments. But few things capture the chaotic, post-rehab energy of 90s Drew Barrymore quite like her first marriage. It was 1994. Drew was 19. She was basically the poster child for the "wild child" redemption arc.
Then she married Jeremy Thomas.
He wasn't a movie star. He wasn't a rock legend. He was a 31-year-old Welshman who owned a bar in Los Angeles called The Room. Honestly, the whole thing felt like a fever dream. One minute she’s the kid from E.T., the next she’s tying the knot with a bartender at 5:00 AM on a Sunday.
The Six-Week Whirlwind
Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas didn't exactly have a long, storied courtship. They met at his bar, which was a local haunt for the young and famous back in the day. After knowing him for a while but only "dating" for about six weeks, they decided to get hitched.
The ceremony was peak 90s weirdness.
They didn't go to Vegas. They didn't go to a chapel. They called a minister—who also happened to be a psychic—and got married right there at the bar. Drew wore a mini-dress. It was impulsive. It was loud. It was very Drew.
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At the time, she told People magazine, "Usually people live together first and then get married. I guess we're doing it the old-fashioned way. Kind of."
Why the Marriage to Jeremy Thomas Collapsed
If you blinked, you missed it. The marriage lasted exactly 19 days before they separated. Nineteen. You have milk in your fridge that lasts longer than this legal union.
Why did it fall apart so fast?
There’s the official story and then there’s the Hollywood gossip that has simmered for decades. Officially, Barrymore filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences." Standard stuff. But later, things got a bit more pointed. In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, she didn't hold back, famously referring to her ex-husband as "the devil."
The Green Card Allegations
One of the most persistent rumors—and something Barrymore herself has alluded to in later years—is the idea that the marriage wasn't just about young love. There have been suggestions that Jeremy Thomas might have been looking for a green card.
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Whether that’s true or just the bitter aftermath of a teenage mistake is up for debate. But Jeremy didn't exactly stay quiet either. In various interviews over the years, he claimed Drew was the one who was hard to live with, suggesting she was impulsive and that he was just a "normal guy" caught in her orbit.
The "Bad Girls" Premiere and the End
One of the few times the world saw them as a "couple" was at the premiere of her movie Bad Girls in April 1994. If you look at the photos now, it’s surreal. They look like a couple, they're smiling, they’re holding hands.
But by the time the film was actually hitting theaters, the marriage was basically a corpse.
The divorce was finalized in 1995. Drew moved on to her next chapter, eventually marrying Tom Green and later Will Kopelman. But Jeremy Thomas remained that weird footnote in her biography. He eventually moved back to the UK, largely disappearing from the spotlight while Drew became a daytime talk show queen and a mogul.
What This Taught Us About Drew
Honestly, the Jeremy Thomas era was a turning point. It was the last gasp of her "rebellious" phase before she started Flower Films and took control of her career. It’s easy to judge a 19-day marriage, but for a girl who grew up without a stable home, it's pretty clear she was just looking for a family. Any family. Even one found at 5:00 AM in a bar.
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She’s since spoken about the "shame" of divorce. On The Drew Barrymore Show, she recently opened up about how she finally let go of that baggage. She realized that divorce isn't a failure; it’s a way to save the time you have left.
Moving Past the Mistakes
If you’re looking for a takeaway from the Drew and Jeremy saga, it’s basically this: Your biggest mistakes at 19 don't have to define your 50s. Here is how to handle "regrettable" history like a pro:
- Acknowledge it, then drop it. Drew doesn't pretend it didn't happen, but she doesn't live there anymore.
- Don't rush the "forever" stuff. Six weeks of dating is great for a vacation; it's usually not enough for a legal contract.
- Reframe the "shame." If a relationship isn't functioning, "moving forward" is an act of self-respect, not a failure.
The 19-day marriage is a legend in Hollywood, but for Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas, it was just a very short, very loud lesson in growing up.
Next Steps for Your Own History:
If you're dealing with the fallout of a quick decision or a "starter marriage," take a page from the Barrymore book. Audit your past choices not to mock yourself, but to see where you were trying to find stability in the wrong places. Focus on building your own "Flower Films"—whatever your version of a career or passion project is—and let the 19-day mistakes stay in the 90s where they belong.