Claudius had four marriages

It is fact that Claudius had four marriages. After two failed betrothals, Claudius married four times. His first betrothal was to his distant cousin Aemilia Lepida, but the marriage was annulled due to political concerns. The second marriage was to Livia Medullina Camilla, which resulted in Medullina's untimely death on their wedding day.

Plautia Urgulanilla was Livia's confidante Urgulania's granddaughter. Claudius Drusus, their son, was born during their marriage. Drusus died of asphyxiation in his early adolescence, shortly after becoming engaged to Jumilla, Sejanus' daughter. Claudius divorced Urgulanilla after she committed adultery and was suspected of murdering her sister-in-law Apronia. Claudius rejected the infant girl, Claudia, after Urgulanilla gave birth after the divorce since the father was reputedly one of his freedmen. This move led to his being chastised by his adversaries.

Claudius married Aelia Paetina, a relative of Sejanus, if not Sejanus' adoptive sister, soon after perhaps in 28. Claudius and Paetina had a daughter, Claudia Antonia, during their marriage. He divorced her later after the marriage became a political problem, however, Leon speculates that it was due to emotional and mental abuse by Paetina.

Claudius married Valeria Messalina, his first cousin once removed (Claudius' grandmother, Octavia the Younger, was Valeria's great-grandmother on both her mother and father's sides), some years after divorcing Aelia Paetina in 38 or early 39. Claudia Octavia, her daughter, was born shortly after. Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, subsequently known as Britannicus, was born shortly after Claudius' reign. This marriage ended tragically. According to ancient historians, Messalina was a nymphomaniac who was frequently unfaithful to Claudius. While Claudius was in Ostia, Messalina married her lover Gaius Silius in a public ceremony in 48.