Question over a long-standing marriage

[Harty Muli]

I completely agree with what others have said. Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors or what was actually tried and not tried. None of us should judge because we don’t know what they were actually facing.

Thanks for the comment. The prob is that Mark is a public figure. Like any other celebrity, people want to know everything about him even what is behind the closed doors.

[Harty Muli]

I think that each relationship is really complicated, and it is impossible to know the extent of the internal conflict without living it oneself. It is entirely possible for divorced and remarried parents to raise well-adjusted and loved kids, so I think that Mark made what he believed to be the best decision for him and his family.

I agree totally. I hope he will get to reconcile with his children from the first marriage. Otherwise he would have failed as a father.

[Harty Muli]

I think that the idea you mention is an excellent one in a world where are relationships are great and people can live happily ever after. Unfortunately, from an outsider perspective, that is simply not realistic. There are many internal factors that determine how hard someone tries to save a relationship and things often just don't work out.

I agree with your comments. As a celebrity at least Mark could have tried to shed some light on some of these internal factors. Maybe in another Chicken Food for the Soul novel specifically for married and unmarried couples!

[Pauline Parnell]

Divorce is a complex topic. The Bible only mentions adultery as a cause of divorce. Perhaps Mark met someone he felt he had to leave his wife behind because he could not live without them. If it was for the best, it's difficult to say.

[Hubre De Klerk]

I don't believe in staying together due to kids, but it depends on the situation. As someone who came out of an abusive relationship with a toddler, that question was thrown at me a lot. But I see that it depends on what is going on in the marriage/relationship and what are you showing your children is right. Staying in an abusive relationship shows your children you accept what is happening and that there is nothing wrong with it, which is the completely wrong image to portray. So, it is difficult to judge unless you know EXACTLY what is going on and how many times have they maybe already tried to rebuild the relationship.

[Patty Allread]

No "outsider" can fully know what has happened within marriage and whether the couple has made the best and most ethical choice or not. Even under the best circumstances, divorce is very difficult, so I'm not inclined to judge others on their choices.

[Chiwelite Obioma Mgbeoji]

To be fair, we may never really know what went down in the relationship as regards to how the parties in it saw their marriage or what they saw it to be. Optimist or not, I do not believe that anyone should remain in a union they no longer believe in and try to fix what may seem to be unfixable. Either way he made his choice.

[Meghan Sica]

Sometimes marriage looks one way to those observing, but feels very different to those involved. There is so much involved in maintaining a marriage. I work at mine every day. There are so many times where I have wanted to call it quits, but continued pushing through all the flaws of my partner and seeing the brighter side of things. Sometimes I think people just can't over look the flaws, or they're tired of trying.

[Harty Muli]

Divorce is a complex topic. The Bible only mentions adultery as a cause of divorce. Perhaps Mark met someone he felt he had to leave his wife behind because he could not live without them. If it was for the best, it's difficult to say.

Yes, I agree with you there on the biblical grounds for divorce. What is clear is that the circumstance of their divorce was so personal they couldn't grant Mark's biographer an opportunity for an interview with them.

[Harty Muli]

I don't believe in staying together due to kids, but it depends on the situation. As someone who came out of an abusive relationship with a toddler, that question was thrown at me a lot. But I see that it depends on what is going on in the marriage/relationship and what are you showing your children is right. Staying in an abusive relationship shows your children you accept what is happening and that there is nothing wrong with it, which is the completely wrong image to portray. So, it is difficult to judge unless you know EXACTLY what is going on and how many times have they maybe already tried to rebuild the relationship.

Thank you for sharing your story. The issue of violence in marriage is one major reason for toxicity in a relationship. I agree with you that staying together for the sake of the children is not a good option. The couple can agree to separate even if they are not divorcing. However, their biographer's conjecture may remain to be the only possible reasons as to why they divorced.

[Harty Muli]

No "outsider" can fully know what has happened within marriage and whether the couple has made the best and most ethical choice or not. Even under the best circumstances, divorce is very difficult, so I'm not inclined to judge others on their choices.

Agreed. We will have to be content with what Mitzi, Mark's biographer, observed.

[Harty Muli]

To be fair, we may never really know what went down in the relationship as regards to how the parties in it saw their marriage or what they saw it to be. Optimist or not, I do not believe that anyone should remain in a union they no longer believe in and try to fix what may seem to be unfixable. Either way he made his choice.

Agreed. The biography reader though has an idea on what may have transpired to cause the breakup to their marriage.

[Harty Muli]

Sometimes marriage looks one way to those observing, but feels very different to those involved. There is so much involved in maintaining a marriage. I work at mine every day. There are so many times where I have wanted to call it quits, but continued pushing through all the flaws of my partner and seeing the brighter side of things. Sometimes I think people just can't over look the flaws, or they're tired of trying.

Thank you for your contribution. Based on my own experience, I agree with you. Marriage is composed of people with different values and traits. To last, the parties involved must reach a compromise. Where this fails, I guess that's when people contemplate divorce.

[ThankGod Onyishi]

I think only partners can truly understand the issues they face in their relationship and the reasons for their separation. A person may only state one reason for separation. However, there could be several problems that built up to that moment making the relationship irreconcilable.

[Harty Muli]

I think only partners can truly understand the issues they face in their relationship and the reasons for their separation. A person may only state one reason for separation. However, there could be several problems that built up to that moment making the relationship irreconcilable.

That's true. From the book, the couple's former accountant thought it was an issue of finance and Mark's former wife's spending habits. But this is just his word, nothing more. Thanks.