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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.

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

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I-vana Divorce

Posted by Jill Brooke on Tue, 12/02/2008 - 10:42am

In the movie “First Wives Club,” Ivana Trump immortalized the words, “Don’t get mad, get everything.” In her indomitable way, she has done just that by shedding her latest husband, Rossano Rubicondi after seven months of marriage.

In the announcement, Trump said, “Rossano wants to live in Miami and work in Milan. But I am a New Yorker and my family, friends and businesses are here.”

It was no surprise that the marriage disintegrated. After Rubicondi, 35, was photographed snuggling with a blonde and licking a brunette named Sara Varone over the weekend, Trump, 59, trumped him by announcing that she had filed a legal separation three months ago and already said “Ciao.”

As she has often advised others, Ivana Trump had a pre-nup before walking down the aisle in the gardens of Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate belonging to her ex-husband, Donald.

Donald Trump told The New York Post that the family is happy.

"You can't be overly surprised by this, it's unfortunate it [the marriage] ever took place," The Donald told The Post. "The marriage was unfortunate and now it has to be unwound."

The Donald and Ivana had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.

Parents worried about the lasting impact of divorce on their children can take solace from Georgina Bloomberg. The equestrian daughter of New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Georgina says that her parents’ divorce was “the best thing that ever happened.” She was 9 years old when her mother, Susan, and father divorced after 17 years of marriage. That was 1993.

The Bloombergs had just moved into a townhouse on East 79th Street when her parents sat her and her sister, Emma, down and told them they were divorcing.

“I went from having parents who didn't get along and never wanted to be around each other to having parents who are friends,” she told The Post’s Page Six Magazine. In fact, her parents loved she and her sister enough to minimize hostilities and work on an amicable relationship.

It was so amicable that they continued living together in the town house for a year after the split.

At that time, Susan Bloomberg started dating real estate mogul Richard Chapman; then Georgina, her mother, and her sister moved into Chapman's home on East 67th Street. When Susan and Richard broke up, in 1996, she and her daughters moved back in with Mike Bloomberg, who was not yet Mayor of New York City.

“My mom's boyfriends would come and pick her up, but it seemed normal," Georgina added.

Luckily Bloomberg's success as a businessman provided a lot of space in the house. But under any circumstances, this was a divorce where the couple realized that they were bonded forever because of the kids. They could find ways to like each other based on what initially attracted them to each other, and most importantly their mutual love for their children.

Even now that Michael Bloomberg is dating Diana Taylor, they often get together with Susan, now single, for family functions.

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Texas Pastor's Popular Advice: Have More Sex

Posted by Jill Brooke on Wed, 11/26/2008 - 10:04am

Moses may have passed the Ten Commandments on to the Israelites, but a preacher has added a new one. Thou must have sex every day for a week. And guess what? Couples say it is helping their marriage.

As The New York Times reported, on November 16, Rev. Ed Young, a TV host and pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church in Texas, told his parishioners to have a week of "congregational copulation." He did so while preaching in front of a large bed and reading from the Bible.

In encouraging people to have more sex, he noted that it would turn people from "whining about the economy to whoopee."

And having more whoopee certainly has helped improve people's moods and mindsets.

Lisa Young, the pastor's wife, who gamely dressed in knee-high black boots and jeans, noted that a week of sex may even help people forgive infidelities, addiction to pornography and bitter hurts, although, she said, in addition, “there’s been some pain.”

As we've reported, infidelity is hard to forgive; maybe sex can be as helpful as therapy, which many can't afford right now. It's hard to have sex with someone you feel betrayed by, but maybe the lack of sex was a cause of problems too.

After all, in the early stages of courting before marriage, most couples are having a lot of sex. That eventually tapers off with the strain of kids, jobs and mortgages. The Youngs, parents of four children, have been married for 26 years and can relate to these real-life problems. As Rev. Young jokes, kids stand for "keeping intimacy at a distance successfully."

If you make the time to have sex, it will bring you closer to your spouse and to God, he said. You will perform better at work, leave a loving legacy for your children to follow, and may even prevent an extramarital affair.

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The divorce is final between Madonna and Guy Ritchie, and she can continue being a material girl.

Ritchie, who has his own wealth (estimated at more than $50 million), didn't want manimony and they both keep their assets.

The terms Madonna cited were "unreasonable behavior" by Ritchie — though the decree did not elaborate on what that could be. But what is reasonable is that they worked out an arrangement that didn't escalate into an ugly painful public battle a la Heather Mills and Paul McCartney. That divorce case has become a cautionary tale for any one.

Madonna and Ritchie worked out a custody arrangement where his sons Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006, can split their time between Britian and the United States.

But as we reported before, this is still a loss for the children since they will only get to see one parent periodically. When school is in session in the States, it's not as though Guy can just take them out for a quick Wednesday dinner or a weekend soccer game. There will be extended time away from his children. But like many fathers, he will deal with the cards he's dealt and play his best hand. Plus, the advantage of cellphones is that you can use them and soon the kids will be of age for email.

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Madonna is about to find out that she can’t flex her muscles when it comes to her soon-to-be ex-husband’s parenting style. The self-described control freak reportedly gave a list of rigid rules documenting what Guy Ritchie could and couldn’t do when he has sons Rocco, 8, and David, 3.

The list reportedly included a ban on TV, no Miley Cyrus for these boys, no non-organic food such as microwaved pizza and soda, nor any clothes that were not 100 percent cotton and sent by her. She even wanted her total blessings on what water they drank — Kaballah preferred — and no toys that are “spiritually or ethically unsound.”

What this sounds like is a recipe for disaster.

Divorced women tell me all the time that the hardest part of divorce is not leaving the husband but leaving the kids with him. And if you, like Madonna, are used to control, it becomes agony to realize the limited power you now have over your ex-spouse’s parenting style. It’s as though handcuffs have been put on you just when you thought you were finally liberated.

“Moms go nuts about this but all they can do is write to Dear Abby or Firstwivesworld,” says noted divorce lawyer Raoul Felder. “The courts will not mini-manage or arbitrate parenting styles unless it involves safety or basic acceptable serious judgment issues.”

Such as?

“Other than allergies like peanuts, religion and sky diving, the hand of the parent who turned the kids over for their weekend with Pop has about as much to say in what the kids do there as Bush does in the choice of the next Secretary of State,” Felder says. “But isn’t that what week-end Dads are all about? Lot’s of hot dogs, chocolate and crummy blood and gory movies.”

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Former Host of "The View" Blindsided by Divorce

Posted by Jill Brooke on Mon, 11/17/2008 - 12:38pm

This was something that former View host Debbie Matenopoulos didn’t want to see. On Internet sites, there were rumors that her husband was cheating. Now to her shock and dismay, her husband, the music executive Jay Faires, has surprised her by filing divorce papers in California.

"I am deeply saddened by the dissolution of my seven-year relationship with my husband, a man I truly believed I would be with forever," Matenopoulos said in a statement to E! News, where she now works. “Although my public persona may seem unconventional at times, I do not take marriage and family lightly, and I am quite traditional.”

Faires filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court citing the usual — irreconcilable differences. He also said that, since the couple does not have any children and she is gainfully employed, he should not have to provide any spousal support.

It appears, he wasn’t supporting the relationship for some time. The couple, who married in July of 2003, did separate in March of this year. But like many women, Matenopoulos thought they were going through a rough patch and that maybe a separation would give them time to appreciate what they had.

But perhaps she should have read How To Tell If Your Man Is Cheating. Although she may have known that less than 5 percent of couples who separate ever get back together, hope is something all of us have when it comes to reviving troubled relationships.

Before it is truly over, women try really hard and are willing to forgive many sins in an effort to keep their marriages afloat. However, the boat has now left the dock and Matenopoulos will sail on solo, seeking a safe harbor with someone who will appreciate her, which is just what she deserves.

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Mothers Are Tightening Their Purse Strings

Posted by Jill Brooke on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 12:14pm

Leave it to Moms to give researchers a spoonful of reality. A poll of online mothers conducted by Allen & Gerritsen on the economic challenges facing the US found that 80 percent thought Americans had been encouraged by the culture to overextend themselves and that 58 percent believed the average American is too greedy.

The researchers recognized that moms “teach and enforce family values” – and manage family pocketbooks – and believe that these findings may predict more saving and less spending. That seems confirmed by figures for retail sales for October, released this morning, which showed a 2.8 percent decline from the previous month. That’s the biggest drop the Commerce Department has recorded since measures began in 1993.

Maybe that isn’t so good for Coach and Gucci but it certainly will be for the culture at large. And this way Mom won’t have to ask Junior to support her down the road.

A&G surveyed moms to get a pulse on how the economy will affect their purchasing behavior. The report didn't make distinctions between divorced or married moms but I would bet the single moms have already been on a fiscal diet for some time and are quite good at it.

According to the report, 65 percent of the mothers said they were eliminating purchases that are not absolutely necessary, and 52 percent were cutting back in general. Some 71 percent say they have made more sacrifices this year than last. Only 49 percent say that the economic situation may improve within the next year, but perhaps President Obama can alter that view.

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Have you ever wondered how difficult it must be for Jennifer Aniston to see Angelina Jolie portrayed as a model mother on magazine covers? To her credit, Aniston, who divorced Brad Pitt after he started an affair with Jolie while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith, has stayed mum about their relationship. She did slip once when she mentioned how Pitt and Jolie were insensitive for portraying a 50's family scene in W Magazine when the wounds of her break-up were still so raw.

But she didn't unleash — except to girlfriends like Courteney Cox — her feelings about the woman who seduced her husband. Until now. She is promoting her Christmas movie, Marley & Me, and it seemed the right time to unload. (The title of her next film, He’s Just Not That Into You, might be too close to home.)

In the December issue of Vogue magazine, Aniston commented on her annoyance at Jolie for recounting a detailed timeline of how she fell in love with Pitt.

"There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening," said Aniston, who could have benefiting from reading our story on How to Catch a Cheating Husband.

"I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss,” Aniston said. “That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool."

Yet she seems to have less icy feelings toward her ex, Brad Pitt, who was equally responsible for the affair. After all, it takes two to do a tantric tango.

"[We've exchanged] a few very kind hellos ... and congratulations on your babies," she said.

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Rebecca Romijn knows a thing or two about X-Men and wants to set the record straight. In an interview with Page Six magazine, Romijn, who starred as Mystique in the X-Men movies, refuted rumors that her divorce from John Stamos happened because she didn’t want kids.

“There is absolutely no truth to that,” said Romijn who has a recurring role in the hit television show Ugly Betty. “I desperately wanted kids. I was never a girl who dreamed about what her wedding day would be like, but I’ve always dreamed about decorating my baby’s nursery.”

Well, her dream is coming true. Now happily married to Jerry O’Connell, who played a detective in the TV series Crossing Jordan, she is seven months pregnant with twin girls and looks, as she says, like a “beached whale.”

Romijn was married to Stamos (best known from ER) from 1998 to 2005. But one can suppose that she may have had lingering doubts about the relationship, and wanted to wait until she was certain about the marriage before building a family. Sometimes you don’t really know someone until you live with them for a while. They can be fun boyfriends or even a romantic husband but a wife might wonder if they have the qualities to be a good family man.

As for O’Donnell, Romijn said, “I knew early on he would be a fantastic dad. He’s a pragmatic, smart, savvy, enthusiastic person. He really lives his life with tremendous integrity and he’s a healthy person in every single way.”

The couple married in 2007. O’Connell had to backtrack on a comment he made on Conan O’Brien’s show in September, when he called his wife “huge.” He told People magazine, "I meant to say that there are specific areas of my wife that are larger than normal and growing every day. All other portions of my wife are quite petite. I apologize to her and will be coming home with flowers."

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Some call it karma or comeuppence,  or stars colliding but not in your favor: Sienna Miller's romance with "Brothers and Sisters" star Balthazar Getty now seems over.  Sources say that Getty was stalling getting the divorce he had promised, and now the relationship is over.

As we reported, Miller was caught canoodling with the very married Getty this summer. The affair sparked a lot of criticism since Getty has a wife and four children, one just a baby.

Although his representative released the standard defensive, that the actor had had problems in his relationship before this happened and he and his wife were in the midst of separating, the news came a shock to his wife, Rosetta.

In the past four months, Rosetta has played it smart by building her own life away from her husband but still welcoming him to share the children's birthdays and school events. This allowed him to see what he was missing while the novelty of something new perhaps wore off with the ho-hum of everyday life. Plus, it's hard to be involved in a relationship that so many disapprove of, something the couple faced on a daily basis. Getty complained about the intrusiveness of the press, calling it "dangerous."

Last weekend, Miller acknowledged to Us Magazine that it's "nice not to have a relationship that the press constantly want to scrutinize."

Well Sienna, the press wouldn't be scrutinizing it as much if you were not with a married man.

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