Divorce

Bob Baffert and Wayne Lukas were sitting next to each other at a recent racing function when Baffert said to Lukas, "Everyone used to hate you. Now they hate me." It's as clear as a giant flowered hat, and just as ugly. At rowdy Churchill Downs today, the only thing more quietly despised than Bob Baffert will be a Breathalyzer. The 128th Kentucky Derby will feature 19 horses, 150,000 fans, and one villain. Baffert will saddle longshot War Emblem.

Manny Pacquiao's skyrocketing popularity created chaos that no mere mortal could be expected to balance. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) appeared more human than ever in his last fight, however. As he prepares now for his next bout June 9 against Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao and his trainer acknowledge Everyman's frailty has been his most imposing contender. "All the distractions caught up to Manny in his last fight," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said Thursday of the boxer's narrow decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

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."

Frank McCourt bid farewell to his manager Saturday. The new owners of the Dodgers met with the players Sunday, in advance of an anticipated news conference Tuesday. All of the activity revolved around the expected closing of the Dodgers' sale Monday. However, the deal did not close on schedule, leaving McCourt with ownership of the team for what appeared to be one final night. The closing now is expected to occur Tuesday morning, according to three people familiar with the sale process.

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.

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.

Robyn Gibson, Mel Gibson's wife of 28 years, filed for divorce in L.A. Superior Court on Monday, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple have seven children, but only one under 18. Robyn Gibson has requested joint custody of their son who turns 10 today. Details of how the couple's assets will be divided were not spelled out in the court filings. Robyn Gibson is seeking jewelry and earnings and assets she accrued after the couple separated, and a share of the money and assets Gibson, 53, has earned during his nearly three decades as a Hollywood hitmaker.

A judge will likely grant Madonna and Guy Ritchie an initial divorce decree on Friday, according to the schedule for London's High Court. The court lists "Ciccone M L v. Ritchie G S" as one of 17 cases for "matrimonial and civil partnership causes for pronouncement of decree." That means a judge is to grant the couple a preliminary divorce decree. After six weeks and a day, the couple will probably be granted a decree absolute and the divorce will become final. British media reported Thursday that the celebrity pair had reached a settlement that would see the pop superstar keep the majority of her estimated $445-million fortune and share custody of their two children.

'Life is short. Have an affair." That's the slogan of the Ashley Madison dating service, a website for people who want to cheat on their partners. That's right, unlike traditional Internet dating sites -- where you're expected to say you're unattached no matter what the truth is -- Ashley Madison is honest about its duplicity. Unlike match.

Joanne Woodward and Joan Miller were classmates at Greenville High in South Carolina. Joanne went on to marry Paul Newman . Joan — or Jo, as she's known today — married Tom Lasorda . It gets worse: Tommy borrows $500 to get married. "I didn't know he didn't have any money," Jo says. Kuroda, Gwynn trigger Dodgers' sweep of the Padres This week marks Jo & Tommy's 61st wedding anniversary, the obvious question: "How could anyone live with Tom Lasorda that long?"

A body found near Lake Skinner in Riverside County has been identified as that of 22-year-old Brittany Dawn Killgore, a Marine wife missing since Friday, the San Diego County medical examiner's office announced Wednesday. Meanwhile, Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Ray Perez, 45, considered a person of interest in the case, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in San Diego County Superior Court in Vista to charges of receiving stolen property and possession of a stolen assault rifle. Bail was set at $500,000.

Demi Moore has dipped her toes back in the Twitter ocean after more than three months away, and though she's using same handle, the actress may very well be hinting at a new incarnation of @mrskutcher on the horizon. Actually, what might be most revealing about the self-portrait that heralded her return -- with the simple caption, "Testing ... " -- is how unrevealing it was. Classic @mrskutcher could be seen tweeting herself out to the world in all her bikini-clad glory, or sharing a peek at her back view unclad in the bathroom, naked down to her waist.

Six months ago, the smart money had Frank McCourt walking away from the Dodgers with little more than a battered reputation. The beleaguered owner had sunk into a quagmire of debt — taking the team into bankruptcy — and had settled a contentious divorce with his ex-wife, Jamie, by agreeing to pay the seemingly massive sum of $131 million. Most experts figured he'd be lucky to unload the franchise for just enough to break even. But that was then. This week, McCourt stands to pocket, after all the bills are paid, about half of the $2.15 billion offered by a group led by Magic Johnson.

Young adult novelists are increasingly tackling darker subjects: kidnappings, drugs, rape. But few have delved into so many dark subjects as novelist Thane Rosenbaum, who ventures into YA territory with his latest, "The Stranger Within Sarah Stein," a novel revolving around divorce, Sept. 11, homelessness and the Holocaust. What might be most odd about this combination of subjects is that the book isn't glum at all. Told through the eyes of the perky, bike-riding 12-year-old Sarah Stein, the daughter of a candy-making mother and an artist-painter father, it works as more of a fantasy than as a dark rumination on tragedy.

Question: My sister and her husband recently decided to end their marriage. He moved out of their apartment, which they had rented under a one-year lease, and filed for divorce. A few months later, he told my sister he couldn't afford his new place. He said that he was planning to move back into the apartment where she is still living. My sister doesn't want him back. Can she stop him? Answer: If both husband and wife were parties to the rental agreement for the apartment where they had lived together, they both remain legally responsible for the agreement.

Peyton Manning's release by the Indianapolis Colts was as civil a sports divorce as you'll ever see, announced Wednesday with dignity and more than a few tugs on the heartstrings. Explained in sometimes wavering voices by Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay, this was a difficult but reasoned decision. Not to be confused with "The Decision," the contrived and ego-pumping TV show in which LeBron James told the world he would take his talents to South Beach. The world, by the way, is still waiting for him to take the NBA championship trophy there.

It is likely that no man ever crouched on one knee, stared lovingly into his girlfriend's eyes and asked, "Will you do me the honor of being my first wife?" Perhaps, given the current state of marriage and remarriage, that would be an appropriate proposal. In the United States, almost 50% of first marriages and more than 60% of second marriages end in divorce.

When Yanic Chan and Vanessa Van split up in 1995, they couldn't afford a lawyer. So, like thousands of other people without money, they filled out the divorce paperwork themselves, with help from a friend. In November 1997, Van went to the Riverside County Courthouse to enter a final judgment. "The clerk put the stamp on it," Van said. "I asked, 'Everything finished?' She said 'Yes.' " Chan returned to his native Cambodia and married again.

Actor Ryan Reynolds has listed for sale the Los Feliz hills house he bought with his then-wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, in 2010. Priced at $3.65 million, the 1969 Buff & Hensman-designed Wong House has walls of glass that capture views of downtown Los Angeles and the ocean. The turn-key house has been restored, and Reynolds added solar upgrades and high-tech bells and whistles. The master suite opens to a walled garden. There are two bedrooms, three bathrooms and 2,835 square feet of living space.

This castled city where highlands and lowlands meet has been fought over many times by the Scots and the English, never more bloodily than in the 13th century battle depicted in the Oscar-winning movie "Braveheart. " Now Alasdair MacPherson hopes to see this former capital of the kingdom of Scotland back in his countrymen's hands without a single shot fired. In the biggest test of British unity in decades, Scotland is on the verge of being granted the right to hold a referendum on whether to secede from the United Kingdom, putting asunder more than 300 years of marriage to England and Wales.