jill brooke

Study Shows Some Men Have A Genetic Disposition Towards Cheating

Fidelity Gene linked to risk of marital discord and divorce

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 7:42am

Along with qualities like “devoted,” “adventurous,” “successful,” and “cute,” the checklist of women deciding what they want in a man may now include “the fidelity gene.”

A study by a behavioral geneticist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockhom confirmed what we already knew — when it comes to monogamy, it’s not about us, it’s about them.

Some guys, well, can't help themselves. You can blame the genes when he can't keep it in his jeans.

The gene in question controls the number and location of vasopressin receptors in the brain. Vasopressin is a hormone secreted during sexual activity that increases the likelihood of pair bonding.

One allele, or alternate form of a gene, and there are fewer vasopressin receptors. Two alleles and there are way fewer vasopressin receptors.

Pink and Carey Hart Have Reconciled

Why Do So Many Other Couples Divorce After Separating?

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 9:04am

Pink and Carey Hart certainly have something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. The spunky spiky-haired couple who separated in 2008 are now back together and recently announced that Pink, the singer of such hits as "Please Don't Leave Me," is three months pregnant.

As Hart, who is a professional motorcycle rider, explained to People magazine, "We're rebuilding. Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps back to move forward."

While Pink and Carey Hart's reconciliation is fabulous news for romantics, the fact is that very few couples ever do get back together following a separation. Care to guess what the stats are? Less than 10 percent or to be precise--or to be as precise as one can be with any stat that is vulnerable to agendas, sample size and location of those interviewed--it's 7 percent.

We in the divorce business often parade out these rare cases as glittering examples of possibility.

How Pets Handle Divorce

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 9:48am

Here's your pet's pet peeve. Your beloved animals suffer anxiety when you separate or divorce, just as you do. In fact, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals in London has added divorce to the list of events that can lead to "acral lick dermatitis."

Other causes of ALD – a constant chewing, sucking, and licking of a part of the body – are dogs who are isolated or bored, punished continually, or who have nervous and stressed owners. Sean Wensley, a senior vet at the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, says, “As a result of such licking, the area can become raw and itchy, which in turn leads to further licking or chewing."

Pets mirror our emotions. If your parrot plucks his feathers feverishly, your poodle pouts with downcast eyes, your calico cat meows mournfully, vets translate these things as a form of depression because, folks, they are "furry" upset by the disruption in the house.

And why shouldn’t they be?

Al and Tipper Gore Separating: How Does Any Marriage Last A Lifetime?

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Wed, 06/02/2010 - 2:26pm

Al and Tipper Gore’s surprise separation announcement has exposed “An Inconvenient Truth.” In today’s environment, it’s very hard to keep a marriage together for a lifetime.

There doesn’t seem to be much support encouraging the continuity of marriage if you take the temperature of commentators. The New York Times had someone call divorce an iconic baby boomer event.

On one of the morning TV shows, their so-called experts said that it doesn’t matter that Al and Tipper may be divorced since the kids are now older. Hmmm. With rationed time, it now means that elderly parents see their adult kids half as much for holidays and get togethers and adult kids have to choose between parents.

Ironically, the announcement was made at the peak of wedding season when couples will walk down the aisle making the commitment to love each other through thick and thin, sickness and health, richer or poorer.

As one reader wrote, “When young couples see that the Gores (and many others) can't quite make it work, what hope is left for them?"

New Book Urges Wannabe Brides to Settle

Look what happened to Jenny Sanford for following that advice

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 8:47pm

In an ironic twist, Jenny Sanford and Lori Gottlieb are hitting the bookstores at the same time. In Marry Him - The Case For Mr. Good Enough, Gottlieb says women should be less picky and settle, and now Sanford will be on the same talk shows discussing the consequences when you do.

Sanford's book is called Staying True, written because her husband wasn't True Blue. Of all her revelations, one sticks out in my mind. Jenny Sanford acknowledged that she was never in love with Mark Sanford when they got married. "It wasn't exactly love at first sight," she said. "It was more like friendship after first sight."

The former investment banker from Lezard Freres calculated that investing in a resume instead of a person would reap rewards. She did get to be the First Lady of South Carolina. But she didn't get to be the First Lady of his heart.

They produced successful campaigns as well as four adorable sons. It wasn't enough. It rarely is when love isn't the driving force in the relationship.

Can Stepmother Sandra Bullock Be a Better Parent Than Biological Porn Star Mom?

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 9:56pm

Rarely when fathers seek full custody of a child are the facts so stacked against the mother as in the case between "Monster Garage" star Jesse James and his ex-wife, porn star Janine Lindemulder. The couple are battling in court for custody of 5-year-old daughter Sunny. Not only is Lindemulder a porn star, which is a career that one can argue has negative moral and lifestyle implications on a child's upbringing, but she is married to a felon and has an alleged drug problem. James on the other hand is married to Sandra Bullock, who has been called "America's sweetheart."

I guess it won't surprise you that few fathers get full custody. The ones who even attempt it usually have an arsenal of evidence. According to the Association of Matrimonial Lawyers, the majority of cases are now joint custody.

Bullock and James have had sole custody of 5-year-old Sunny for the past six months since Lindemulder was in jail -- yes, jail -- for tax evasion.

Stepfathers Who Inspire – and Some Who Don’t

Posted to Relevant News by Jill Brooke on Sun, 10/11/2009 - 8:36am

Christie Brinkley’s children have the unique distinction of having both the worst and best stepfather in America.

Peter Cook got gonged as a bad stepfather for using his stepson Jack’s computer to look at porn and according to Alexa, he also was nasty to her. But Billy Joel gets an honorary mention as one of the best, because after he and the supermodel divorced and split custody of their daughter Alexa, Christie Brinkley remarried and had two children, Jack and Sailor. But Joel became a loving paternal figure for Alexa’s siblings. In fact, Jack and Sailor call him Uncle Billy. Which is why even though technically he isn’t a stepfather who lived with them, he has shown how elastic the heart can be in extended families and gets our honorary mention.

This list was inspired by the movie “The Stepfather” which is coming out next week. In it, the stepfather is far from a loving helpful figure. Instead, this stepfather is every child’s nightmare.

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