I have been very busy with putting together the next issue of Divorce Magazine. Still, I can’t help but notice how many celebrity couples split up in the last week because we write about them on divorcemagazine.com. Among them are Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds, “Nip & Tuck“ star Dylan Walsh and Joanna Going, Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, Michael C. Hall (from “Dexter”) and Jennifer Carpenter, and Elizabeth Hurley.
Some people would say that celebrities give marriage a bad name. I know it is easy to jump to that conclusion, but I have no statistics to prove that. If the divorce rate among the general population ranges from 40% to 50% (depending on how you calculate it), I am not so sure that celebrities are that much worse at staying married than the rest of the country. But I do know that they get more media attention, and a lot more attention when they split up.
From my personal experience, I know of quite a few people who are on their third marriages and they are your every day folks. I know a guy who lived with his girlfriend for 6 years and split up within months of finally getting married. I also know one person that I used to work with who probably had the shortest marriage that I’ve ever known — he said his wife left him during the honey moon. He left their hotel room for a walk and came back to a note on the door to their hotel room. These are all decent people and they are not celebrities by any means.
Even though “divorce” is a household word for me, I am still shocked to hear when someone I know is getting a divorce. I am still interested in knowing why, not that I always ask because it is a private matter.
Divorce is never easy, to have your divorce be publicly talked about certainly does not make it any easier. If we are quick to say that celebrities give marriage a bad name, we should at least be just as quick to say most of them handle their divorce well. Of course you hear of stories of how they treated their ex badly or became bad parents, but for the most part, they handle their divorces well. Again, I’ve heard of similar stories among my friends who are divorced too. Celebrities may have more money and assets to fight over, but the issues of hurt, anger, or child custody are no different. The option of fighting it out in court vs settling between the two spouses also has to be made.
So, let’s give the celebrities a break and stop judging them. Afterall, it makes no difference what we think any way.
Martha Chan is the co-owner and V.P. Marketing of Divorce Marketing Group and Divorce Magazine. She is responsible for all online and offline initiatives of the company. She is married to Dan Couvrette and is a step mother of two sons. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. She can be reached at (888) 217-9538 ex. 36 or marthac@divorcemarketinggroup.com.
Categories: 
Follow Us!