John Cleese could feel incredibly bitter about having to shell out a not-so-small fortune in alimony payments to his ex-wife.

But instead of feeling down about how much he's had to give his third wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger, the upbeat veteran comic actor finds the whole situation 'completely ridiculous'.

In an interview with Spiegel, the 75-year-old openly admitted that he'll have paid her $20m (£12) by the time he finishes giving her money this year.

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In happier times: In 1992, John Cleese married American psychotherapist, Alyce Faye Eichelberger (pictured in 2003), but the pair went on to divorce in 2008 - a move that cost him £12million of his fortune

'I was comfortably well off before I got divorced from Alyce Faye Eichelberger. I never knew how much I really had -- I was just comfortable,' he told Spiegel's Christoph Scheuermann and Barbara Supp.

'But now I've been working for seven years to pay off the alimony. She's far better off than I am. So you could sit around being bitter about that. Or you can just think it's completely ridiculous.'

And the Fawlty Towers star, who event went on a comedy roadshow humorously called the Alimony Tour in 2011, added that this summer he will make his final payment to his ex.

'In July I will make the last payment and then I will have given her $20 million,' he explained.

Not-so-friendly exes: John and Alyce - pictured together in 2001 at the Academy Awards - ended up having a hugely costly divorce... for him

The Monty Python star is now happily married to his fourth wife Jennifer Wade, 43, but is clearly still reeling from his third divorce, although he ever-so-deftly tries to laugh it off.

In 1992, he married the American psychotherapist but the pair went on to end their marriage in 2008.

Cleese's last and acrimonious divorce cost him an eye-watering £12million - something he has previously admitted - and although he can make jokes about it now, the star made no secret of his upset over the matter at the time.

In fact, he was so bitter about the financial aspect of the proceedings that he channelled his heartbreak, anger and frustration into the aforementioned Alimony Tour a few years ago.

In one clip, he joked: 'I call it the Alimony Tour year II or Feeding The Beast. And here's a recent photograph of my ex-wife at a London ATM helping herself to some of my money.

Now he's happy: John, 75, recently claimed he found love for the first time in his life when he married Jennifer Wade, 43, in 2012 (pictured together in August 2014)

'Apparently I got off lightly because my lawyer points out how much more I would have had to pay my ex-wife had she contributed anything to the relationship... if we had children, or even a two-way conversation.'

Alyce hired Prince Charles and Paul McCartney's fierce lawyer Fiona Shackleton and ended up with more of his fortune than the comedian.

His vitriol against the famous lawyer - who has been dubbed the Steel Magnolia for her fierce demeanor - and Alyce has been well documented, but it doesn't appear time is a healer.

In an interview with Australian TV show 60 Minutes in November 2014, Cleese told host Liz Hayes: 'She went after me really quite brutally by hiring the nastiest - and I don't mean the second nastiest or the third nastiest - but the nastiest lawyer in Santa Barbara.

'My wife went and hired this really nasty woman and I had to give her $20 million. It's not fair.'

Less than a year after the split, he returned to the UK, before marrying Jennifer in 2012.

First shot: The comedian married first wife, American writer and actress Connie Booth (pictured with him in 2009), in 1968. The couple split while penning the second series of Fawlty Towers, but remained close friends

In an interview published earlier this year and while appearing to take a swipe at his former spouses, the funnyman insisted he had 'never' experienced love until he met his current partner.

Speaking in an interview with The Lady, he is reported to have said: 'It’s very nice to be in love at my age. It makes almost everything else seem relatively unimportant. I’ve never had that experience before. I've never had this sort of connection before.'

John married jewellery designer Jennifer, who is 32 years his junior, in a private ceremony on the picturesque Caribbean island of Mustique three years ago.

And the iconic British actor praised his wife's youthful spirit, explaining she helps to keep him feeling young.

He added: 'It’s quite extraordinary – our relationship is immensely playful. I look at other 75-year-olds and they don’t strike me as terribly playful.'

Second attempt: Cleese then went on the tie the knot with American actress Barbara Trentham (pictured 1982) in 1981. They divorced in 1990, and the actor left the UK in favour of a move to Los Angeles

While the talented comedian admitted during the same chat he had 'a little laughter' with his first wife, he claimed his relationship with second spouse was humourless, before describing his marriage to third partner Alyce as 'much more artificial'.

But Cleese insisted there was nothing 'badly wrong' with any of his former romances.

He added to the magazine: 'There wasn't anything badly wrong with my former relationships but I've realised that to love and be loved is a transformative experience and I'm not sure how many people are lucky enough to undergo it.'

The father-of-two married first wife, American writer and actress Connie Booth, in 1968, and the couple went on to have a child together, daughter Cynthia, 43, three years later.

Connie wrote and co-starred opposite Cleese as waitress Polly Sherman in the hugely-popular Fawlty Towers.

The couple were divorced before the second series of the BBC comedy was written and aired, but they remained close friends in spite of their split.

Cleese then went on the tie the knot with American actress Barbara Trentham in 1981, with the couple welcoming their daughter Camilla into the world in 1984. The pair divorced in 1990, and the actor left the UK in favour of a move to the bright lights of Los Angeles.