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”.

Their spokesman said: "The separation is entirely amicable and they fully intend to maintain their close friendship. Their priority is to commit to the future joint parenting of their daughter.”

Possibly because of the length of time they’d been together, as well as for the sake of their 18-year-old daughter, Lenny and Dawn didn’t throw in the towel quickly or easily. Despite being pretty sure last October that they wanted to go their separate ways, they spent another six months talking about whether it really was the right thing to do.

Sadly, they have concluded that it was and announced their separation. But the conversations they had and the heart-searching they did might have had the opposite result and made them realise they wanted to remain a couple.

From my 30 years of experience as a divorce lawyer, I know that many marriages could be saved if couples talked to each other! That might sound silly, but so many people don’t communicate deeply or even clearly. It is often the case that one partner has no idea what the other thinks or feels. It’s also common for poor communication to lead to misunderstandings that damage the relationship to the point of divorce.

Talking about your feelings and opening yourself up to possible criticism can be extremely difficult, but doing so may save your marriage. Even if it doesn’t, it might make the difference between an acrimonious and an amicable separation.

If talking to your partner on a deep level isn’t easy to do, counselling with an organisation such as Relate can help to start the process.

Lenny Henry and Dawn French may be incredibly sad that their marriage is over, but at least they are walking away in the knowledge that they did everything in their power to see if it could be salvaged. They also walk away having fully aired their thoughts and emotions and, as a result, will be stronger as people and better equipped to start a new chapter in their lives.