Divorce

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke publicly for the first time Monday about the breakup of his 20-year marriage, saying he was responsible for the split even as he refused to talk about what caused it. In a somber meeting with reporters at City Hall, Villaraigosa declined to answer questions about whether the break with his wife, Corina, was triggered by another romantic relationship.

Neither Frank nor Jamie McCourt spared any expense in enlisting a team of attorneys for what is believed to be the costliest divorce case in California history. The case had apparently ended with a settlement in October 2011, in which Jamie McCourt accepted $131 million and relinquished any claim to the Dodgers. Jamie McCourt signed the agreement against the advice of one of her attorneys, Bert Fields. In an email he sent to one of Frank McCourt's attorneys, Fields said he had advised Jamie McCourt not to proceed, in the belief that her ex-husband had not provided all the financial information necessary "for her to make an informed decision.

Whether by necessity or choice, a quarter of Americans take at least one vacation by themselves each year. Some solo travelers are single. Some have partners who dislike travel or have different interests or can't get away. Some just crave freedom. But all face the same question: What's the best trip for the person traveling alone? "The key is to know yourself," said Beth Whitman, author of a guide for women traveling alone and founder of Wanderlustandlipstick.com , a website devoted to advice and tours for women on the go. "There are times when you just need to get away, to recuperate.

Our long national nightmare appears to be over: Kim Kardashian reached a divorce agreement with Kris Humphries on Friday in L.A. A judge signed off on the deal, reportedly telling the reality-TV star, "Congratulations on your dissolution. "  The divorce will become final once papers are prepped and signed by both parties. PHOTOS: Kim Kardashian's relationships and flings And what did Humphries get out of the deal by being a pill since Halloween 2011 and insisting on an annulment instead of a divorce?

"The Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan is usually focused on rehabbing canines -- but he's now revealing some work he had to do on himself following a suicide attempt in 2010. In February of that year, he lost his top dog, Daddy, to cancer after 16 years as a team. A month later, Millan's wife told him she wanted a divorce after 16 years of marriage. The combined blow knocked him for a loop, he shares in "Cesar Millan: The Real Story," a documentary on Nat Geo Wild. In May 2010, he attempted suicide via drug overdose, winding up unconscious and hospitalized, he said.

The 131-character dispatch arrived mournfully within two hours of sunrise May 4, at 7:58 a.m. to be exact. "When u give Give GIVE and they take Take TAKE at wat point do u draw a line in the sand?" Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter feed, adding the hashtags "hurt beyond measure," "gave me no warning," and finally, "love?" Bryant's career with the Lakers has often been pushed aside by internal family matters, the recent court battle over his memorabilia the latest in a string of cheerless events.

Lena Headey, who plays the scheming Queen Regent Cersei Lannister on HBO's "Game of Thrones," is reportedly claiming she is broke, with "less than $5" in her bank account. Headey's financial situation came to light as a result of husband Peter Loughran's making an emergency court filing in their divorce proceedings, according to TMZ. In July 2012, Headey, 39, filed for divorce from Loughran, an Irish musician, after five years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences.

Jeanne Cooper Emmy winner starred in 'The Young and the Restless' Jeanne Cooper, 84, the enduring soap opera star who played grande dame Katherine Chancellor for nearly four decades on CBS' "The Young and the Restless," died Wednesday in her sleep, according to the network. Cooper's son, actor Corbin Bernsen, said last month in Twitter messages that she had been suffering from an undisclosed illness. A Los Angeles resident, Cooper joined the daytime serial six months after its March 1973 debut, staking claim to the title of longest-tenured cast member.

Stevie Wonder has filed for divorce from Kai Miller Morris, his wife of 11 years and mother of two of his children.  The couple, who married in September 2001, have been separated since October 2009, according to documents obtained by TMZ . The 63-year-old singer - legal name Stevland Morris, a.k.a. child prodigy "Little Stevie Wonder" - has requested joint custody of his two young boys with Kai, 10-year-old Kailand and 7-year-old Mandla. PHOTOS: Celebrity splits of 2012 Stevie and Kai, who ran the now-defunct fashion label Kai Milla Designs, met in 1999 at club Nell's in Lower Manhattan and got engaged six months later, according to Harper's Bazaar . She started up her label several years later.

The wife of entertainer Bill Murray has filed for divorce after nearly 11 years of marriage, alleging he abused her and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol. Jennifer Butler Murray filed divorce papers May 12 in Charleston County, S.C. She owns a home on Sullivan's Island, S.C., where she lives with the couple's four children. Bill Murray's attorney, John McDougall, wouldn't comment on the allegations, but said the entertainer "is deeply saddened by the breakup of his marriage."

Kris Humphries was a no-show at a mandatory divorce settlement hearing Friday, the last stop before trial in his long-playing split from Kim Kardashian. Kardashian and her lawyers were there, and Humphries' lawyers were there, according to E! Online, but no estranged husband was to be found. With her hair in a high ponytail, Kardashian "looked solemn sitting alone in the jury box" before the judge cleared the media from the courtroom and closed the hearing to the public, E! said . Drama, mama!

Why, you might ask, take advice from Mariel Hemingway and her partner Bobby Williams about how to live? It's true that they've lived a lot - singly or as a couple facing mental health problems and suicides of loved ones, exploring all sorts of physical adventures, marriage and divorce, parenthood, Hollywood celebrity, the run of diet and wellness pursuits. And now they have "The WillingWay," a book out this week with a title that plays on their names and their philosophy: Where there's a will, there's a way. ( http://www.thewillingway.com )

Re "A 'gray divorce' boom," Opinion, March 31 Susan L. Brown picks up on the current spate of columns about the meaning of marriage in our Western societies. She writes, "Men and women who are 65 can expect to live 20 more years, a long time to spend with someone you may not like so much anymore. " It strikes me as most symptomatic of the brainless, emotionless, semi-stuporous society of babes bred in bottles in Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World. " To those of this temperament, baby boomer marriages are lived through with someone you like or once liked, but "not so much anymore," as though we choose to "like" or "not like" our mates by pressing a link on a computer screen.

Lena Headey, who plays the scheming Queen Regent Cersei Lannister on HBO's "Game of Thrones," is reportedly claiming she is broke, with "less than $5" in her bank account. Headey's financial situation came to light as a result of husband Peter Loughran's making an emergency court filing in their divorce proceedings, according to TMZ. In July 2012, Headey, 39, filed for divorce from Loughran, an Irish musician, after five years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences.

Until recently, it would have been fair to say that older people simply did not get divorced. Fewer than 10% of those who got divorced in 1990 were ages 50 or older. Today, 1 in 4 people getting divorced is in this age group. It turns out that those high-profile breakups of Tipper and Al Gore, and Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, were part of a trend. Baby boomers, who drove the huge increase in divorce that began during the 1970s and persisted through the early 1980s, are at it again.

Divorce can hurt the pocketbook in ways that some people don't expect. Lost income, child support, spousal support all hurt. But there are other ways that divorce affects finances, said Samantha Fraelich, vice president of Bernard R. Wolfe & Associates, a Chevy Chase, Md., wealth management firm. Here are five of them: Legal expenses: Be prepared to spend thousands of dollars on legal expenses, even if the divorce is amicable. If it's contested, expect to spend much more.

Sometimes love isn't all you need. A judge in London granted a preliminary divorce Monday to former Beatle Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. If no one objects, the divorce will be final in six weeks. Mills, 40, will emerge from the rancorous divorce with a settlement of $47.5 million and custody of the couple's 4-year-old daughter, Beatrice. McCartney will retain the bulk of his fortune, estimated by the court to be at $880 million.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie's eight-year marriage ended Friday in a dreary London courtroom. As expected, the case of "Ciccone M.L. v. Ritchie G.S." was one of 17 divorce decrees granted by Judge Caroline Reid during a quick hearing in a harshly lighted London court. There was no legal obligation for Madonna, 50, or Guy Ritchie, 40, to attend the hearing at which they were granted the first of two stages of divorce. Court papers signed by Madonna in Los Angeles confirmed that the queen of pop petitioned for divorce on the basis of Ritchie's "unreasonable behavior" and that there is no need to apply family law in the case -- meaning that the couple have reached their own agreements over their assets and children.

Jillian Barberie Reynolds and her husband, Grant Reynolds, are splitting up. "It is with great regret that my marriage to Grant is ending after more than six years," she told the Ministry in a statement Friday. "He is a special man and we have two amazing children together, Ruby, 5, and son Rocco, 3. "This was a mutual decision that was not taken lightly and we are committed to our children and will work together to ensure their happy and healthy upbringing. " The former "Good Day L.A. " co-host and her actor beau got married in her backyard in July 2006.

Ray Boucher walked out of a downtown Los Angeles courthouse six years ago the envy of the legal field. As the lead attorney in the landmark $660-million sexual-abuse settlement with the Catholic archdiocese, he had won long-denied justice for hundreds of victims and made himself and other attorneys very rich. Flanked by grateful clients, he faced a crush of cameras with the confidence of a man who had achieved a new level of professional acclaim and personal wealth. These days Boucher returns frequently to that same courthouse.