Katie Price and Alex Reid have been granted a divorce

The couple - who split last year following less than a year of marriage - were issued with their decree nisi by District Judge Anne Aitken at the High Court in London today (20.03.12) in a hearing which lasted 55 seconds.

Neither of the pair were present in court where the judge ruled the marriage between the pair had "irretrievably broken down", however it will be several weeks before the divorce is officially finalised.

Katie and Alex married in Las Vegas in February 2010, seven months after they first started dating and shortly after Alex won `Celebrity Big Brother`.

Announcing their split in January 2011, Katie said in a statement: "Alex and I have had a number of difficulties over the past few months.

"I accept that these were in part caused by my marrying too quickly - we all make mistakes and this was one.

"However, Alex changed from the man I fell in love with and some of his behaviour became difficult for me to understand and caused issues.

"I have tried to help him with these issues but they have put a considerable strain on our relationship.

Katie - who has three children from previous relationships - and is divorced from Peter Andre has recently been involved in an on/off relationship with model Leandro Penna - while Alex is expecting his first baby with fiancee Chantelle Houghton.

sections: Celebrities