The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
All marriages are not the same and neither are divorces. Sometimes parties can amicably split, but more often than not, parties would rather endure root canal than remain friendly with their ex-spouses especially when there are children involved.
It seems these days that a lot of eyes focus on celebrities, their extravagant lifestyles, sometimes outrageous behaviors, their loves and losses, as well as their careers so what better place to examine familial and/or post-marital relationships.
Demi Moore and Valerie Bertinelli are examples of good divorces. Demi Moore, who married Ashton Kutcher, following her divorce from Bruce Willis, still remains good friends with her ex-husband. In fact, Demi and Ashton were among the guests at Bruce’s wedding in 2009 to Emma Henning. In 2006, Bruce Willis was quoted as saying that he is good friends with his ex-wife’s new husband.
Another example of a great divorce is Valerie Bertinelli’s split from rocker husband, Eddie Van Halen. In January of this year Valerie Bertinelli remarried businessman, Tom Vitale. Valerie’s ex, Eddie Van Halen, and Eddie’s new wife, were guests at the wedding and even posed for pictures together with the happy couple. While these friendly divorces seem almost fairy tale in nature, the stark reality is that most divorces are not so nice.
Who can forget this nasty celebrity divorce: Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger? The couple divorced in 2002 after nine years of marriage, but the battle continued for years afterwards over the custody of their daughter, Ireland. It made international headlines especially after Mr. Baldwin left a voice mail tirade on the phone to his then 11 year old daughter in 2007 by calling her, among other things, a “rude . . . pig.” Mr. Baldwin made claims of parental alienation and eventually the matter was resolved. . . but at what cost to the child? Some other recent horrific divorces involve Tiger Woods, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid and Kelsey Grammar[i].
But the Oscar for the nastiest break up ever goes to Charlie Sheen. . . . this time for his marriage to Wife number 3, Brooke Mueller, who has filed for divorce. She was recently granted a restraining order and custody of their twin sons after their father’s recent highly publicized meltdown. It seems that Charlie would have learned a lesson following his ugly divorce from former wife, Denise Richards, that involved joint allegations of the other’s unfitness as a parent and abusive behavior.
In short, divorces are never easy, but you can always follow the advice that actor Will Smith gave to Bruce Willis after his divorce, “He told me that you have to put the kids first, and even if it’s awkward you have to get together with the new girlfriend or spouse – whoever it is. It was just great advice.”[ii]
[i] Although not officially married, these breakups are notable: Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva; Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins; and Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry. [ii] http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/Bruce+Willis-2911.html