Hearing about the upcoming divorce of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston upset me far more than I ever would have guessed.


Most of the time, I don't care when I hear about celebrity unions or
break-ups. Sure, it's interesting to wonder what the heck Britney
Spears was thinking marrying Kevin Federline or even making a bet with
co-workers on when they'll break up. I'm not even aware why I care
about the 'Brad and Jen' break-up, but I really believed they were a
Hollywood couple who would stay together. They both seemed nice in real
life, and they were obviously a very attractive couple. I felt
embarrassed to care even a little, but I had several friends who
confessed to also being upset.

Scouring the tabloids, I looked
for answers of how this beautiful couple could get a divorce. Yes, I
found myself reading everything I could get my hands on about the
divorce. It's shameful, really. "They" say that the reason for the
break-up was that Jennifer wasn't ready to be a mom, and Brad
desperately wanted to start a family. One can see why, since he's 41
and she's 35. My gynecologist told me that chances of conception
decrease significantly after the age of 35. If he's already 41, one
could also see how he would want to start a family before he gets too
old. The other rumor I heard was that Brad and his Mr. and Mrs. Smith
co-star Angelina Jolie were having a wild affair. The only people who
know for sure are the Pitts, but many of us just can't stop speculating.


I found myself wondering if they discussed having children before they
married. You would definitely think they would before tying the knot.
Did they have vague plans for children sometime in the future or a
solid five year timeline? I feel that in the early stages of dating,
marriage and children should be discussed. The trick is to bring up
these subjects without coming across as a psychopath. If you're someone
who wants to be a parent eventually, it is important to be with a
partner who also has those goals. I've seen interviews with Jennifer
and Brad where they talk about wanting to have a baby. I can also
understand why Jennifer would want to work on her career at this point.
If she really wanted to wait for children, why couldn't he wait a
little longer?

Despite the rumors I have read, I just do not
believe that Angelina Jolie was responsible for their break-up. It
seems more like the traditional Hollywood story that the break-up must
be from infidelity. Angelina Jolie is so sexy it's easy to believe that
she could have stolen him away from Jennifer. She claims to have been
nothing more than a shoulder to cry on, but maybe they did have an
affair. I believe that affairs are symptoms of an unhappy marriage, not
the cause. Infidelity seems to make more sense than the perfect couple
not agreeing on when to have children.

Hollywood is unreal when
it comes to relationships. It appears that people fall in and out of
love as often as they film a new movie. It's more surprising when a
marriage works in Hollywood than when it ends. What I find disturbing
is the realization that this could happen to me. If the "perfect
couple," with their tan skin, highlighted hair, and unimaginable wealth
can break up, it can happen to anyone. It also proves that there are no
"perfect couples," no matter how much we might want to believe in their
existence.