To the surprise of no one, Liza Minnelli and her husband of 16 months, theatre impresario David Gest, have parted ways.

News that the couple had split comes four months after they called off plans for a splashy wedding anniversary party, citing variously the war with Iraq and the singer's visit to a treatment centre.

They married in February last year in one of the most bizarre celebrity weddings of recent memory. In a feast of publicity, Michael Jackson was best man and Elizabeth Taylor matron-of-honour. An all-star cast of 15 black-dressed bridesmaids, including Gina Lollobrigida, Claudia Cardinale, Debra Paget, Esther Williams, Janet Leigh, Chaka Khan and Petula Clark attended the couple.

Although eyebrows were raised by a Vanity Fair picture in which Gest appeared to be wearing more make-up than his bride, and others were alarmed by his collection of Judy Garland dolls, friends insisted that Minnelli's wedding - her fourth - to 48-year-old Gest was a union of love. 'People can say what they want,' Minnelli, 57, said. 'All I'm saying is I'm fucking back.'

But cracks soon appeared. The music channel VH1 attempted to make a reality TV show about their life, but it was cancelled, according to lawyers for the channel, because Gest's 'unprofessional, erratic and deceitful conduct went so far beyond the acceptable bounds of show business eccentricity'.

Among the long list of complaints, Gest demanded the network hire his handpicked wardrobe consultant, fly his personal assistant and hair stylist to New York from Los Angeles, and spend an additional $60,000 for an apartment for his stylist.