If you think that all the high-profile celebrity divorces of the past few years is a bleak sign of our times, think again. The divorce rate among pop culture and political icons may be driving to an all-time high, but us plebs are enjoying the lowest divorce rate in 30 years.
Ironically enough, it may be our cultural obsession with divorce that’s keeping couples together. Bruce Feiler’s recent New York Times article credits a new phenomenon, “divorce porn,” with satisfying the divorce fantasies of married people.
“Divorce porn” is any and all ways we indulge in the divorce/separation stories of others, whether they’re stories of our friends or fictional characters. According to Feiler, while married people may not actually want to get divorced, they do often dream of escaping their marriage. It’s like thinking about how awesome it would be to be a member of the opposite sex, but not actually wanting to make the switch.
