Karen Carpenter and Thomas Burris, 1980
The 1980s’ hit song “Because We Are in Love,” was released on the day singer Karen Carpenter wed real estate developer Thomas Burris, at the Beverly Hills hotel. Considering herself an independent woman, Carpenter made several claims in interviews that she would never marry.
However, after she met musician Thomas Burris at a dinner with friends, she said their relationship took off very quickly. Within months the two were married. The 39-year-old Tom took her breath away and became everything she ever wanted in a man, as told by her close friends. Carpenter filed for divorce in 1982 after struggling with mental disorders. Karen Carpenter sadly passed away in 1983 from heart failure and Burris was rarely heard from again.