Relevant News

What can we learn from serial celebrity break-ups, billionaire bust-ups, misbehaving spouses, pants-on challenged politicos and the ever-shifting landscape of divorce law? Question is, "What CAN'T we learn"? With latte in hand and clicky finger at the ready, dive in for the best in divorce news, views, gossip, and buzz – assembled below for your reading pleasure.

Our current contributors are Jill Brooke, Maureen Dempsey, Naomi Dunn, and Linda Lee.

Could Jon and Kate Plus 8 = Divorce?

Posted to by Justin Marshall on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 10:57pm

Kate Gosselin, 1/10th of the family featured in the hit reality show “Jon And Kate Plus 8”, has spent the last three weeks doing a two-step around reporters’ questions.  That’s because her husband, Jon Gosselin, was recently spotted in a compromising situation with a 23-year old teacher, and the media has been desperate to find out how it all adds up.

Now it appears Kate is ready to admit that the couple’s days might be numbered. 

"I don't know that we're in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing," she told People Magazine, in a cover story that hits newsstands today. 

In fact, it seems that Kate and her spouse have been privately struggling for months.

"I've been struggling with the question of 'Who is this person?' for a while. I remember where I was the first time I heard her name. It's one of those things where you can try to make it go away, but there's blaring, red flashing lights,” Kate says.

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8-Year-Old Girl Finally Granted Divorce

Posted to by Justin Marshall on Wed, 05/06/2009 - 8:02pm

It’s rare to hear “child bride” and “good news” in the same sentence. Same goes for “divorce” and “good news”.  But this week, the stars magically aligned to give us some good divorce news about a child bride:  An 8-year-old Saudi girl has finally been permitted to divorce her 47-year-old husband.

The girl, whose name has been withheld (the first reasonable action in this whole mess), was sold by her father to a close friend of his to settle his debts with the man. After the “sell-off” (there was no ceremony), the girl continued to live with her mother, and was not even aware that she was married until December of last year. 

Saudi courts had twice denied the girl’s request, once on a technicality that the girl’s mother, who filed the documents, as not actually her legal guardian (somehow, this is an issue, whereas allowing an 8-year-old to marry is not).  

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Silvio Berlusconi Demands Wife Apologize for Threatening Divorce

Italian PM Reported to be PO'd

Posted to by Justin Marshall on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 2:16pm

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hasn’t shown much fondness for apologies, even in the wake of the many gaffes that have plagued his last year in office (such as when he called President Obama “tanned”).  But now he is demanding a public apology from none other than his wife.  Her crime?  She threatened to divorce him.

Actress Veronica Lario, who has been married to Berlusconi since 1990, confirmed Sunday that she is seeking a divorce due to the PM’s habitual flirtations with younger women. She was especially peeved that he recently attended the 18th birthday party of a friend’s daughter, to whom he reportedly gave a diamond necklace.

His attendance surprised Lario, who wrote in a letter to the media that "he never attended birthday parties of his children."

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Do You Really Think Mel Gibson is Bothered by Giving His Wife $400 Million?

Posted to by Jill Brooke on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 3:17pm

There is something poignant and symbolic that Robyn Gibson, the loyal, dutiful wife of actor Mel Gibson, chose Easter weekend to file divorce papers after 28 years of marriage. With Easter representing resurrection, maybe this is a new beginning for her.

When she met her husband, then a struggling Australian actor, she was a 24-year-old dental assistant. While he was on locations around the globe filming movies for months at a time, she fulfilled an important part of their partnership. She was home raising seven children, a massive job that includes keeping meticulous schedules that rival many CFO’s spreadsheets.

There’s the doctors appointments, the after school activities which require shuttling kids to and from ballet to hockey practices, a job that needs to be planned with Swiss-like efficiency, and the expectation that somewhere along the line a child will forget a sneaker or stick and call Mom to have it delivered.

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Springsteen: Home Wrecker?

Posted to by Maureen Dempsey on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 8:40am

We won't try to make a quippy play on words to link Bruce Springsteen's recent behavior to lyrics of one of his myriad songs. (Check out any of our highlighted links for an abundance of "Dancing in the Dark" references.) Here are the facts, plain and simple: A New Jersey man identified Springsteen in divorce documents, citing the musician committed adultery with his wife "too many times to mention," according to NJ.com.

Tabloid reports say Springsteen and the woman met at a local gym last year, and things took off from there.

Springsteen hasn't responded. He and wife Patti Scialfa, who performs in her husband's band, are currently on tour. Awkward!

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Why Michelle Obama Is a Role Model for Divorced Women

Posted to by Marilyn Stowe on Tue, 04/07/2009 - 1:07pm

Leaders from around the world descended on London last week for the G-20 Leaders' Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy — and here in Europe, we were all electrified. I must say, I have never seen such public enthusiasm and blanket press coverage of what was shaping up to be just another dull meeting about international affairs.

There was one person in particular who held our rapt attention. This person inspired battle-hardened journalists to fill page after page of their newspapers with effusive praise. This person even managed to eclipse the glamorous Madame Carla Bruni Sarkozy — usually the focus of public attention — who this time around was notable by her absence.

As you may have guessed, we were well and truly swept away by the “Obama Factor." But it wasn’t the President who had everyone talking. It was the First Lady.

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German Woman Divorces Husband for Being a Neat Freak

Posted to by Justin Marshall on Mon, 04/06/2009 - 7:31pm

The notion of a husband who loves to clean, fold laundry, and do other daily chores is such a turn-on that it inspired a picture book, Porn for Women. But men beware — before you run off to buy a Swiffer and a gallon of Lysol in the hopes of wooing your wife to bed (or bath, or beyond), know that there’s a fine line between squeaky clean and psycho sterile.  

This week, a German man learned this lesson the hard way when his wife divorced him for his obsessive cleanliness. She was apparently able to tolerate his overly zealous behavior (constantly tidying up and rearranging furniture) for 15 years, but felt he had finally crossed the line when he decided to deal with a dirty wall the hard way: by knocking it down and rebuilding it. 

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If You're Cheating, Look Up And Wave!

Posted to by Debbie Nigro on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 7:52pm

Forget the old days of rabid drive-bys to see if your partner is cheating on you. Now you can be your own P.I. and flip out on your  cheating louse from the comfort of your living room. Google Street View just nailed one unsuspecting hubby, and you can bet he won’t be the last.

A guy from Britain told his wife he was going on a business trip. She was home amusing herself on the computer and decided to look up her girlfriend’s house on Google Street View. Uh Oh Mo! There parked in front of her gal pal’s house was her hubby's Range Rover with the big bling hub caps. She then Googled a divorce lawyer.

More than one divorce lawyer has a Google Street View case in the works, and I sense this “new grounds for divorce sport” will pick up steam.

So if you're going to cheat on your other half, be forewarned! In addition to looking over your shoulder, also be sure to look up. Waving is optional.

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Countess Her Blessings

Sordid details emerge in David divorce

Posted to by Debbie Nigro on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 5:48pm

I am going to call the outcome of the divorce case in the news between the 36-year-old Swedish Countess and the 66 year-old CEO with countless millions. She should countess her blessings that her $36 million in United Technologies stock is still worth that much. She should also have no problem finding a new guy who doesn't have a problem being dragged to bed against his will, one complaint from her now ex-CEO hubby.

Married in 2002, it took only two years for Marie Douglas-David to start cheating on George David with a strapping Swedish swordsman (say that three times fast). Poor George hired a PI, finds out it's true, and files for divorce. She uses sex to get him back.

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Is Every Celebrity Divorce Really "Amicable"?

CSI's Marg Helgenberger is most recent example

Posted to by Justin Marshall on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 8:38am

There were no tantrums when Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston. Not a scream nor a shout was uttered when Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid went their separate ways after their nine-year marriage. And did that glutinous mixture of tears and snot (what I call “the breakup blend”) dribble down Rebecca Romijn-Stamos’s cheeks when she and John Stamos finally called it quits? 

Why of course not.

That’s because they’re all celebrities.  And as we all know, every celebrity split is an “amicable split”.  

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