Former Governor of California and his wife, Peabody award winning best selling author and journalist, Maris Shriver announced Monday that they have separated.
From what I can tell from additional articles and further coverage of the couple’s separation that they were not happy in their marriage for some time now.
In most cases, I am generally very supportive of couples choosing to divorce. I think married people do need to make concerted efforts to stay together. That is the commitment part of the marriage vows being lived out. However, sometimes they really do grow apart. And are headed in different, no longer aligned directions in life.
I don’t actively recommend divorce. However, when that is what they have chosen to pursue, I’m supportive of their relationship choices.
That said, married couples in the political spheres have different challenges and burdens placed upon them. Short of those deal breaker terribly public egregious infidelity scandals, they are expected to stay together. And the fact that despite unhappy feelings, they stayed together.
Many couples stay together for a time period longer than what they feel like often for the sake of their children and to raise their children in the environment of a stable home life.
When you think about it, the creating of a family is the shared life work of most married couples.
Well, when their is a business enterprise involved or in the case of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, a political work was their shared life work. For the sake of that shared life work, they were willing to sacrifice some personal pleasure happiness for a certain amount of time. And one that work was complete and Schwarzenegger left his political office of being the Governor of the State of California, much like once a married couple’s children have finished school and have left the nest, so the two of them have separated as a couple.
My great admiration and respect hats off to Shriver for not having left her husband in the midst of his two political terms when perhaps she might have felt like it. For her to have done so earlier would have been devastating for Schwarzenegger. Perhaps not for political fall out from it, but certainly because of all Shriver shouldered as the First Lady of California. Just as we tell men to “man up,” Shriver womaned up.
And from what sources are revealing about their unhappiness in their marriage, it looks likely they will divorce. This after very obviously being quite loving and caring together for years as Body Language Expert, Kevin Hogan, demonstrated in reading their body language a few years ago.
Blessings,
April Braswell
Sonya Lenzo says
May 10, 2011 at 8:24 PMWe never really know what is going on inside of another’s relationship do we?
Sonya Lenzo
How to close more sales says
May 10, 2011 at 10:20 PMApril, Your dataing advice is great even when it comes to divorce.
Scott Sylvan Bell
How to close more sales
Now go implement!
Dewayne Chriswell says
May 11, 2011 at 2:17 AMMarriage in the political arena couldn’t have been easy…
Dewayne Chriswell
http://dewaynechriswell.com
John Moulder says
May 11, 2011 at 3:41 AMNear impossible to stay together if you are in such a high profile job with the demands being placed upon you .
Peggy Larson says
May 11, 2011 at 4:39 AMI’m hoping they just need some time apart to rediscover themselves after the political life and they’ll re-discover their love again. Could happen! Maybe.
Reading Body Language says
May 11, 2011 at 6:10 AMIt’s sad but things happen in a marriage.
Clare Delaney says
May 11, 2011 at 8:28 AMHmmm, sounds like a pity. Politics must put a huge strain on any and all relationships.
Clare
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Neil Dhawan says
May 11, 2011 at 8:55 AMIt truly is amazing how long they stayed together – and I don’t know if it was part of their vows – “for better, for worse”, but Maria did stay through it all. I like how you say that she “womaned up” 🙂
Best, Neil
http://geneflora.com/happy-mothers-day/
Trisha Chambers says
May 11, 2011 at 9:53 AMIf I was Schwarzenegger I would be doing the Happy Dance if she finally left me…..
Rachel Robinson says
May 11, 2011 at 11:29 AMIt’s sad they couldn’t make it work. But I think you are right in the obligation they had to one another as well as to the state of CA once he took political office. They did what they could to make the marriage work for as long as possible.
Leadership Is A Choice
Kevin Bettencourt says
May 11, 2011 at 1:30 PMPeople grow, sometimes apart. Sometimes work forces one tracked-ness and forgetting those you love is tragic.
Eva Palmer says
May 12, 2011 at 5:00 PMAlways learning so much from you! New words, new ways of seeing the world, and a lot about couples and relationships!
Bryan says
May 15, 2011 at 1:13 PMIt is sad I really thought they would last…but now that he is out of office I guess they don’t have to pretend anymore..
Sales Expert
Michael D Walker says
May 15, 2011 at 4:16 PMIf they do stay separated or divorce, I’m glad that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver kept their problems out of the spotlight as long as they did. Something tells me that they may just wind up reconciling after all. I guess we’ll see…
Michael