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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. Being in "d" know is just clicks away.

Donna Carlisle's picture

Hoff's in the House...But Why?

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Fri, 02/29/2008 - 10:00am

Former Baywatch hunk David Hasselhoff has won a court order to return to his family home to retrieve certain possessions that were apparently worth, to him, an extra few visits to court.

So, what couldn't the Hoff live without?

Among the items listed were: an antique barber's chair, an ivory tusk, a statue of a dolphin, a model elephant, and some baseball memorabilia. I guess he already has his Baywatch float in his new digs.

Hoff and his ex Pamela Bach's divorce was settled in December, tying up loose ends like spousal and child support, and custody issues of the couple's two daughters. The two share custody, though any monetary details of the split were not released.

I suppose this is just more evidence of boys becoming rather attached to their toys.

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(Photo: AP)

Donna Carlisle's picture

Winehouse Puts Divorce Rumors To Rest

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 1:00pm

Amy Winehouse is making it clear she has no interest in divorcing her forcibly separated husband. At least not yet.

Blake Fielder-Civil was in court Friday and as they were escorting him back to jail, Amy yelled out "I love you handsome, gorgeous, I love you!"

Love must be terribly blind. I can't imagine anyone coming from jail looking particularly handsome or gorgeous. Apparently Winehouse herself didn't look so great, appearing as though she'd just woken up and headed on down to the courthouse.

She did show up with her mother-in-law, which to me is more telling of a divorce-less marriage than the public declarations of love.

Amy has already cleared part of her tour schedule so she can support her husband while he undergoes trial for tampering with a witness in his assault case. If this one does head to divorce court, it'll be the handsome, gorgeous man who initiates it, and not the bed-headed woman.

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Just a couple days after Christmas, Brendan Fraser announced that he and his wife Afton have separated. Looks like George will be prowling the urban jungle soon!

The two have been married for nine years and have three children together. Fraser's publicist has stated that the two "continue to maintain a close and caring friendship." No word yet on whether he has moved out of the family home, or if divorce papers have even been filed on either's behalf.

Of course, in Hollywood, it's not really over until the papers are filed and those pesky irreconcilable differences are brought to light. Then again, as Pamela Anderson and many others have shown us, filing is no guarantee of a final split, either, though that is much more typical of a nine-week marriage than a nine-year marriage.

Here's hoping that if there is a divorce, they can handle it maturely and do what is best for themselves and for their children. Here's also hoping I see Mr. Fraser on New Year's around 11:59 pm.

Happy New Year everyone!

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Donna Carlisle's picture

Three Years To Party

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Thu, 12/27/2007 - 11:00am

Snoop Dogg is well known for many things, none of which are traits that would be particularly helpful in a marriage. Snoop filed for divorce from his wife Shante in 2004 after they'd been together for seven years and had three children.

However, an apparently remorseful Snoop has said he now does not wish for divorce because he realizes how much he would lose. He claims he doesn't want to lose his family. I think losing half his bling would make him think twice about making the split final.

He was the one who wanted the split in the first place, and most of it was due to his being "caught up with Hollywood". As many could probably guess, he was very much into partying and carousing with other women, but realized that what he had at home, and what he was potentially "giving up" was "irreplaceable".

As Naomi Dunne mentioned in her previous post, another concern of his was that another man could possibly be raising his three children, which was not acceptable to him. Since he's previously gone on record saying that he's so protective of his eight-year-old daughter Cori that he insists she stays single until old age, it would probably help if she could actually pick him out of a line-up. I'm sure his wife, no Dogg herself, had others knocking on her door once those divorce papers were turned in, but whether she got cozy with any suitors is anyone's guess.

Really, it's good that he's realized the importance of his family and his wife, but seriously, did it have to come to this for him to figure it out? Three years is an awful long time to party.

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Pamela Anderson may have jumped the gun on this relationship.

Reportedly Pam filed for divorce on Friday from husband Rick Salomon, and it is the third marriage for both of them. If you're wondering who he is, he's the co-creator of that highly-publicized sex tape with Paris Hilton. Yeah, she picked a real winner here.

So, the divorce news really wasn't that shocking. When I heard the two were to be wed I actually bookmarked it as something I'd be able to write about in the near future. The two were wed in Vegas in October, bringing this whirlwind romance to an end just two and a half months after it began. Hey, she beat her last marriage time by over two weeks! Good job girl!

Well, she's apparently going to try and beat the old record. That's right, after filing on Friday, she says that her and her exhibitionist hubby have decided to try and work things out. A source close to the couple says that they had a major fight, but they've made up now and things are all good.

Okay, I really don't know if the change of heart is valid, or if this was all a publicity stunt, but seriously. Who enters into divorce proceedings without being sure that's the only way to solve the issue? I realize it's Hollywood, but even so, she had it planned out. She was asking for spousal support and for him to shoulder the legal cost, which would of course result in some lengthy court proceedings.

I don't know what caused the turnaround, but I'm still willing to bet this one's over within a month.

Donna Carlisle's picture

Celebrities: Good, Bad, And Very Ugly

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Fri, 11/09/2007 - 12:00pm
Good. Bad. Very ugly. That's always the way in Hollywood, right? Expect to see a lot more ugly, since — let's face it — divorce is rarely pretty.

The Good...
Former sweethearts Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams are trying to make their daughter as comfortable as possible by decorating her bedrooms at their respective houses exactly the same. Reps say this is so their two-year-old won't feel uncomfortable when visiting Daddy. Momma Michelle got the former family house of course. It's sweet to see a couple that cares that much about their kid! Very much like...

The Bad...
Brad Garrett and his ex — while I would like to put the news of his divorce under "good", simply because of the seemingly amicable way it was handled and settled, let's face it, divorce is never all good. The two have agreed to share legal and physical custody of their two children, and Brad is paying his former spouse $20,000 a month in child support and $35,000 a month in spousal support. Damn, those Raymond reruns must pay off big time. At least he's not...

Donna D'Errico, who was refused a delay in her divorce from Motley Crue band member Nikki Sixx. Her reasons for delaying the trial were due to her health and her claims that she could not find a new attorney because of wildfires. The judge apparently felt that she represented herself well enough in court to deny her request. He offered no sympathy in regards to her lack of representation since she fired her most recent attorney. It's not all fun in the sun for this former Baywatch babe, but it can always be worse. And that brings us to...

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Donna Carlisle's picture

Divorce: Celebrity Style

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 12:00pm
For the most part, celebrities who are divorcing seem able to decide on things in a civil and calm manner. It's those select few, though, that leave us baffled but still clamoring for every juicy, dirty, scandalous detail. Why is that?

It's probably because it's something we'd like to do ourselves if we had unlimited funds and the backing of the American public. Who wouldn't like to embarrass their ex in front of millions?

The thing is, that's the real motivation for many celebs. It's the divorce game on a grand scale, and strategy is of the utmost importance if you want to retain your money, child custody, and a good enough public image to be able to work again.

Private staff become chess pawns. One unnamed person paid their housekeeper double to ensure her loyalty during proceedings. Nannies are called upon to make declarations of drug or alcohol abuse. Investigators get hired, professionals called in to make assessments, and all these services add up.

You'd think such actions would indicate a great desire for the parties in question to have their kids. In the Britney Spears case, most of their debate has been about custody lately. With Heather Mills' latest rants on camera, Paul McCartney is using her claims against her in an attempt to take full custody of their daughter. I reported earlier in the week how her opening up could be more damaging than helpful to her case. She's just trying to play the game too, although she's clearly not very good at it.

At some point, it seems the focus gets away from the kids. It's just about winning, and celebrities don't mind stretching things out as long as it takes — they can blow a million or two on divorce-related costs and not really feel it. At the end of the day, if their significant other ends up looking bad, that's what counts. If they walk away with the children, that's even better.

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Donna Carlisle's picture

Shadows From The Past At NYSE

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Tue, 11/06/2007 - 12:00pm
Wouldn't you hate it if things said behind closed doors were suddenly made public?

Former New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso might be sweating a little. A new book discussing Grasso's time on the NYSE reveals that he was questioned about having an extramarital affair and fathering a child with his supposed mistress.

In 2004, then-State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a suit against Grasso seeking to reclaim over half of the money he made during his eight years as chairman. Mr. Grasso was paid around $190 million dollars, which Spitzer contends is a violation of state laws governing not-for-profit organizations.

Most of the testimony was released to the public already, but this particular interview was kept under wraps until now. Grasso was interrogated about a woman named Karen Ross, a childhood friend of his.

The personal nature of the questions stemmed from emails that Spitzer seemed to think were indicative of an affair. Whether the alleged affair is current or past wasn't specified. Apparently, Grasso paid part of Ms. Ross's daughter's college tuition, and Spitzer asked him point blank if the child were related to him in some way. The only way she could be is if he had fathered her.

Grasso never lost his cool, but his attorney fired back that the subject matter being discussed wasn't related at all to the case and it was private information. The question was asked again and Grasso simply replied, "No."

Admittedly, this doesn't make Grasso look nearly as bad as the Attorney General's office, but still — if I were Mrs. Grasso, I might be checking out his emails just in case.

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Donna Carlisle's picture

C’est La Vie

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Thu, 10/18/2007 - 11:00am
As the old saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire.

Earlier this week I reported on French president Nicholas Sarkozy and the persistent rumors that his wife had plans to divorce him. Today, France's first couple has confirmed they are separating by mutual consent.

Various French news sources had reported seeing Cecilia Sarkozy visit a judge on Monday. One claimed her husband accompanied her and they filed for separation, another said the judge visited the president after his wife filed alone.

Divorce, especially in the political realm, is always bound to bring up debate, but in France's case there's controversy over whether a full divorce is even constitutional.

Some experts in France are arguing that an article in the French constitution used to bolster presidential protection prevents anyone, including a spouse, from bringing legal action against the president.

Even a mutual consent divorce could be tricky due to legal protections used to keep sitting presidents out of court.

If it all plays out the way experts suggest, Cecilia might be stuck as the first lady of France until her husband is out of office. International debate, here we come!

A public statement confirming the separation said the pair won't comment on the separation.

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Donna Carlisle's picture

Boys Do Cry

Posted by Donna Carlisle on Tue, 10/16/2007 - 11:00am
Indie isn't just a genre for Kathryn Tucker and John Sloss. The two have called it quits after reportedly being on the skids for some time. One insider even claims "Tucker cut her wedding ring off while pregnant with no intention of ever putting it back on."

Tucker is best known for making "The Station Agent," while Sloss is the executive producer behind "Boys Don't Cry" and "Far From Heaven."

Most celebs ditch the spouse with some visible partying, enjoying the company of friends, or spending much more public time with their little ones. The indie world, of course, does things a bit differently, with dueling events. Tucker hosted a fundraiser for Natural Resources Defense Council the same night Sloss's new production premiered at the New York Film Festival.

Consider all the revenue if only all divorcing celebs duked it out with fundraisers.

No word yet on the terms of the divorce or division of assets.

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