CBS has crossed The Ex List off its schedule.

The series stared Elizabeth Reaser as a 30-something woman who’s told by a psychic that if she doesn’t wed within a year, she’ll never walk down the aisle. Oh, and to complicate things, and give you the raison d’etre of the series, the psychic also says that the guy she’s going to marry is someone she dated before.

The plot sounded like a romantic twist on classmates.com, where you can reconnect with high school flings and find out if true love lurks in your past. “The Ex List” only aired four times and then — poof — was gone, as were many viewers after the first three outings.

But while CBS has decided it doesn’t want any more dates with this “Ex,” that doesn’t mean the network isn’t committed to topics about dating and dealing with Ex’s. Whether you’re divorced or single, dealing with an ex is rarely a piece of cake and offers plenty of comedic fodder.

Still on CBS’ schedule is The New Advenures of Old Christine with Julia Louis Dreyfus as a divorced mom on Wednesdays, followed by the new series Gary Unmarried, staring Jay Mohr as a newly divorced painting contractor who strives to balance work, shared custody of his two children, a controlling ex-wife, and his foxy new girlfriend.

Getting divorced is an emotional experience – even if it happens in a virtual, online world. A Japanese woman got so angry when her virtual husband ditched her that she hacked the system to whack him.
 
According to Japanese police, the woman, who was jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used the man’s identification and password in mid-May to log onto the Korean interactive game Maple Story (right) to carry out the virtual hara kiri.

The woman was a 43-year-old piano teacher in Miyazaki, the man was a 33-year-old office worker in Sapporo. "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the virtual cougar told investigators.

Reality check. This did not happen in the real world. Her online avatar had met and “married” his online avatar, who then dumped her without warning. Any woman can understand the hurt. While the couple was happily “married,” he had told her his login and password, perhaps as a way of showing trust. Mistake!

She did not, officials said, plot any revenge in the real world. Still, if convicted, she could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

As AP noted, players in Maple Story operate in a two-dimensional virtual world where they engage “in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles."

Instead of remaining in the virtual world, and perhaps sending a monster after her avatar, the man went to the police when he discovered that his avatar was kaput.

Breaking-ups cause heartaches, headaches and, yes, sometimes creative inspiration. In his new album Lucky Old Sun, which will be released tomorrow, country singer Kenny Chesney reflects on the aftereffects of the annulment of his marriage to the actress Renée Zellweger.

Zellweger, clad in a beautiful Carolina Herrera gown, married the crooner with the cowboy hat in a 15-minute ceremony on a beach in St. John in 2005. Four months later the marriage was kaput — one of the quicker break-ups even for Hollywood, although not beating Chris Kattan’s record split after two months.

Zellweger cited fraud of all things as the cause for the annulment. But who knows what that means? Perhaps he cheated her of her dreams for a lifelong marriage.

For a while, both were silent about why they parted ways. Chesney now is not talking, but he is singing.

As he told Newsweek the songs on his album were written in a burst of inspiration. “I got in a plane and went down to the Virgin Islands,” he says. “I was completely by myself. I didn't want to be around anybody. So the next thing you know, it's me and a pen and I sat down and wrote a lot of lines of this song.”

Three songs on the album seem especially intimate, Spirit of a Storm, I’m Alive, and Way Down Here, whose lyrics say he is "where no one will ask, 'cause nobody knows you're not in my life anymore/And no one can tell the saltwater from my tears."

Was he concerned that his ex would be upset by the music about the end of their relationship? “It's the truth. It's my life,” he told Newsweek. “I've been in a lot of states of mind in the last three years. In that way, it's a pretty honest record. I've let myself be more emotionally vulnerable in some of the lyrics. I think that was good therapy."

Guys use sex to reduce the increased pressure in their lives. With the Dow dipping, no prob if they were turning to wives and girlfriends. But according to a New York Daily News story, they’re down and getting down with sources of gratification that are potential trouble — with a capital T.

On lunch hours they are visiting massage parlors. They are hiring prostitutes. They are going to strip clubs after work. And they are indulging in Internet porn, sometimes at their office computers… and getting caught. They are becoming addicted to sex to relieve their stress.

In a tight job market, this is not an appealing thing to have in one’s file. Most of the men, by the way, are married.

In the Daily News story, psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert reports a jump in sex-addicted men at his Manhattan practice in the past six months.

"Since early spring, maybe late winter, there's just been an increase, and I believe it might have something to do with the economy," he says. "A lot of the Wall Streeters use sex as a way to cope with stress. Bankers do tend to rely on pretty unhealthy ways of coping with stress — drugs, sex.

"A lot of them will use adult services," Alpert adds. "Some of them come right out and say, 'I'm stressed. This is how I deal with it. It's not the worst thing in the world. I'm not using drugs.' But when it starts to increase, then it's a problem."

How do these testosterone titans practice safe sex? According to Alpert, they consider going to an Asian massage parlor to be permissible. To some, as long as they don’t go all the way, being masturbated doesn’t count as cheating.

It's not only the other woman that can lure a husband away from marriage — so can his Blackberry. There is a reason wives derisively call this technological contraption a Crackberry — men are particularly addicted to it. And some way too much.

A new study from Sheraton Hotels of 6,500 traveling executives says that 35 percent of them would choose their Blackberry over their spouse.

Ouch. Talk about rejection. Some of the 65 percent who would prefer their wife and a little affection over the Blackberry admitted that it still was "a tough call."

I know of a wife that has banned her husband from using his Blackberry in the bedroom. The rule in the house is that if she hears that little bleep — the message he'll get is no amore.

What does her husband say? "It's Berry hard sometimes. I know I'm addicted."

Of those polled, 87 percent said they bring their devices into the bedroom. And that’s not counting the rabid text messagers on their cellphones. So must there be a new 12 step program like AA to help wean spouses from their addiction? Not yet.

Right now it's just wives putting down their stiletto heels and trying to crush the problem.

The addiction is not only with men. Female executives also admitted to falling in love with their Blackberries. One female executive was asked in the study, "Are you having a love affair with yours?"

"I am on my BlackBerry more than I see my boyfriend," she admitted.

Along with giving a loved one a kiss goodnight, another 84 percent acknowledged they check their emails right before they go to sleep.

And 80 percent check them in the morning as soon as they get up.

"It can actually ruin relationships," said Dr. Susan Bartell, a psychologist and relationship expert told CBS. Bartell said couples should be interfacing more, in person.

Here's plain and simple advice from Diane English, the director and screenwriter of The Women, the remake of the vintage divorce movie opening this weekend: "Men come and go," she says, "Get yourself some girlfriends."

The power of girlfriends is the theme of the original, a 1939 George Cukor film based on Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 stage play, and it’s the theme here.

And, like its predecessor, this film talks a lot about men but they are never seen.

There is, however, one major difference. The 1939 film was Luce's poison pen letter to the high society women she scorned; English considers her film a valentine to girlfriends, an exploration on how they help you navigate through all stages of life.

Of course, we are all well aware of the support girlfriends can provide, whether they're sitting across the coffee table or sipping coffee half-way across the country. That's why we created the First Wives Social Network.

In English's film, Meg Ryan's character, Mary Hanes, finds out that her husband is cheating on her. Her friends — played by Annette Bening, Bette Midler, and Carrie Fisher — rally to her side and show her the possibilities that can exist for her, even though her life has changed.

Diane English also brought back Candice Bergen, who starred in Murphy Brown, a series English wrote. Bergen plays Mary Hanes’s mother in the film.

Friends are the theme, but divorce is the subject of The Women. So of course it’s debated and dissected.

"It should be harder to get married and easier to get divorced," English told me. "Marriage is too easy to do and then if it is a mistake, divorce is so painful and long."