Yesterday saw the big announcement from the Palace that Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged to be married sometime next year. For some this feels a bit like dejavu as we remember Prince Williams parents’ fairytale wedding in 1981, and we all remember how that ended as well so what if the new Royal couple end up in Divorce?

No one goes into a marriage thinking that it will end and the long relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton makes us think this isn’t just some whirlwind romance but the couple have gone into it responsibly, however sense doesn’t guarantee a long and successful marriage and many marriages in the public eye end up in divorce.

At the moment Pre nuptual agreements are necessarily legal in the UK, although steps are being made to change this, therefore a pre nupt between Prince William and Kate Middleton may not be worth a great deal. Legally, unless agreed by a judge, the couple are entitled to a 50/50 split of assets. For you and me that is the house, the TV etc but for Prince William in 20 years time this could be the UK!

As heir to the throne and rumours of the Queen missing out Prince Charles to leave her Knigdom to Prince William, whether true or not, Prince William will most likely be King at some point in the future, and as his wife Kate Middleton will be Queen. Therefore logically in the event of a divorce she will be entitled to half a Kingdom.

This was never an issue in the old days, you may rmember Henry the 8th had no problems with divorcing or beheading his wives, but today equal rights play a part and the Royal family do not have the same power in a democratic community and do have to answer to the public.

I don’t think it will be a huge issue as we are probably looking at it being a few years down the line and Pre nupts will probably be legal if and when the coupld decide to split. Also fair arrangements would be made with Kate and her family to see she is fairly compensated and any children the couple may have.

What do you think? Discuss this and more in the My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.

Prenup agreements have always been a guideline in the UK rather than a strict legal document when it comes to the breakdown of a marriage in a divorce. However UK courts have ruled that prenups in the UK will be taken more seriously in the future and count towards the Divorce settlement.

Prenup agreements are very popular in Europe and America and any in the UK it has only been very wealthy couples who consider these at the time of marriage especially since they do not hold the same weight as in a UK court as they do overseas. This is all changing as UK courts have agreed that prenup agreements should be seen as a legal document and counted as such.

On the back of this revelation in the courts it is estimated that more and more UK couples will be getting prenups, even those who are not consider the most wealthy but may have sizeable assets before the wedding. This trend is being enhanced as department stores are now looking to add prenup agreements as part of their wedding services.

Is it sad that we now consider the break up of a marriage at a time when you should be optimistic for the future of the relationship? Many people say the prenup is just a document like your will that is their just in case to protect you if the worst happens, however leave it in a drawer, forget about it and go about your relationship as normal. Could you do that?

Many people have prenups, Simon Cowells wedding was postponed as they worked out the details of a lengthy 40 page prenup withhis fiancee, getting to the point where she seemed to be quite sick of the legalities and nearly called the whole thing off (if we are to believe the media hype). It hardly adds romance to this time, asking your partner not to take all your money if you split up and how do you breach the subject without accusing your partner of only being with you for your money.

What are your thoughts on prenups? Do you wish you had one for your marriage? Do you think they are a good idea? Or do you think they are an insult to the institute of marriage? Tell us on the My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.

The bookies have been taking bets on how much serial adulterer Tiger Woods would have to pay his ex wife Elin Nordegren from the moment she first filed for divorce. Tiger Woods affairs earlier combined with his wealth meant that this was one of the most talked about celebrity divorces this year.

Today the Swedish beauty and long suffering wife, Elin Nordegren, walked away with $110 million! This amount will have hurt Tiger Woods financially and I’m sure would do a lot for his ex wife in terms of recovery from the strings of adultery with many different women.

With an amount such as this we can assume that Elin will be financially secure for the rest of her life, as long as she doesn’t do something really stupid, but she has claimed that she will not let the money go to her head and is hoping to live a modest lifestyle away from Tiger Woods. I’m pretty sure her idea of a modest lifestyle is probably very different to mine though!

Sources say that when flying between Orlando to California she could have hired a private jet but instead opted for a seat on a Virgin plane – well at least it wasn’t a flight service like Ryan air

“She could afford the jet but didn’t even consider it,” the source said. “She’s not cheap, but she’s just not throwing money around and wasting it the way some people would.”

“Tiger is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, with his earning, investments and the endorsement deals he’s made over the years,” a source told RadarOnline.com. “Elin got a lot of money, but she could have received more.

“She wanted enough money to not change her luxurious lifestyle but she didn’t try to take him for every penny that she could.”

We wish Elin every luck in the future as she gets over the break up from Tiger Woods, after having marital problems and affairs exploited in the press this must have been a very hard year for her, but I’m sure the $110 million will go some way to helping her get over it all.

Social networking and social media has revolutionised the way we conduct ourselves and so much of our information is out there for people to see than ever before. This could be good or bad, but for many couples going through a divorce this could be fatal for their case as Divorce Attorneys and Lawyers are now using social networking profiles as evidence in court.

Browsing through the internet this morning I found this article on Sexy Social Media.com, Social media has always intrigued me as it can provide a lifeline for many people, but on the other hand gives people enough rope to hang themselves. The latter seems to be the case in this instance as a Tweet or Facebook update sent in a moment of frustration could be used against you in a court of law.

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and some forums have become more popular with people of all ages and are a useful tool to are intended to act as online communities where people can meet and share information about themselves. This information is often public therfore more people than just your online friends may have access to your photos and comments on your day to day activities. By having this information publicly accessible then it can be used in a court of law!

This can get very dangerous as many people use social networks to rant about a situation, especially tweets and facebook status updates. What you would normally say in the heat of the moment to a friend is now written down and can be used against you, even if it was just a flippant remark that you didn’t mean to be taken in that way, or after you had calmed down maybe thought better of.

From the sexy social media site apparently 81% of Divorce lawyers have seen a significant increase in the use of Facebook and other social networking sites as evidence in divorce cases. Photos of a partner on a night out could be used to try to discredit them and show them in a bad light, or to try to prove adultery in some messy divorces. Normally many divorces end with a lot of bad feeling but not all cases resort to digging around for evidence however with such information readily available your Mad Ex may be stalking your facebook gathering information to use against you. Common ones are if a father is refusing to pay child maintenance due to having no money yet posts lots of photos of himself on holiday or nights out he may post that he has bought himself a new playstation 3 or car.

If you are going through a messy divorce then you should consider taking down any information that could be used against you, try to delete and evidence and make sure friends don’t tag you in any photos that couold be construed as being bad. You may consider deleting your profile completely. Some people have commented that the temptation to stalk your ex on Facebook and Twitter has meant that more exes have been crossing over to that bunny boiling mad ex persona.

At My Mad Ex we provide a forum for people to vent their anger and share their stories, we recommend you don’t get too specific and use a name that can’t be traced back to you.

What are your thoughts on this blog? Do you think social media has increased the temptation of exes stalking? Do you stalk your ex? Has your ex used your public profiles against you in an argument or even in court? Have you? Discuss this and more at the My Mad Ex Divorce forum.

The X Factor judge, Cheryl Cole, is releasing her second solo album titled Messy Little Raindrops, and it is supposed to be debuting a song called ‘Happy Tears’ the lyrics of which sing about a cheating man. Many people have speculated that this song is based on her relationship and divorce with her ex husband and Cheating love rat Ashley Cole.

The lyrics are said to include lines about slashing his tyres, burning his suits, knocking back apologies, blocking calls and selling all her diamonds,” The Sun reports.

The song starts off like a weepy heartbreaker singing, ‘I cried when I heard you were cheatin’/ I cried when I said I was leavin’/ I cried when my heart stopped believin’/ But I’m all out of tears’.

However in the chorus Cheryl explains these aren’t just tears of pain but ‘happy tears’

The new album is packed with great hits and has been helped with stars such as Will.I.Am and Travie McCoy and has a completely different sound to her Girls Aloud hits she is famous for.

Many artists use past and present experiences as inspiration for their songs and Cheryl had her first solo hit with fight for this love in which she describes how she got through her husbands last affair and the couple came back stronger. Ironic now that after a divorce that song seems quite heartbreaking as Cheryl had obviously hoped their married life was at a turning point only to be hurt again.

The nations sweetheart isn’t one to lie down and take it though, her northern courage has come out and after a fast divorce is now putting her life back together, and with help from a few select celebrity friends is now more popular than ever and her new songs will probably do well in the charts.

Cherly’s song may be about her cheating ex but she has obviously managed to turn it around and sees the divorce as a positive step in her life as she looks forward to a better future without her love rat husband.

What do you think? Woulod you love to publicly get back at your ex? Do you think Cheryl is brave or is she using her public divorce to gain fans and sell her song? Discuss this and many other stories at the My Mad Ex Divorce forum.

The minister of population and family in Egypt has reportedly stated that rising divorce rates are  damaging to modern society.  An Egyptian paper, the al-Masry al-Youm daily, covered the story stating that Moushira Khattab felt divorce rates in Egypt had increased to ‘Dangerous levels’ and this strain would mean a collapse of Egyptian society!
Moushira Khattab, minister for population and family, was at a workshop in Cairo at the National Center for Social and Criminal Studies this week when she made the statement. She continued on saying that if the country had better laws for gender equality and the protection of children then this support would help families stay together and not need to divorce. She also spoke out against domestic violence adding that more support should be given rather than couples just splitting up.

In Egypt coupleshave to marry under religious law,  however over the past few years the Egyptian divorce rates have increased by a staggering 40% between the ages of 18 and 29. These figures were released from a study caried out by the Center for Public Mobilization and Statics.

As Egyptians marry under religious law, the majority of Egyptians being Muslim means that Islamic shariah law is applied to marriages. When divorce is considered many women’s rights groups feel that Islamic law is in favour of men in these circumstances, and many other situations.

Egypt does have a Coptic Christian minority which therefore falls under church rules, this means someone who has been married may not re marry after a divorce except in very specific cases. In 2000 a law was passed that granted Egyptian women the right to divorce their husbands without the husbands consent, however by doing this they forfeit any financial rights in a settlement. This has obviously caused quite a stir amongst more conservative groups in the country.

So what do you think? Do you think Moushira Khattab has overeacted with her statement that divorce is a ‘danger’ to society? Do you think that she has a point considering the laws surrounding Egyptian marriage and divorce? We want to hear your thoughts at the My Mad Ex Divorce forum.

If you have been through a divorce recently you may have had a nasty Divorce settlement that has left you pretty skint, or perhaps you think your partner took an unfair amount of your money? Spare a thought for these 10 divorcees who had to shell out billions!

Here are the top 10 highest divorce settlements to date:

• Rupert Murdoch and Anna Murdoch – $1.7 billion
  Rupert married Anna in the 60s, and after 32 years of marriage, three children and lots of media speculation the pair separated in 1998. The split was said to be amicable and the divorce went through in June 1999 when Anna Murdoch left with $1.7 billion. Only 17 days after his divorce was finalised Rupert Murdoch married Wendi Deng.
• Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi – $874 million
  Adnan Khashoggi is a Saudi businesman who made his money as an international arms dealer working for the Saudi royal family. His riches increased as he set up a company in Switzerland, Triad, that tok over banks, hotels and real estate all over the world. Adnan married his former wife Soraya in 1961 but in 1982 their divorce cost him a staggering $874 million, bear in mind this was 28 years ago and due to inflation was probably worth more than todays millions.
• Craig and Wendy McCaw – $460 million
  Craig McCaw is an entrepeneur worthy of Dragons Den status as he made his money turning businesses around and growing them to sell on at huge profits. His first success was a TV cable service which Craig turned into successful business and sold for $755 million. In 1981 he had the forsight to aquire cellular phone licenses, which he was able to sell to a phone company AT&T for  $12 billion, becoming its largest single shareholder.
  Craig and Wendy were University sweethearts who met at Stanford University when Wendy tutored Craig, they married in 1974. In 1995 the divorce went through and Wendy’s significant pay out was allowed as she had to support the lifestyle she was now used to, costing appoximately $200,000 a month!
• Roman and Irina Abramovich – $300 million
  Roman and Irina Abromovich were in the media alot during their divorce proceedings and many speculated that the settlement could have left Irena as the world’s richest ever divorcee. However Russian news sources suggeest that Mrs Abramovich settled for $300m (£155m). The $300m figure included the value of the couples homes in Britain and Moscow, as well as ownership of a yacht and private plane. It seems Roman Abramovich got away quite lightly as at one point many thought he would have to pay out at least $1 billion.
• Michael and Maya Polsky – $184 million
  Energy Magnate Michael Polsky married Maya in the Ukraine in 1975 and reports have said that after they married they traveled to America with only 4 suitcases and $500 cash to find their dreams. Things seemed to go well for the couple until their split in 2003 where Maya filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. In 2006 after a long and drawn out divorce battle a judge in Chicago ruled that Maya Polsky should be entitled to half of the couples assets and she was awarded $184million!
• John ‘Jack’ Welch and Jane Beasley – $180 million
  John ‘Jack’ Welch was the Chairman and CEO of General Electric, the worlds largest technology and service conglomerate which is based in New York. Mr and Mrs Beasley married in April 1989, and divorced 14 years later in 2003. Reports say that Welch hadwritten a prenuptial agreement, however the prenupt had a 10-year time limit. Those extra four years of marriage entitled Jane Beaslet to walk away with $180 million.
• Michael and Juanita Jordan – $168million
  In 2007 the former Chicago Bulls Basketball player Michael Jordan divorced his wife of 18 years in a celebrity fuelled media fest that had everyone wondering how much he would have to pay his former spouse. Juanita Vanoy had previously filed for a divorce in 2002 but apparently the couple had made the marriage work for a further 5 years before eventually splitting for good. Juanita agreed a settlement but reports suggest that Michael and Juanita negotiated an additional $20 million to be added to the final sum after the settlement was agreed in principal.
• Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey – $150 million
  This wasn’t the first divorce singing legend Neil Diamond has had to shell out for as he was actually still married to his first wife when he met Marcia Murphey in 1994.
  Their isn’t much information over the cause of the split or how the settlement was agreed but Neil Diamond claims he was happy to give his ex wife the money.
• Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving – $100 million
  Both stars in their own rights Amy Irving was thrown into the limelight in 1976 when she played the lone teen survivor in the classic movie Carrie. Spielberg got his big break in in Hollywood after the production of the film Jaws and has gone on to make many succesful blockbuster movies. The couple married in 1985, however the marriage didn’t last long and the couple split up only four years later. Irving, the mother of their son Max was awarded $100 million from Spielberg.
• John and Beverly Charman – $95 million
  These childhood sweethearts met at School in1969 they married in 1976 with no real wealth or assets. However by the time of their split in November 2003 John Charman had been dubbed “King of the London Insurance Market”, Mr Charman reportedly told his wife he was leaving for Bermuda and their marriage was over. The divorce got messy after John Charman offered his ex wife £6 million cash, however Beverly argued this was not enough. After many court hearings a  judge decided a fair settlement would be for John Charman to give Beverly  37 per cent of his assets. Mr Charman apealed but this was quickly dismissed, this is thought to be the highest divoce settlement in Britain to date.

There are many other celebrity marriages on the rocks and many of these high sums were from years ago, we will see if the likes of Tiger Woods will soon be topping the Divorce settlement charts after his infidelity. What are your thoughts? Discuss at the My Mad Ex Divorce Forum.

News has come out today that Michael Jacksons parents are looking to get divorced after 60 years together. Over the years there have been reports of trouble in the marriage but this is the first time divorce has been mentioned. It is unclear if this is true or if it is just a rumour but it seems Katherine and Joe Jackson’s relationship is on the rocks.

Marriages in the limelight are always put under additional pressure and the past year has been very emotional for the Jackson family after the death of Micheal Jackson, public appearances and tributes as well as court appearances to determine any suspicious circumstances over Michael Jacksons death. All of these combined would put a strain on most peoples relationship.

There have been many rumours surrounding Joe Jacksons behaviour including gossip around domestic abuse for his wife as well as his children. But 60 years is an accomplishment in any marriage let a lone one that is constantly being inspected under the bright lights of showbiz.

The latest reports state that it is Katherine Jackson, Michael Jacksons mother, who has filed for divorce after she was disgusted at her husband Joe’s behaviour over Michael Jacksons death. She has been appauled by her husbands conduct after the stars unexpected death rocked the family and the world.

If this is true and the couple are divorcing it does not come as a huge surprise as the couple have been living in different houses for years, but Katherine had always refused to divorce Joe Jackson for religious reasons, she is a practising Jehovas Witness and divorce is against their beliefs.

Fantasia Barrino who won American Idol 3 in 2004 has allegedly been caught up in a divorce scandal! Fantasia, the American Idol and nominee for 8 Grammy’s has been acused of recording illicit sexual activity in her affair with a married man! All of these revelations have been coming out in divorce
court documents.

The victim in the courts is Paula Cook, who is separated from her husband Antwaun Cook with whom Fantasia is to have had the alleged affair. Paula Cook filed divorce dovuments in June and states that the illicit affair was recorded and Fantasia has videos and images of their sexual encounters.

According to court documents, Fantasia Barrino and Anwaun Cook started the affair last year in August apparently meeting at a T-Mobile store where Antuwaun Cook works and served Barrino. Of course the affair was picked up quickly by the tabloids and gossip columns where they first reported the affair in November 2009 only a few months after the pair allegedly met.

In this case the infidelity is affecting more than the couple involved as the pair have 2 children, of whom Paula Cook is petitioning to get full custody, and forcing the childrens father Antwaun Cook, to provide her with alimony, child support, solicitors fees as well as full ownership of their home.

What are your thoughts, was Fantasia Barrino stupid for getting involved with a married man? Is she to blame? Was the relationship in trouble before Fantasia met Anwaun Cook? Share your thoughts on the My Mad Ex Divorce forum.

According to experts the falling economy has hit couples harder than anticipated and 2 million divorces are said to complete this year. Apparently much of this problem is because wealthy, and not so wealthy,  husbands can no longer afford to buy their wives gifts to keep them happy!

From surveys completed in the January they expect to see a surge of divorces this year and many lawyers reported divorces were inistiated in order to secure cash before the recession hits hard.

A divorce lawyer at SAS Daniels, Maria Taylor says:

“The bubble has burst: couples who thought they could get through their difficulties or an economic blip, and were delaying divorce, have realised the credit crunch is long term and can wait no longer.”

Mishcon family partner Sandra Davis said: “Couples who papered over the cracks with open chequebooks are now seeing those cracks as full fault lines.”

I’m sure the increase in divorces and seperations isn’t all to do with the recession but money problems and the stuggles of paying bills and mortgages or rent just make any problems that are already underlying in a relationship much worse. Tensions in a household can get so much worse if you have the added stress of redundancies and unemployment.

So what do you think? Has your relationship broken down from the added struggle of money issues? Discuss your own relationship stories at the My Mad Ex Divorce forum.