Why Celebrity Marriages Don’t Last

God may be a mathematical formula, but it turns out that marriage is too. While we stand in line at the grocery store, we’re all used to seeing fan magazines touting the latest celebrity wedding. It seems like only a short time later, standing in the same line, we see a tabloid headline announcing that the marriage is over. Six years ago one mathematician worked out a formula that he claims predicts IF this will happen, and if so, HOW SOON.

The equation’s variables include the relative fame of the husband and wife, their ages, the length of their courtship, their marital history, and their sex-symbol status

In the March 13 edition of the New York Times, John Tierney (who helped devise the formula) writes: "The 2006 equation correctly predicted doom for Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher; Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock; and Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. It also forecast that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett would probably not make it to their 15th anniversary, in December 2012; so far, they’re still married, but gossip columns are rife with reports of a pending split.

"On a happier note, the 2006 equation identified two couples with a good chance to make it to their fifth anniversary, in 2010: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, and Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso. Sure enough, they made it (and are still married)."

He quotes psychologist David M. Buss as saying, "Research has documented that women who wear skimpy or sexually provocative clothing tend to be higher on the trait of narcissism. My research on married couples found that the trait of narcissism predicted likelihood of sexual infidelity. Those high on narcissism feel entitled to have sex with others. Also, they oscillate between feelings of grandiosity and worthlessness, and the sexual attention helps keep them in the self-aggrandizing region of self-esteem."

Tierney quotes mathematician Garth Sundem as saying, "It turns out that overall fame doesn’t matter as much as the flavor of the fame. It’s tabloid fame that dooms you."

In Whitley’s Room, just for subscribers, there are now several short (15 min.) discussions by Whitley Strieber on bible verses, and one of them concerns what is perhaps the most famous marriage in the New Testament, the REAL meaning of the "marriage feast at Cana."

Bring your spouse, loved one or partner to the Dreamland Festival in May, in delightful, ROMANTIC Nashville in May, where you’ll have the kind of fascinating adventures that CEMENT a partnership. But hurry, we keep it small so we can say "hi" personally to everyone, and tickets are going fast!