(November 2, 1932 - September 17, 1934)
Kerry's second wife was Helen Mary (Yost) Wells, ex-wife of a New York grain broker. They were married in New York on November 2, 1932. The couple said that they had been friends since before their previous marriages; he was 38 and she gave her age as 32. Just over two months later, they separated and Helen moved out of their home and into a hotel. There followed a reconciliation, but the following year Helen filed for divorce, alleging that Kerry drank heavily. The divorce was granted on September 17, 1934.
This divorce was not the end of Kerry's relationship with Helen. Though there were rumors of a reconciliation with first wife Rozene, Kerry later followed Helen to Vienna, Austria, and the two eventually remarried there. Kerry had often been living and working in Europe since the beginning of their marriage. He lived in Brussels for a time and by 1940 he and Helen were living in the French Riviera, near Nice.
Kerry's life then took a surprising turn: in January 1940, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. He explained to Helen, who ultimately acquiesced in his decision, that he owed it to the French, whose hospitality he had been enjoying, and that he had been dissatisfied with the shallowness of his life as an actor; he wanted to have "real experiences, not just make-believe." In the Legion, he saw service in Luxemburg and Morocco, but his tour of duty lasted less than a year because of the fall of France to Nazi Germany. In January 1941, Kerry returned to California.
The following year brought news that Kerry had become engaged to actress Kay English, though their marriage would have to wait until there was a final divorce decree between Kerry and Helen.