I was sad when I heard about Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe's break-up. They looked like a really cute couple - young, in love, two little kids, a sweet family. 2006 seems to be the year of the divorce. It's rampant if you go by what you read in the paper. The whole Sara Evans scandal - every week someone else comes out with an announcement. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe, Selma Blair and Ahmet Zappa, Matt LeBlanc and Melissa McKnight, Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson, David Hasselhoff and Barbara Bach, and rapid rebounders Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and Tori Spelling and Charlie Shanian. And who could forget Nick and Jessica? That's all just in 2006! And the year isn't over yet...
Here's something interesting to note... none of the women changed their last names. Okay, so they're big Hollywood stars and their name is their "brand" - but to me it makes more of a commitment when you actually change your name. Is there more competition within a celebrity marriage? There must be strain from traveling - but why doesn't love conquer all? We have to assume that they all entered their marriages "til death do us part" - and we have to wonder what went wrong along the way. Living life in the spotlight brings its own burdens. Today any move can be captured on someone's camera phone and posted on the internet within minutes, and it usually is.
The quintessential marriage everyone looks to is Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. They are great role models. Somehow they've managed to stay together, and keep their names out of the tabloids. Dignity, grace, respect, responsibility. It's strange to think that the next longest running marriage might just be Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore's.
