The First Wives Club (1996): 15 Weird Facts You Didn't Know

The First Wives Club looked like a sharp comedy about three divorced women getting revenge on the husbands who replaced them with younger wives. But behind the laughs was a production that almost fell apart, a novel no publisher wanted, and a Hollywood success story the industry refused to believe. Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton all took pay cuts to make the film. Jon Stewart spent weeks filming a major role that was completely erased. The unforgettable ending wasn't discovered until the final week of production. And after the movie became a massive box-office hit, the studio still offered its three stars the exact same salaries for a sequel. These are 15 weird facts about The First Wives Club — the kind that make one of the biggest comedy hits of the 1990s feel even more satisfying once you know what was happening behind the scenes.