DIVORCE

Dissolving a marriage is not like dissolving a business partnership, or even like deserting from the army. Indeed, many psychologists have stated that it is second in emotional impact only to the death of a spouse.357

On a television show, “Divorce Wars,” a thriving divorce lawyer found himself on the brink of divorce, even though he strongly believed in family life. As he began to ponder why his marriage was falling apart, he asked a friend the following question: “Max, how did you stay married for thirty-five years?”

Max, being older, had a rather illuminating answer: “I guess in our generation we didn’t expect as much from each other—and we ended up getting more.”358

“I will never marry again”—said by Barbara Hutton (who was at the time heiress to the forty-five-million-dollar Woolworth fortune), after divorcing her second husband, Count Kurt Heinrich Haughwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow, in 1941.

“I will never marry again. You can’t go on being a fool forever”—said by Barbara Hutton, after divorcing her third husband, Cary Grant, in 1945.

“This is positively my final marriage”—said by Barbara Hutton, after marrying her sixth husband, Baron Gottfried von Kramm, in 1955.

“He’s a composite of all my previous husbands’ best qualities without any of the bad qualities.… I have never been so happy in my life”—said by Barbara Hutton, after marrying her seventh husband, Prince Doan Vinh de Champacak of Vietnam, in 1964.

In November, 1966 Barbara Hutton and Prince Doan Vinh de Champacak of Vietnam filed for divorce. (Cited by Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky, The Experts Speak [New York: Pantheon, 1984], p. 22.)359

Sylvester Stallone, filmdom’s “Rocky,” was quoted by Sports Illustrated (10/5/79) as saying, “Boxing is a great exercise—as long as you can yell ‘cut’ whenever you want to.”

Many people go into marriage the same way. They figure it’s great mental, emotional, or even physical exercise as long as you can cut out whenever you want to!360