You often hear of couples who have stayed together “for the sake of the kids”; rarely do you hear people say they have decided to split up for their children’s sake. But Gavin Henson, the Welsh rugby player, said just that this week. He and fiancée Charlotte Church, who have two young children together, broke up earlier this year because they didn’t want to “ruin” the youngsters’ lives.   more »

One in five married people is in love with someone other than their partner – most likely a friend or work colleague. These rather unromantic statistics come from a survey of 3,000 people, which also found that one in four is not entirely happy in their present relationship. Even those extremely content with their spouse admitted to sometimes having feelings for someone else – 50 per cent say they’ve been attracted to or felt affection for a third party. One in six of those who fall for another will embark on an affair.   more »

An increasing number of entrepreneurs are putting off formally ending their marriages because they believe a divorce settlement will be the “final nail in the coffin” for businesses that have fallen victim to the economic downturn.   more »

Nearly one in three children is living with only one of their parents. Researchers have found there are nearly 3.8 million such children in this country, the great majority of them in single-parent families. More than half rarely see their missing parent, according to a study published this week by the Office for National Statistics.   more »

Actress Helen Mirren says she is resigned to the fact that romance will never be a big part of her relationship with husband Taylor Hackford. But the Oscar-winner isn’t complaining – far from it. She says her husband gives her loyalty and honesty, which in her book is more important than wine and roses.   more »

Today sees the start of a month-long football fest. Newspapers, TV schedules and supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of World Cup coverage and memorabilia. Wherever you go and whatever you do from now until July 11, it will be all but impossible to escape the wall-to-wall soccer action from South Africa. Many women will become “football widows” for the duration as their partners follow England’s fortunes from the pub or the living room armchair.   more »

A typical low point of life-after-divorce is sitting at home on a Sunday afternoon imagining that everyone else is having a lovely time. I remember feeling like this following my separation and it’s something a lot of my clients have mentioned over the years. Sundays, traditionally, are family days and if you’re no longer part of a close-knit unit, it’s easy to picture happy couples and their children sitting around the lunch table in perfect harmony.   more »

We all feel we work harder and longer than previous generations – and yesterday, researchers proved us right! A study revealed that the traditional nine-to-five working day is no more. The typical employee is now at their desk by 8.28am and doesn’t leave for home until at least 5.29pm. In between, most workers take a lunch break of only 33 minutes.   more »

Marriages are much more likely to last the course if husbands muck in with the chores and the housework. So says one of the latest surveys to be published. Researchers from the London School of Economics tracked 3,500 married couples who had their first child during one week in 1970 – a time when most women with young children stayed at home.   more »

This week I was at a top London hotel, as the guest of a private bank, for a small, intimate women-only event. With me were five past and present clients of Benussi & Co. A friend, who was also there, came up to me during the evening and said: “What a fantastic testament to Benussi & Co to see these women looking so happy and having such a great time. I bet they weren’t like that when you first met them.”   more »

Bestselling novelist and national newspaper columnist Allison Pearson this week revealed how she had “finally felt rotten enough to seek professional help” for her depression, describing herself as typical “Sandwich Woman” because she has found herself in the middle of two generations.   more »

After a furious row with their spouse or lover, many people’s instinct is to jump into the car and flee. But a new survey says driving after a heated argument with a partner has been responsible for nearly 2.5 million accidents. One in 12 drivers in relationships admitted crashing following a tiff, with one in three saying they have seen red and taken off in the car following a row.   more »

A new survey reveals that for a majority of divorcees – six in ten – the hardest thing to come to terms with is the sense of failure. The study, carried out by dating website www.fifties.com, which is aimed at the over-50s, found that the emotional impact of divorce is so great a fifth of those questioned said they would never truly get over it.   more »

The comedians Lenny Henry and Dawn French announced this week they were splitting up after 25 years of marriage. What struck me about this latest celebrity uncoupling was that were together for such a long time (a relative rarity in showbiz circles) and the fact that they made the decision to part six months ago but continued living together “in constant, open and honest discussion”.   more »

Cheating on one’s partner is considered one of the most heinous marital crimes, yet many cuckolded spouses decide to remain with their errant other half. There are several reasons for this – but probably the most common is to keep the family together for the sake of the children.   more »

This week, the singer Cheryl Cole was photographed looking even more slender than usual. “Making one of her first public appearances since her split from cheating husband Ashley, Cheryl Cole could not hide the fact she looks worrying thin,” commented one newspaper.   more »

What a week it’s been for the crumbling of “nice guy” celebrity marriages. First we heard the news that popular cheeky-chappy Mark Owen from boy band Take That had cheated on his long-term partner, now wife, with no fewer than ten women; then we learned the personable, down-to-earth Kate Winslet had split up from her second husband, Sam Mendes.   more »

Divorce and separation can bring a host of problems – financial, emotional and practical. One of the biggest difficulties faced by the newly-single is how to fill the time they used to spend snuggled up on the sofa or chatting over the dinner table with their other half.   more »

Ashley Cole may be a fine footballer, but he wouldn’t win any medals for his ability to concoct plausible explanations for his licentious behaviour. When it was revealed a model had been sent naked photographs of the Chelsea and England player from his mobile phone, Cole said he had given the phone to a friend, who had passed it on to someone else. In other words, “It wasn’t me, Guv”!   more »

One of the things I encounter fairly regularly in my job is one half of a couple – usually the woman – contemplating a new career in counselling. This is particularly common among wives who have devoted much of their adult lives to bringing up a family and, once the family has flown the nest, need something “meaningful” to fill the emotional void.   more »

When a marriage falls apart, it is a depressing time. Many of the people who walk into our offices are feeling at their lowest ebb. They are frightened, anxious, lonely and emotionally battered.   more »

The recession has played havoc with people’s lives, not least those whose relationships have broken down. Countless couples who would otherwise have gone their separate ways have stayed together because they felt they couldn’t afford to divorce. Some couples have parted emotionally, but have continued to live under the same roof for because they’ve been unable to sell the marital home.   more »

I am friends with a couple who have been married for 40 years. Some time ago I asked them: “What’s your secret?” The husband’s prompt response was: “Inertia!”   more »

At Christmas, did you feel you had to go through the “isn’t it fantastic?” routine for the sake of the children, even if what you actually felt like doing was hiding under the duvet for a couple of weeks?   more »

When clients who are going through a divorce voice their fears about how they will cope with “singledom”, I am able to give some reassurance. For I am single and I lead a very active and fulfilling social life.   more »

I feel terribly happy most of the time: I love life. But my contentment has been hard-won. My marriage to a Spanish footballer broke down following the death of our young daughter.   more »

This morning I received a letter from someone I’d recently advised, thanking me for my help and saying she was now talking to husband about how they rebuild their relationship.   more »

Our firm, Benussi & Co, was founded 16 years ago – yet we can call upon 150 years of experience. Between us – that’s 25 partners and staff – we have been guiding people through the divorce process for a century and a half!   more »

The secret of a happy marriage, according to scientists, is for a wife to be smarter and at least five years younger than her husband.   more »

The “seven-year itch”, made famous by the 1955 film of the same name, is a phenomenon based on the assumption that marital dissatisfaction kicks in after seven years – and the temptation to be unfaithful becomes irresistible.   more »