It seems like every week we report on a new country experiencing an upswing in divorce, and India is no different. I read an eye-opening piece the other day about the rise of Indian divorce, and some of the possible causes.

The article basically said that three things are at the root of the Indian divorce boom. One, couples have more money, making them less dependent on their families for support. Two, women are becoming more economically self-sufficient than ever before, making them less dependent on their husbands. Three, and probably most notably, Western influence has become more ingrained in Indian culture, making the traditional Indian marriage not good enough anymore.

Couples want love, instead of just family-sanctioned baby-making. It seems Indian couples are in a real catch-22. The only way they can break free from traditional cultural norms is to distance themselves from their parents and extended families. If they do that, however, they lose the support structure that is inherent within that way of life. While it's easy to look at a rise in divorce as a bad thing, I think it rarely means that more marriages are failing. It means that just as many marriages are failing, but now the parties involved are empowered enough to do something about it.

The piece referenced one woman, Christina, who ran home to her family because her new husband was beating her and kicking her out of the house in the middle of the night. Her parents' first reaction was the old-style one -- they sent her home and told her to make it work. Later, Christina found out that her husband was gay, and went back to her parents. This time, they welcomed her back, understanding that the marriage wasn't going to work.

To celebrate the week of Valentine's Day, CBS News ran a comprehensive report on the state of marriage and divorce in America. I was expecting to be depressed, or maybe hopeful. I ended up being both.

First, there were stats. The seven-year itch has turned into the eight-year itch, which is progress, I guess. The average age for a first marriage has increased dramatically, which is a hopeful sign — when you're older, there's supposed to be a better chance you know what you're getting yourself into. People of both genders are more educated more now than they have ever been through the entire of human history, which helps. These are good things.

Then the not-so-good. Hidden in the second page of the article are some legal tales from the trenches. Divorce attorneys are saying that people have come to anticipate the high cost of divorce and are often going out of their way to make things more unpleasant for their soon-to-be ex. "It's one thing to get a really good gun, it's another to get lots of ammo with it," said one lawyer. "And when you're really, really mad, and you have the money to do something about it, that's what wars are made of."

His favorite horror story? Valentine's Day. "Having the process server specifically told, 'I want to make sure you get to her on Valentine's Day.' And then if you really want to rub salt in it, they have them film it. Believe it or not, they've done that! To where 'I want to be able to watch it, I want to see it. I want sound'." Sound, people. They want to hear what happens when their spouse's life falls apart on Valentine's Day.

And before anybody gets it in their head that it's men doing this, think again. Two thirds of divorces are filed by women. It's not just the guys being mean, so we can all drop the "men are evil" act right now.

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Where do I even start? I was all prepared to write something quick and funny about the latest Anne Heche drama — the whole lesbian, then not lesbian, then really not lesbian thing was going to feature prominently — and then BAM! I actually read the full article and I'm seriously ticked off.

Heche was married to Coley Laffoon, a cameraman. They split up after five years of marriage. Corey was just scraping by on $15,000 a month in alimony and child support but things have gotten tight and he needs more cash. He's now asking for $22,604. That's in U.S. dollars. Each month. Every month. Twelve times a year.

Laffoon claims this is a dramatic drop in lifestyle since the marriage ended.

I know the whole "starving children in Asia" thing is totally overdone. I know our heartstrings are being pulled just plenty this holiday season. But come on! They spend more a month on Baby Gap than many families of five spend on everything.

I am seriously losing my patience with this. Get a grip, celebrities. You're just not that hard done by.

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