Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man with a resume longer than a cyborg’s memory, has promised to regale readers with details of his divorce with his celebrity wife, Maria Shriver.

And, while this move seems to be about as necessary as the filming of “Terminator Salvation,” the book may reveal interesting nuggets about the divorce that dominated the news cycle for several weeks earlier this year.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, the publisher Simon and Schuster recently announced that it will release Schwarzenegger’s memoir in the fall of 2012. The book is delightfully titled “Total Recall: My Unbelievable True Life Story.”

In statement that reveals the publisher’s high hopes for the book, Jonathan Karp of Simon & Schuster remarked that no other person “has a life story even close to his. Truly, Arnold is one of the most fascinating figures of our time.”

The most interesting pieces of the book may relate to the former governor’s high-profile divorce.

Immediately after Schwarzenegger finished his second term as governor, news reports announced that he had fathered a son with one of the family’s maids. The child was born more than 14 years ago.

The news was even more salacious in light of the fact that the maid’s son is about the same as a son fathered by Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, who is known as a journalist, philanthropist, and member of the fabled Kennedy family.

After learning this news, a devastated Shriver filed for divorce, ending her unlikely marriage with the former weightlifting champion after being together for 25 years.

Rumors of infidelity had long plagued the marriage, but Schwarzenegger and Shriver had much to gain from preserving their unlikely alliance.

The couple’s relationship had been a bizarre match from the start. Schwarzenegger, an inarticulate yet charming muscleman, and Shriver, a well-bred member of America’s most elite family, seemed a strange fit.

But the couple ended up becoming a political powerhouse, especially after Schwarzenegger rose to prominence as the leader of the country’s most populous state.

Now, the five-time Mr. Universe, seven-time Mr. Olympia, former Austrian bodybuilder, and recurring action movie star is taking another turn at authorship.

The upcoming memoir is just the latest in a series of memoirs that Schwarzenegger has published. Previously, he has written books such as “Arnold’s Bodybuilding for Men,” “The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding,” and the modestly titled best-seller, “Arnold.”

Also, the emotional divorce process and rigors of writing a memoir have not sapped Schwarzenegger’s remarkable energy.

He has returned to acting and is currently shooting scenes for his next movie, “The Expendables 2,” which also stars Sylvester Stallone, an aging action star who has gracefully avoided entering politics.

And, in good news for fans of the “Terminator” franchise, Schwarzenegger is planning to film a fifth installment of the popular films.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

According to the British Newspaper The Telegraph, a 51-year-old French man has been fined 10,000 euros for failing to have sex with his ex-wife.

First, before addressing this bizarre divorce tale, it should be mentioned the odds of such a verdict occurring in an American courtroom are slim to none.

While there are some circumstances in which an American may be able to file a tort or contract claim for lack of affection, there is likely no law currently being enforced that requires couples to maintain a physical relationship.

This, however, is not the case with our neighbors across the pond. According to sources, the unlucky French man was fined under article 215 of France’s civil code.

The article in question states that married couples must agree to a “shared communal life.” At trial, a judge in the city of Nice, which is in southern France, ruled that this definition implies that “sexual relations must form part of a marriage.”

In the judge’s words, “A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent.”

The judge further ruled that, “[b]y getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other.”

The lawsuit for lack of sex happened two years after the man’s 47-year-old wife had filed for, and gained, a divorce.

After the divorce was granted, the woman filed the embarrassing lawsuit against her ex-husband, known in court records only as Jean-Louis B.

In the lawsuit, the woman alleged that she deserved compensation from Mr. B. under article 215 because she had suffered from “a lack of sex over 21 years of marriage.”

In his defense, which ultimately proved futile, the man cited “tiredness and health problems” as the reason for his amorous reluctance.

If any lesson is to be taken from this bizarre case, it’s that the law can be used in vastly different ways by divorcing couples, and that it helps to have a strong grasp on one’s legal rights under a particular jurisdiction.

As a result, many people going through a divorce prefer to contact a local divorce lawyer to gain more information about their legal options.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Pat Robertson, the religious broadcaster and frequent contributor to perplexing newspaper headlines, recently made remarks about Alzheimer’s disease and divorce that raised a bit of a controversy.

According to CBS News, Robertson recently told viewers of his popular television show, “The 700 Club,” that it is ethically sound to divorce one’s spouse if he or she becomes afflicted with Alzheimer’s.

To justify his claim, Robertson likened having Alzheimer’s disease to experiencing a “kind of death.”

The remarks didn’t arrive completely out of thin air. Rather, Robertson was responding to a call from a viewer who was asked what advice he should give to a friend whose spouse was recently diagnosed with the debilitating disease.

In his words, Robertson said, “I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again.”

Despite the perceived coldness of these remarks, Robertson also clarified that the man should not ditch his spouse altogether, saying that the man should still “make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her.”

Unfortunately for the veteran broadcaster’s public reputation, Robertson continued to express his views.

When his co-host challenged his views, stating that marriage vows typically involve a promise to stay together until “death do us part,” Robertson claimed that people with Alzheimer’s are facing a sort of death, thus rendering this marriage vow irrelevant.

While divorces are extremely common in the United States, public figures like Robertson often decry rising divorce rates as signs of impending social doom. Such views, of course, ignore the beneficial effects of filing for divorce for people who need a fresh start.

Robertson’s controversial remarks are particularly striking given his usual warnings about morality and American lifestyles. He is commonly known as a staunch defender of traditional marriages.

In addition, his comments also ignored the reality that most marriages in which one or both spouses have Alzheimer’s do not end in divorce.

According to Beth Kallmyer, the Director of Constituent Services of the Alzheimer’s Association, most couples facing Alzheimer’s do not separate and choose to treat the illness just like any other terminal condition.

Kallmyer, however, does acknowledge that taking care of the afflicted person can cause tremendous stress on the other spouse. Thus the physical and emotional challenges of treating a person suffering from Alzheimer’s can lead to the dissolution of a marriage.

By failing to acknowledge the nuances of dealing with the disease within a marriage, and simply advising the caller’s friend to head for the hills, Robertson may have invited the public outcry that ensued.

Fortunately for his career, Robertson wields a tremendous amount of influence at the Christian Broadcasting Network.

When asked his views on Robertson’s remarks, the chairman of the broadcasting company demurred, telling a reporter to get “some ethicist besides me to give you the answer.”

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

The results of a Census Bureau study on American marriages were recently released, and the figures may surprise you.

The study revealed that divorce is much more common among men and women in the South than people in the Northeast.

In the South, per 1,000 married individuals, 10.2 men and 11.1 women had gotten divorced. In contrast, men and women in the Northeast experienced divorce rates of 7.2 and 7.5 percent, respectively.

On average, the national divorce rate was roughly 1 percent, with men at 9.2 per 1,000 and women leading the way with a 9.7 per 1,000 divorce rate.

While the disparity in regional divorce rates may suggest a number of different causes, a family demographer at the Census Bureau believes there is a simple answer for the difference.

According to Diana Elliott, divorce rates are higher in the South simply because “marriage rates are also higher in the South.” With a larger pool of married adults, states in the South will naturally have more total divorces.

Elliott also observed that first marriages in the Northeast, in contrast to marriages in the South, “tend to be delayed and the marriage rates are lower, meaning there are also fewer divorces.”

According to reports, states with below-average divorce rates include Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

On the flip side, states with above-average divorce rates include southern stalwarts like Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, and Mississippi.

The Census Bureau study also analyzed the financial impact of divorce on families. The data offers some uneven results, but it does show that the majority of children living with a parent who divorced in 2009 now live with their mothers.

This reality tends to have some impact on the mothers’ financial well-being, as 23 percent of recently divorced women receive some form of public assistance, compared with just 15 percent of men needing similar assistance.

In addition, recently divorced women have less income than newly divorced men. Roughly 17 percent of men coming out of divorce have incomes below $25,000, while more than a quarter of recently divorced women fall below that income threshold.

These figures shouldn’t suggest that divorce always results in a financial loss. Many divorces provide important emotional relief for both parties that may outweigh any temporary financial inconveniences.

Many people, however, find it necessary to consult with a divorce lawyer in order to gain more knowledge about their legal rights.

Approaching divorce with full knowledge of your legal options may help prevent divorce from being too much of a financial strain, and allow you to seek the fresh start you deserve.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

In the popular imagination, divorce inevitably results in financial disaster and lifelong hostility. But this isn’t always the case.

Amicable divorces are the new hip trend, as evidence by a recent rise in the number of divorce parties, in which the separating couple “celebrates” their divorce with family and friends.

A divorce party may seem like a recipe for disaster, but many people who have them applaud their ability to ease tensions and preserve friendly relationships.

As with any trend, celebrities seem to be at the vanguard of divorce party popularity. The musician Jack White recently held a lively divorce party with his soon-to-be-ex-wife, model Karen Elson.

Jack White seems to have a particular talent for amicable divorces, as he and his first ex-wife, Meg, continued to make music together after their divorce in 2000.

Of course, divorce parties are not limited to famous musicians. Party planners in Las Vegas have reported a sharp increase in events aimed at celebrating a divorce.

According to The National, the idea is also popular in other countries. Most dramatically, in Japan, couples will sometimes smash their wedding rings with hammers in front of friends in order to publicly symbolize their separation.

While amicable separations have received a lot of recent publicity, some counselors warn that the practice isn’t for everyone.

While friendly divorces are not incredibly rare, there are a variety of factors that may lead individuals to adopt a more aggressive approach in a divorce.

Past spousal abuse, poor or abusive parenting, and financial shenanigans may, quite appropriately, lead to a less amicable divorce.

However, if couples are splitting for mutually agreeable purposes, there are several potential advantages of celebrating a divorce.

Perhaps the most notable benefit is the ability for each member of the relationship to retain their mutual friendships. In addition, an amicable divorce can help ease the pain of separation for a couple’s children.

This theory was recently put into practice by Bruce Willis, who decided to take a vacation with his ex-wife Demi Moore and her new beau, Ashton Kutcher.

Willis said he wanted to ensure that his kids were comfortable with their parents’ new living situations.

As he told Harper’s Bazaar, his divorced parents used him and his brother as “pawns in my parents’ game.” By vacationing with Moore and Kutcher, Willis wanted to show his kids “that there’s no point in living with regret or antagonism.”

Willis shows that the divorce process doesn’t have to end in a brutal fight.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

After making a name for herself on The Real Housewives of D.C., reality celebrity Michaele Salahi faced a new reality last Friday – her husband is filing for divorce.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi were wed in 2003 and gained national attention when they snuck into a White House state dinner in 2009. From there, the couple went on to appear in last year’s season of the D.C. edition of Bravo’s Housewives series.

Things went sour last week when Tareq believed Michaele had been abducted. According to TMZ, Tareq called authorities several times Monday and Tuesday explaining his wife had left without taking her belongings.

In the meantime, TMZ broke the story of what really happened when they confirmed with representatives of the rock band Journey that Michaele was in Memphis with the band. According to reports, Michaele has had an ongoing relationship with the band’s guitarist Neal Schon.

The extramarital relationship is what ultimately led to Tareq Salahi’s Friday divorce filing. The papers, filed in Virginia’s Warren Circuit Court, cited “an adulterous relationship” as the grounds for divorce.

“She continually exposes our friends and acquaintances to her adulterous relationship and has flaunted the same throughout the community, the nation and indeed the world, and thus caused … me to suffer great harm, humiliation and embarrassment,” Tareq further claimed in the court documents.

To add insult to injury, Schon and his Journey band mates have allegedly banned Tareq from their concerts, despite the fact he has a backstage, all-access pass.

Furthermore, Tareq is convinced that Michaele and Schon have been antagonizing him with a series of prank phone calls. He received no less than four calls between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday morning, according to TMZ.

A source told the magazine the calls were from the same number Michaele had called Tareq from earlier in the week.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

While many couples may prefer to check into a hotel for a relaxing weekend getaway, couples in Holland are checking into a very particular hotel for an altogether different reason – to get divorced.

Created by Jim Halfens, the Divorce Hotel is not actually a single hotel, but rather a legal service that happens to be offered in a hotel setting.

Halfens runs a company that offers couples a quick, more-affordable alternative to divorce. He came up with the idea for the Divorce Hotel about a year ago while interviewing divorcees as part of some market research for the company.

As part of his research, Halfens found that divorce was placing an extreme burden on the women he interviewed. Halfens recently explained some of the responses he received in an interview on Public Radio International’s The World.

“They told us – divorce is very critical, I’m getting into a roller coaster,” Halfens said. “I’m not able to work anymore. My boss is complaining. Sometimes it takes three months. We have examples where it takes three years. And people were wondering – is there no other solution.”

Halfens’ solution to the problem now comes in the form of a three-day divorce process that takes place in Dutch luxury hotels.

Couples considering the service first participate in a round of extensive interviews to determine if their problems can be resolved quickly and taken care of by a mediator rather than a lawyer. If the couple determines this to be the case, they then decide on a four or five star hotel.

From there, it’s all business. Over the three-day stay, a mediator, notaries and even psychologists are on hand to see that the process is resolved quickly and efficiently.

Marie-Louise Van As, an attorney who works as a mediator for the Divorce Hotel, explained to The World that the process is highly attractive to many couples.

“In Holland to get divorced usually lasts six to nine months,” Van As said. “A bad divorce, a fighting divorce, can last five to 10 years.”

In those extreme cases, costs can total up to $70,000. The Divorce Hotel totals closer to $3,500 – including accommodation.

At this time, Halfens claims only seven couples have gone through the Divorce Hotel process, but that he’s receiving emails every day from interested couples in other countries.

Many countries have different divorce laws, requiring the Divorce Hotel to remain a service exclusively for Dutch couples at this time. Halfens did tell PRI, however, that he hopes to find German partners in the coming months to help him extend the service to the neighboring country.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

What are the driving forces behind marriages that end in divorce? Age and kids may be a factor. Divorce is statistically more likely for those who marry younger in life. Couples with kids are less likely to go through the divorce process than their childless counterparts.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href=”http://www.totaldivorce.com/blog/2011/09/12/will-your-marriage-end-in-divorce/” target=”_blank” title=”Will Your Marriage End in Divorce?”><img title=”Will Your Marriage End in Divorce?” src=”http://assets.totaldivorce.com/infographics/will-your-marriage-survive.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Will Your Marriage End in Divorce?”></a>

Will Your Marriage End in Divorce? Marriage Survival Rates Over Time

Who is Divorcing?

Fifty percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce. Age at marriage has a big influence on divorce rates.These numbers show the age at marriage for surveyed divorcees.

• Under 20: 27.6% Women / 11.7% Men
• 20-24: 36.6% Women / 38.8% Men
• 25-29: 16.4% Women / 22.3% Men
• 30-34: 8.5% Women / 11.6% Men
• 25-39: 5.1% Women / 6.5% Men
• 40+ 5.8% Women / 9.1 % Men

9.1 divorces per 1,000 people occur in the state of Nevada, making it the nation’s leader in divorces. Massachusetts has only 2.4 per 1,000 people, the least.

What about the Kids?

Couple with children have a slightly lower rate of divorce than childless couples.

60% of divorcing couples do not have children. 40% of divorcing couples have children.

The absence of children may lead to loneliness and weariness.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Female rights activists in China have been in an uproar for weeks following the enforcement of a new Supreme Court interpretation of the country’s 1980 marriage law, which went into effect Aug. 13.

According to the court, property bought before marriage, whether outright or on mortgage, is to be reverted back to the buyer after divorce. This comes as a change to the previous law, which considered a family home to be a joint property in a marriage.

The New York Times reports the change will mostly affect women, due to the fact that the family home is traditionally provided by a man. As a result, Chinese women now face the possibility of essentially becoming homeless if their marriages end in divorce.

In many cities, there has been a rush to add wives’ names to title deeds. Some husbands have been receptive to sharing the title, while others have refused. Chinese news outlets have already been reporting on marriage breakdowns initiated by arguments surrounding deeds.

Ma Yinan, a Peking University law professor and deputy head of the Marriage and Family Law Institute under the China Law Society, spoke with the newspaper Southern Weekend about the change.

“The Supreme Court is under suspicion of overstepping its authority,” Ma said.

“That’s feudalism,” he continued. “We smashed that already. Broke it. For them to advocate traditional family structures is a joke!”

Zhao Xiaoli, a law professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told the New York Times that the new rule hollows out the very basis of marriage.

“Interpretation Three basically amounts to the construction of individual, capitalist-style property law in the heart of China’s families,” Zhao told the newspaper.

While the new law does not specify gender, social scientists say far fewer women buy homes and will therefore be the ones to suffer from the new rule.

Speaking with the online publication Women’s Voice, Li Ying, deputy director of the Beijing Qianian Law Firm, said the new rule ignores a woman’s unpaid contributions to the home. It does not account for the woman’s role in areas such as childbirth, child rearing, housework and caring for elderly family members.

The new rule comes at a time when China’s divorce rates are rising. In 2010, 2.7 million Chinese couples divorced, an 8.5 percent increase from the previous year. Experts told the New York Times that the uptick was a key factor behind the change.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

In his first interview since news of the couple’s divorce, Marc Anthony opened up to ABC’s John Quinones about his recent split from Jennifer Lopez.

According to Anthony, the divorce was a decision the couple “made jointly.”

The marriage, in Anthony’s words, was “not sustainable the way it was and that’s that.”

The Nightline interview, which aired Thursday, gave the 42-year-old singer the chance to quash some of the current rumors about what triggered the couple’s break up.

When Quinones asked what went wrong in the marriage, Anthony explained that it was nothing “sensationalistic.”

He further explained that the split was in no way related to the many rumors he’s been hearing about alleged infidelities.

“It was the flight attendant. It was the pilot, I heard. It was this guy sitting next to me in rehab in Houston,” Anthony recounted. “I’ve heard it all.”

The international music star expressed concern for the couple’s three-year-old twins Max and Emme in light of their parents’ divorce.

“We understand this to be a long story … the important thing is that she knows it and my kids now it,” Anthony said. “I’m always going to be Daddy.”

At one point, Quinones simply asked, “Do you still love Jennifer.”

Without hesitation, Anthony replied, “I’ll always love Jennifer.”

As the interview continued, Anthony explained that he and his ex-wife will continue to work together and collaborate on various projects. One project includes the former couple’s upcoming Latin talent show titled Q’Viva.

“We’re partners for life,” Anthony said.

The singer’s amicable responses put to rest the recent reports that he was jealous of Lopez’s success as a judge on the most recent season of American Idol.

“I think anybody will tell you how I supported her from day one,” Anthony said. “I’m really happy for her.”

He further supported that sentiment as he thought about the couple’s future after the divorce.

“We’re going to be in each other’s lives for many, many, many years, and I’m glad that our friendship is that strong,” he concluded. “What would make it difficult is if we didn’t get along.”

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.