Senior Staff Writer
Most people know that the divorce rate in the U.S. has elevated throughout the years and the topic is no longer taboo. According to divorcerate.org, 41 percent of first marriages end in divorce. Divorce has become somewhat of a norm in America – last Wednesday, I was watching an episode of “Modern Family,” and a friend of characters Cam and Mitchell were having second thoughts about marriage. When she came to a conclusion, she said, “I’m going to marry him. What’s the worst that can happen? I get a divorce. People do it all of the time.” She is absolutely right; people know that if their marriage comes to an end they won’t be condemned by society, these days you might even be invited to celebrate a divorce at a divorce party. If divorce is such a common topic, why do people get so wrapped up in the divorces of celebrities?
When a celebrity gets a divorce, it becomes a media circus, everyone wants an interview, and people want to know who is to blame. In some cases, people want to know who is going to get the children. These divorces become the topic of discussion every time you turn on the television, go online, read a magazine or listen to the radio weeks after the word gets out. Sometimes the divorce proceedings outlast the length of the marriages. It goes to show that viewers love to see the imperfection of these assumed to be, by their fans, “perfect” people.
I personally am not always as surprised as others when a celebrity couple breaks up or gets a divorce. People need to understand that celebs marry other celebs, and most often, they have a lot going on. They are both working on their career and may not have time to spend with one another like a regular married couple. They work more than the average weekly hours that most people work, and sometimes the relationships just don’t work out.
I also think that celebs have a higher level of temptation than the average person. People are throwing themselves at these celebrities on a daily basis and sometimes people slip up. I’m not saying infidelity is right but I am saying that it is the reality of the situation.
In my opinion, people feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to knowing the details of a celebrity’s life, especially those who have reality television shows and interact with their fans and followers through Twitter. Because these celebs let viewers into certain aspects of their lives through reality television, viewers expect to know anything they want to know about that celeb. At the end of the day these people are just people trying to live life the same way we are; the only difference is that the world isn’t watching our every move and when we slip up our problems aren’t magnified. But I do think it would help if celebs didn’t broadcast their personal lives on television and social media, sometimes the lines can become blurry when it comes to the reality and fantasy of celebrity lives.
