David Hasselhoff applies to stop payments to ex-wife Pamela Bach

David Hasselhoff is reportedly going to court to try to stop alimony payments to his ex-wife Pamela Bach. The couple married in 1989 and divorced in 2006. Bach has not worked since - aside from a stint on Celebrity Big Brother in 2011 - and the report claimed he has been paying her $21,000 a month in support for almost ten years.

Celebrity website TMZ has reported that the 63-year-old former Baywatch star is concerned that his support payments are eating into his retirement savings, because his monthly income isn't covering his expenses.

Hasselhoff is working hard on everything from the Baywatch reboot, to a new comedy series 'Hoff the Record'. He also makes endless personal appearances around the world. As a result, the site says he brings in $112,000 a month, but it's not enough to stop the alimony payments eroding his retirement fund.

The couple's two children, Taylor Ann and Hayley Amber, lived with their father after the divorce, and are now in their mid-20s, so there's no argument that the support payments are intended for the children.

The report added that the lawsuit suggests Bach could easily work again, as the 52-year-old actor and producer is a star in Germany.

Divorce

The Hoff isn't the first star with an alimony headache. John Cleese famously took a major financial blow after divorcing his third wife, Alyce Faye Eichelberger, in 2008. He was reportedly ordered to pay her £12.5 million, give her an apartment in New York and a £2 million home in London's Holland Park, and pay her £612,000 a year until 2016.

As a result, he had to throw himself into work to cover the costs. He launched a stand-up show which he called his Alimony Tour, and it as said to have been one of the reasons he was so enthusiastic about doing the Monty Python live shows at the age of 74. At the time, Michael Palin joked to the Daily Mail: "John (Cleese) wanted more money for his divorce settlement. I think it is his fourth wife. I have not seen him for two weeks, he might be married again."

Marvin Gaye, meanwhile, ended up declaring himself bankrupt in 1976. One of the biggest reasons was the fact that after his divorce from ex-wife Anna Gordy Gaye, he got behind in his alimony payments, so she was awarded the royalties from his next album (Here, My Dear).