Some celebs have the knack for divorce
PR is clearly at play, but many rich, famous folks make it work
Celebrities caught on candid camera are usually doing something embarrassing — wearing track pants or kissing the wrong partner. But pictures have emerged this week of two A-list stars behaving, well, rather well.
Cosying up like newlyweds, heads pressed together as they smile at something on her iPhone, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin — the most famously consciously uncoupled couple on the planet — looked like they were being plain nice to each other. So much so, the question was posed: “Are they consciously re-coupling?”
“You will many times see them together as they are raising two children,” her publicist, Stephen Huvane, told Rumor Fix, adding, “I don’t know why that is surprising since they were very clear when they announced their break up that they were still very much a family, just not a couple.”
But Huvane was wrong when he went on to insist there was no story because there is: just how are they managing a divorce so well when that split involves all the classic risk factors for prolonged acrimony — children (two), different nationalities, rumours of infidelity and millions of dollars?
Perhaps it is that showbiz need to keep on with the show (as sung by five-times-wed Judy Garland) or to put on a happy face (Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh, seven marriages between them — though none to each other).
Rhiannon Ford, a divorce consultant, thinks we shouldn’t be surprised at how well adjusted they appear to what is a major life event for anyone.
“Yes, they seem on an even keel,” she said, “but remember that this is a couple who have been notoriously private in the past. Suddenly, they are being very public.
“This suggests to me that their separation has been planned and prepared for well in advance of the news being published on Gwyneth’s website as a fait accompli.”
She adds: “I’m not suggesting she is behaving like this to protect her career, though clearly some PR has taken place. But I would say, she thinks it is the right thing to do as a mother. And she knows that she is setting an example to other families that, for example, holidays can be spent together normally. We can’t know how much of this is real or staged, but personally I think they are doing ‘separation’ very well, and are setting a positive example.”
Martin and Paltrow are not the only celebrities to have pulled off a “sunny separation” for their family recently. Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr and actor Orlando Bloom announced they were divorcing six months ago — after three years of marriage and one son, Flynn — with Miranda reportedly interested in “exploring her sexuality” while Orlando was still claiming “a deep love” for his soon-to-be ex-wife.
He explained the lack of animosity: “I’ve said to her, ‘We’re going to be in each other’s lives for the rest of our lives and we have a child, so it’s important to me that we respect each other as we always have and that Flynn feels that and understands that’.”
Kaleel Anwar, a Londonbased lawyer with Slater & Gordon, thinks that all divorcing couples — on the whole — are better behaved when children are involved.
“My clients tend to grow up; they don’t want conflict around the house. And I remind them there’s good research to suggest children perform better and are healthier or happier when Mum and Dad aren’t at each other’s throats.”
Exes Demi Moore and Bruce Willis remain bonded by their three daughters, long after they divorced, holidaying together even after she married Ashton Kutcher in 2005. When Kutcher cheated on Moore, Willis was so cross, he let it be known that he planned to give the young star “a huge talking-to”.
Rod Stewart is known for keeping good relations with all four exes, celebrating Christmas one year with three ex-wives — he called it the “evening of the three blondes and a turkey” — and assorted offspring.