American pop star Pink has just come out of a two year marriage with her ex-husband Carey Hart. Just like most people who are recently divorced, Pink is feeling very vulnerable right now and has displayed this by looking at the new religion of Scientology.

It appears that Pink turned to her actress friend Juliette Lewis for support when she split from her husband, when her marriage to Hart had been plagued by rumours of divorce throughout. Lewis is herself an active Scientologist, and has introduced Pink to the religion.

Scientology is a controversial religion that was invented by a failed Science Fiction author, though despite its dubious origins it has proved very popular among an array of Hollywood celebrities. Stars such as John Travolta, Lisa Marrie Presley and Tom Cruise have all been heavily involved with the religion. What links all of these celebrities? They’re all been through divorce themselves.

According to reports Pink hasn’t signed on to the religion just yet as she’s still checking it out, but it would seem probable that she will, and become the latest celebrity to adopt the bizarre religion after a public divorce.

A pensioner from Spring Valley in the USA was so incensed over his impending divorce from his wife that he went on the rampage, setting her home on fire, and the home of her daughter (his stepdaughter). He then shot himself with a nail gun.

He was so angry with the divorce, and with the courts, that he placed a sign outside the burning home of his wife that read:

I lit the match and family court caused the fire.

The man, known as Eugene “Mickey” Remund, is standing trial for attempted murder and arson. He faces life imprisonment if he’s found guilty.

His wife Gale testified that she was only woken that night by the sound of the fireman trying to put out the blaze to her house.

I was in a state of shock. I couldn’t believe my house was on fire.

She says that she and her husband had been separated since 2006 and she even had a restraining order against him.

Eugene Remund’s lawyer insists that he shouldn’t be convicted of attempted murder because he started the fires in the two homes in the garages, rather than the main structures of the buildings themselves.

I don’t think he had the intention of killing anyone.

The judge decided however that he would face charges of attempted murder because the garages were connected to the homes.

The trial continues.

For those who have just come out of a messy divorce with their finances just about in tact, the credit crunch could pose some very bad news indeed. The current financial climate could force recently divorced and separated couples back to court, to have their financial settlements reassessed.

Geoffrey Shannon is a family law solicitor, and he says that judges have in the past awarded more money to spouses when their former partner has seen a drastic increase in their financial situation. As a result of the current financial downturn, people are considering turning back to the courts to have their financial obligations reassessed due to their reduced income.

In the current financial climate, the courts will be more willing to intervene on separation agreements. Where it can be shown that there is a substantial change in finances which were impossible to anticipate, then judges can decide there is a case for a readjustment as long as there is still a proper provision for the weaker party.

Currently none of these cases have come to court, but some have been settled outside of court due to one of the party’s reduced finances.

Settlements that were made at the height of the property market, just a short few years ago, are now proving to be too much in the current climate as the assets that worth a lot of money then, are worth considerably less now.

Radio stations have a long tradition of offering zany prizes in wacky competitions, and the Canadian station called ‘The Fan 590’ was no different. For Father’s Day last month they offered children the chance to win a divorce for their father as a prize!

The cheeky slogan the radio station used for the competition read:

It’s the perfect gift for the man who has everything, and doesn’t want it.

The producers on the radio station claimed they were offering people an alternative to the boring traditional presents of slippers and Top Gear DVDs, by getting something your dad really wants. What he really wants, they claim, is his life back.

The comedy nature of the competition shows the changing attitudes to divorce in today’s society, in that no longer is divorce something to be ashamed of, instead it’s a natural, acceptable evolution of a marriage that has run its course.

Indeed the divorce market has become a sector in its own right for companies looking to advertise to and target, as divorcees tend to have money and need to buy houses, cars and electrical items to replace the ones they’ve lost in the split.

The promotions manager for the radio station, The Fan 590, Ruth Winker, said about the competition:

I don’t think we are trivializing divorce. We’re accepting of it. It’s a reality.

It would be grown children who are doing this for their father. It’s not meant for young children.

What did you get your dad for father’s day?

Everyone knows how important choosing a wedding cake is to a bride. The bride and groom have to try it, the bride’s parents, and anyone who has an opinion on the wedding. The cost of the cake is also considerably expensive, so it’s one of the more important decisions associated with a wedding.

What about a divorce though? Texas bakery owner Suzanne Maxwell has made her fair share of wedding cakes over the years, but she’s recently discovered a niche that she thought could be exploited. The divorce cake.

As so many marriages end the same way these days, in divorce, it seems only natural that you can get a divorce cake as well as a wedding cake. After all, for many a divorce is a chance to celebrate just as much as a wedding.

Suzanne Maxwell’s bakery company is called the “Lovin’ Oven Bakery” and has made its name from baking wedding cakes. All of that could soon change as divorce is now the word.

One of her customers gave her the idea when they requested a wedding cake, for their divorce.

Suzanne is actually happily married, but her love for her husband hasn’t daunted her in her new venture of baking divorce cakes.

The credit crunch has been affecting people throughout the UK recently, with particular emphasis on the housing market. The results have seen a dwindling of mortgage offers available and a fall in housing prices which shows no sign of slowing. However, rather than just affecting the housing market, the credit crunch is also affecting couples looking to get divorced.

The problem is that when a couple wants to divorce, and they own their own home, they’ll either need to sell the property to split the money equally, or one partner will have to buy the other out. With house prices falling so sharply, any couple looking to sell their home will be forced to accept a low offer, which would harm them financially, or they’ll struggle to sell the property altogether.

The alternative of remortgaging the home to buy out the other partner is also not a viable one as mortgages are proving very difficult to come by.

This has led to some couples having to stay together, or even cohabitating in the same home despite a divorce split.

Marilyn Stowe, from a Cheshire based law firm, stated:

For most people, this is a very difficult time because, with their main asset essentially being significantly depleted, the value has gone down; it means then that there is less money available to rehouse both parties. It’s taking longer to sell the house, and its increasing pressure on the parties who still have to live together in the same house because they can’t afford to live separately.

For those people, it makes a bad situation even worse.

In some instances the respondent in a divorce has fought the issue because they fear they cannot afford the financial implications in getting divorced.