14 DAY TRIAL // Love has been dealt a very hard blow this summer, at least in showbiz. After the shocking announcement that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were done after 10 years as husband and wife, comes another one, just as unexpected: Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale are pulling the plug on their 13-year marriage.
Much like Ben and Jen, Gwen and Gavin have 3 children together and were often hounded by the paparazzi when out with their beautiful family. They were considered one of the golden couples in showbiz and part of the reason for that was that they seemed to have found the recipe for a lasting marriage in this fickle industry.
Divorce papers have been filed
“While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment,” the two say in a joint statement announcing the divorce.
They have 3 children together, Kingston, 9, Zuma, 6, and Apollo, 17 months, and will do their best to ensure that the divorce has as little impact as possible on them.
TMZ reports that the divorce papers have already been filed, with Gwen doing it first. She’s asking for joint custody of the kids and has checked the box on the form denying Gavin spousal support. He filed in response within hours and is also asking for joint custody.
As per the same media outlet, the two don’t have a prenup, which means that everything they have will be put together and divided in 2. Gwen is reportedly worth about $80 million (€72.9 million), thanks to her successful music career, fashion lines and TV gigs, while Gavin has made from his music and related endeavors about $35 million (€31.9 million).
The split was “a long time coming”
While news of the divorce might come as a shock to fans, it didn’t to those close to the couple, who knew what they’d been through in recent years, insiders reveal for Us Weekly.
It’s true, they’ve been plagued by rumors like any other celebrity couple (or perhaps more, especially following his 2010 admission of once experimenting with a “male lover,” who eventually came out to claim they’d had a 6-year affair), but they always seemed strong enough to weather any storm.
As per insiders, they fell out of love a while back, long before Apollo was born. They struggled to make the relationship work and even felt like it was on the right track when their third child was born, but in time, they realized that it was best for both if they just went on their separate ways.
They settled everything related to the divorce, including custodial and financial issues, months in advance, so the filing and the announcement were the last step.