14 DAY TRIAL // I don't know what it is that makes the divorce of two stars so important to us, but the point is that such a thing soon enough becomes public knowledge, with tens or even thousands of newspapers and news agencies covering the story. Many say that it's man's unstoppable and unsatisfied curiosity the cause that makes us all read with rapt attention each headline or stay with our eyes glued to the television set when the anchorman reads the announcement: 'X has decided to file for divorce from Y, citing irreconcilable differences'.
Another explanation for that can reside in that we - as viewers - tend to imagine that the stars we more or less idolize are made of a totally different matter than we are; somewhere, subconsciously, we look up to them and not even for one second do we imagine that they are just as 'human', made of the same flesh and blood that we are. Maybe it's because they get to do the things that we can only dream of, or because we imagine their lives are much easier than ours, as they get to play pretend in front of the cameras, sing and dress pretty and get paid millions of dollars for it, that we believe they are any different than we are.
From this very fact comes this fascination the public has for celebrity divorces. Seeing them fail comes as a confirmation that the stars are - in fact - no better than we are, because they can also make mistakes, and on a personal level, too. Sure, they do tend to get a divorce every two years or so and their marriages are always such big deals, with other millions of dollars thrown on wedding gowns, fancy locations and famous guests.
And here we reach another reason for which we - the fans or the people who pay the stars' outrageous paychecks - are eager to learn as much as we can about two celebrities getting a divorce: they are never content with a simple 'I love you', an 'I do' and be done with it. They have to make a fuss, confess their love in front of the cameras, do acting or singing jobs together, as if to prove to the world that the amazing thing that binds them is for real. As if love needs proof, they all act at times ridiculous, not by means of their passionate declarations, but by the irony that comes out when they eventually break up. You know, they say: the higher the rise, the steeper the fall (or something like that).
Anyway, if you thought that I would be talking about the Britney Spears-Kevin Federline divorce again you were, well... right (sort of). Seeing and reading all about the madness that started once the pop star made her announcement made me think of all of the above. Also, it got me into thinking and re-considering the way celebrities go through the divorce proceedings these days.
I mean, they never do it 'amicably', as they always say when they file for a legal separation. Did you ever wonder why that happens? First, they announce they're separated, then they file for divorce and then the real battle begins, lasting up to a couple of years and ranging from throwing names in the media to bringing to light things that should never become public. Well, the reason is the same and the best ever that was used for fighting any battle: money, or the Almighty Dollar.
When a star marries another star, their millions marry each other. It's all a business of sorts, that can be a very lucrative one, or one that can lead soon enough to bankruptcy. If there's no prenuptial contract to stipulate what happens when the marriage falls apart, then there's hell to pay for the most wealthy of the spouse. Dido in Britney's case. That loser Federline won't give up without a struggle, even if that means hurting his two young children or dragging Britney's name through the mud.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no Brit Brit fan, but it was obvious from the very start who was the bread-earning person in that family. And the fact that K-Fed had the nerve to rub people's faces in with his lame 'rapping', by saying that he's a 'superstar' somehow managed to irritate me more than Paris Hilton's claim to fame ever did. And I bet you ten bucks that I wasn't the only one to have felt that either.
Anyway, I'm not going to go through all that was said or done during the last weeks about the Spears divorce. I'm sure that if you were interested in it, you would read about it. I'm just saying that, while divorce is becoming more and more fashionable among celebrities (let us not forget those instances when air-headed public figures wedded and then had the marriage annulled only in a matter of hours), it's also beginning to be an industry as profitable as marriage itself.
Why is that? Have they lost all consideration for marriage as such or are they too stupid to think about the consequences of their actions? While I tend to incline towards the latter option, I prefer not to pass any judgment, given that I will never have irrefutable evidence of what goes on in those pretty little heads of theirs.
However, one thing will never change: when two celebs wed, people will keep their eyes on them, watching and waiting for the first sign of a crack in their relationship. Because it's only then that the fun part begins, when the s**t literally hits the fan and the money (more for them, less for the rest) starts coming in from all sides.
