SAN DIEGO, October 31, 2011 – The rumors about reality show star Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kris Humphries turned out to be true. In a move knocking Herman Cain’s gospel karaoke out of the headlines, Ryan Seacrest confirmed on his nationally broadcast radio show and on his Twitter account that Kardashian filed for divorce from her husband of 72 days in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Kardashian later issued an "official" statement to E! News, which should change its name to K! News and be done with it.
Various sources including TMZ.com report that family CEO and mother-in-law Kris Jenner was not happy about Humphries’ lack of participation in the family business. Is it just me, or does this sound like being married to the mob? It was also reported the couple disagreed about where to live. Humphries wanted to live in Minnesota, but the Karadashian clan is all in Los Angeles.
Within hours of the filing, TMZ.com published a copy of the paperwork online. Is there nothing this woman doesn’t orchestrate for the media, even her divorce? Never let a good crisis go to waste.
Where's the groom? People Magazine's wedding special issue didn't include many photos of the couple.
Like many people, I believe this marriage was all about the Kardashian celebrity business machine. The Kardashian family is strategic about finding ways to remain in the public eye. It’s hard to top staging a $10 million wedding with People Magazine exclusives and reality TV licensing rights, the boulder-sized ring and the Vera Wang wedding gown. While the existence of a prenuptial agreement isn’t necessarily evidence of a pre-planned exit strategy, in this case it lends more weight to this theory.
No doubt many people will simply shrug and pass this off as one more bit of celebrity gossip, sensational for a short time and then immediately forgotten.
But what is happening here is not without lasting consequences for society. Many people are concerned about threats to the institution of marriage. What does real and lasting damage to the institution of marriage are crazy celebrity marriages built on nothing more than headline-making weddings intended to generate a profit that inevitably fall apart in a very public way.
The Kardashian family: Married to the mob? StarTracksPhotos
No matter what you personally think of Kim Kardashian, she is idolized and admired by millions of people, particularly young women who aspire to her glamorous life. Their beloved role model can do no wrong. They will not blame Kim or her husband for their problems. They will blame marriage itself. If the Kardashian fairy tale wedding doesn’t have a happy ending, how can any ordinary marriage have a chance of success?
This is one more reason why the rate of marriage among Americans ages 25 to 34 is the lowest in the U.S. Census Report’s recorded history. Younger Americans are cynical and dismayed about their own hopes for marriage. Many watched their own parents go through difficult divorces and lived with the consequences. Instead of taking any chance on getting burned they discard marriage as a defense mechanism. Who can blame them, really?
I am sympathetic when a couple believes they have made a mistake getting married. They should do their sincere best to work through their differences, but when there are no children involved they have more freedom to call it a day. Marriage should never be a prison sentence.
Despite the fact that I have handled hundreds of divorces and have witnessed all of the terrible things people can do to each other, I still believe that modern marriage should be for love at its heart, the kind of love where one spouse always puts the other first, in front of everything else: in-laws, children, where they live, and money.
Perhaps there is another lesson to be learned here. If any of the presidential candidates had a name starting with a K, maybe Americans would pay more attention to the 2012 election campaign. Herman Kain, anyone?
Myra Chack Fleischer founded Fleischer & Associates in 2001 and serves as Lead Counsel with a focus on divorce, property, custody and support, settlement agreements, mediation, asset division and family law appeals. Read more Legally Speaking in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Fleischer & Associates on Facebook and on Twitter @LawyerMyra
Copyright © 2011 by Fleischer & Associates, Attorneys at Law
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