Lawyers for Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady went to a small-town courthouse in Florida on the morning of Oct. 28, and by the close of business a judge had waived the state's normal 20-day waiting period and granted the celebrity couple a divorce.

A couple with reported wealth of hundreds of millions of dollars and two minor children had seemingly accomplished the impossible: Legally severing their marriage in a matter of hours. Tabloid reporters looking for scandal fodder were thwarted at every turn, left with nothing but plain-vanilla court documents and the couple's carefully crafted PR statements. If there was a battle over money or the kids, it was hidden behind closed doors and resolved with extraordinary efficiency.