The Post learns that Alex Rodriguez and Cynthia Rodriguez are looking to avoid a public "slugfest" in their divorce proceedings. The source said, "They're going to try and arrive at a settlement so they don't have a very public dispute." Wait, does that mean we won't get any more "details" about A-Rod visiting Madonna to learn about Kabbalah or C-Rod's supposed relationship with Lenny Kravitz? Did they learn something from the Christie Brinkley-Peter Cook divorce......

Yesterday a Manhattan judge granted Philip Smith, head of the Shubert Organization, a divorce from his wife Tricia Walsh-Smith, who became an internet sensation after making a YouTube video that excoriated her prominent husband for his stash of “Viagra, porn movies, and condoms.” The video got over 3 million hits, but the judge was not a fan; yesterday he called it "a calculated and callous campaign to embarrass and humiliate her husband. She has attempted......

The economic downturn is affecting everyone--including the very rich. The Post has some interesting stats and anecdotes about wealthy couples driven to divorce Divorce lawyers at white-shoe firms claim they have many more cases these days, thanks to out-of-work investment bankers and their expensive lifestyles. Lawyer Joshua Forman, who says divorce filings are up 20%, explained, "They have to cancel the country-club membership, no more expensive summer camps, cancel the three-week trip to Europe. It's......

After a spectacularly detailed divorce trial revealed his infidelities, $3,000/month porn addiction, paying one mistress $300,000 and more more, Christie Brinkley's estranged husband Peter Cook took time out to chat with the tabloids that largely painted him as a cad. Cook told the Post he'll "never regret marrying" Brinkley--"We had a great time for 10 years. I've got two beautiful children." With the Daily News, he was more jokey, adding that if he gets married......

Yesterday, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez got a visit from his three-year-old daughter Natasha. Wife Cynthia Rodriguez, who recently filed for divorce, brought their eldest daughter to Toronto where the Yankees were playing the Blue Jays, and photographers captured A-Rod happily carrying Natasha into the Park Hyatt. While a friend of the couple told the Daily News, perhaps in an effort to tamp down the overload of nasty details and accusations, "It was very amicable.......

The cruel and revelatory divorce proceedings between Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook ended at 6 a.m. this morning, with the sides announcing a settlement. Brinkley's lawyer Robert Cohen said in the courtroom, "It is my pleasure to report to the court that with much hard work ... we reached an agreement." The former couple had been fighting over custody of their children as well as other properties they acquired together, and it appears Brinkley was......

After yesterday's scathing testimony from a court-appointed psychiatrist, Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook may be working to settle the custody portion of their divorce battle in private. The model told reporters that she's "wanted to settle for two years." Brinkley had been lobbying for sole custody for their two children, while Cook wants joint custody. Dr. Stephen Herman, who testified in Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's split, had described Cook, who Brinkley accused of ruining......

The breakup of Alex Rodriguez and Cynthia Rodrigeuz's marriage took another nasty turn after she filed for divorce yesterday. The Yankee third baseman's friends told the Daily News that C-Rod spent $100,000 during her trip to Paris. This comes as one of Cynthia Rodriguez's divorce lawyers called A-Rod's much-rumored affair with Madonna "an affair of the heart." Friends for both sides of the couple have been trying to win over the public by leaking......

Cynthia Rodriguez filed for divorce from Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez today in Miami. According to the papers, she claims A-Rod "emotionally abandoned" her and that the marriage is "irretrievably broken" due to his "extra-marital affairs and other marital misconduct." She is looking for primary custody of their two daughters, child support to "maintain the existing lifestyle of the children," and their $12 million home in Coral Gables, Florida, plus paying attorney's fees. Notably, she......

The contentious divorce between All-American model Christie Brinkley and her estranged husband Peter Cook keeps revealing more and more salacious details. The couple separated when Brinkley found out Cook was having an affair with an 18-year-old employee at his architecture firm. ...

Could Yankee and lover of "well-toned, muscular" women, A-Rod, be the cause of the alleged marital problems between Madonna and Guy Ritchie? Radar reports that the issue of OK! Magazine hitting newsstands tomorrow claims the two are having an affair. The pair did go to the same gym last year and share a manager, after all; further proof in the article, Radar assumes, will be given through various "close friends."......

After reports that both Madonna and Guy Ritchie have spoken to divorce lawyers, the Post now says Ritchie will be in NYC this weekend to try to save their marriage. Madonna has been rehearsing for her upcoming tour, and a source says, "It is make or break time for Guy and Madonna...they are both trying to rescue the situation....M has shown a willingness to patch things up [and] he has now decided to fly out......

YouTube divorce diva Tricia Walsh-Smith “cracked jokes, shouted, shrieked, pouted and sobbed” while testifying in her highly publicized divorce trial yesterday, according to the Post. Tragically, there’s no video from inside the courtroom, so our only hope is for a YouTube reenactment of that time she flew threw dishes at her husband and shrieked “I will cut your balls off and have them for breakfast!” (Stay tuned to the Tricia Walsh-Smith Channel for more drama.)......

The Times of London reports the Material Girl has spoken to a divorce lawyer fueling speculation the superstar is ready to dump husband Guy Ritchie. The lawyer, Fiona Shackleton, represented Prince Charles and Paul McCartney in their divorces. Notably, McCartney only gave up about $40-50 million in his divorce settlement, from his $1 billion fortune; Madonna's worth is estimated to be around $600 million--and she may not have a pre-nup. Now, will Madonna come back......

All-American supermodel Christie Brinkley is playing tough when it comes to her forthcoming divorce from architect Peter Cook. Brinkley's lawyer says the press should be allowed to attend the proceedings, in spite of the recommendation of a court-appointed guardian for her children, who say it's not a good idea. In 2006, Brinkley split from Cook after she found out he had an affair with then-18-year-old Diana Bianchi who was his assistant. (Cook originally met Bianchi......

Not everything in Brooklyn is coming up strollers and Babelands, the Brooklyn Paper is reporting that the divorce rate in the borough has skyrocketed! Reports show that there's been a 30% rise since 2003, with uncontested divorces totaling 7,035 (nearly 2,000 more since 2004) and contested divorces up 5%. First Tea Lounge, and now this! With the Brooklyn population only up 2% in ten years, the paper theorizes on why couples are splitting up; the......

Dina Matos McGreevey is having her days in court this week, as the divorce proceedings between her and former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey drag on ever-longer. Having settled the child custody portion of the divorce, Dina and Jim are now squabbling about the important stuff: money. Matos McGreevey noted that once as the wife of a governor, she had $51,000/month lifestyle (the "cooks, gardeners, personal secretaries, drivers, security and lodging") . But then McGreevey robbed......

Former NJ governor James McGreevey was on the witness stand during his drawn-out divorce trial and said he relies on his boyfriend, a wealthy financier, to help him pay alimony to his first ex-wife as well as his currently estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey. Matos McGreevey's lawyer is trying to prove McGreevey can pay alimony, but he has been claiming his stunning fall from the NJ Governor's Mansion--by way of admitting a gay affair and......

City Comptroller William Thompson is embroiled in a bitter divorce with his second wife that has gotten so strange that his own lawyer has taken to insulting him! The Daily News reports that lawyer Saul Edelstein--who had called Thompson's ex-wife "crazy as a loon"--said privately but in "full voice," "By the way, my client's not too smart, either." While Thompson and Sylvia Kinard-Thompson's divorce was finalized in 2006, Edelstein is unhappy that the former couple......

Yesterday a Manhattan judge ruled that socialite Tricia Walsh-Smith, the scorned and furious wife of Philip Smith, could continue slandering her husband via YouTube as long as she stopped filming the series in the luxury apartment Smith owns. The 77-year-old president of the Shubert organization is in the midst of a nasty divorce proceeding against Walsh-Smith and, per their prenuptial agreement, is trying to evict her from the Park Avenue residence. Walsh-Smith, a British-born playwright......

In a world of Julia Allisons, personal blogs about personal relationships have become the norm; the Reality TV of the internet. But what happens when these tell-all bloggers grow up? For better or worse, they continue their sagas online. On the heels of Tricia Walsh Smith divorcing her husband Philip via a YouTube video, the NY Times looks at the public world of private relationships, and how they're falling apart online. The numbers are in,......

Actress/playwright/trophy wife Tricia Walsh-Smith is in the midst of a nasty divorce from Philip Smith, her husband of ten years and president of the Shubert Organization, the largest theater owner on Broadway. And in what will hopefully be a new trend in marital strife, she’s documenting the emotional turbulence with a simultaneously funny and cringe-inducing YouTube masterpiece entitled One More Crazy Day in the Life of a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes. SPOILER:“Oh, another thing:......

Two lawsuits currently wending their way through New York courts are forcing judges to grapple with the legal ramifications of “gay divorce.” In one case, State Supreme Court Justice Laura Drager is allowing a Manhattan woman to sue for divorce and custody of children borne by a woman she married in Canada in 2004. The ruling echoes a recent appellate court decision in Rochester that found "out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples must be legally recognized......

A week and a half ago, former NJ Governor James McGreevey and his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey were fighting over a birthday party McGreevey and his partner were planning for 6-year-old daughter Jacqueline, another public spat in their contentious divorce. In spite of a judge's repeated requests for the McGreeveys to settle their differences for the sake of their daughter, we know a lot about their squabbling. The Post runs down the greatest hits. Matos......

Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau was laid to rest at St. Charles R.C. Church on Staten Island yesterday. Mercereau was found murdered in his home, shot three times in the head, and his wife appears to be a suspect. Though the police have not officially named any suspects, Janet Redmond-Mercereau allegedly had a rocky relationship with her husband, to the point where the two started divorce proceedings in 2006. At the funeral, mourners "cast suspicious glances"......

Even thought Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign tries to insist that the story is old news and a hit job, the Rudy-NYPD security detail Travelgate situation keeps getting messier. Why? Because even if one agrees that a security detail for Giuliani while he was visiting his then-mistress (and now current wife) Judi Nathan in the Hamptons is a legitimate use of taxpayer money (even if it was randomly billed to various city agencies - which the......

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey are making sure they're not letting the best interests of their six-year-old daughter get in the way of their bitter divorce. The publicly feuding pair were back in court yesterday, where they were excoriated by a judge. The McGreeveys split when the governor resigned amidst a sex harassment scandal in which he famously announced that he was "a gay-American.""The hatred you have for......

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced this morning that they had arrested a suspect in the murder of orthodontist Daniel Malakov. Kelly said that the suspect, Mikhail Mallayev, was a relative (by marriage) of Malakov's ex-wife. Malakov was shot in the chest after just after dropping his 4-year-old daughter Michelle to his ex-wife at a Queens playground on Sunday morning. He and his wife, Dr. Mazeltuv Borukhova, had been embroiled in a bitter divorce and custody......

Former Westchester County District Attorney - and one-time Attorney General candidate and potential Senate candidate - Jeanine Pirro and her husband Al Pirro have announced they are separating. Their statement to the press: "We have agreed to amicably separate. As always, our priority remains our two wonderful children. We ask that people respect our privacy. There will be no further comment." The couple has been married 32 years and have weathered through many years of......

There have been a few ads in the NY Times weddings section that spoof the real wedding announcements. For instance, we believe we recall a few for divorce services, but less ironically, there have been ads for marriage-related movies, like The Starter Wife. And this week, there's an ad for an upcoming wedding on the ABC comedy Ugly Betty. Of course, the ad is a lot wordier than the usual NY Times wedding announcement,......