A celebrity couple in the US have shared how lockdown gave them the time to work on their marriage instead of getting divorced.
American R&B singer Ne-Yo and his wife Crystal Renay Williams, a model and TV presenter, filed for divorce in February after just four years of marriage.
They used the stay-at-home measures to work through their problems together.
‘Stronger’
Ne-Yo said: “The whole quarantine thing was kind of a blessing. It allowed me the time to lock back in with my family.
“Before the quarantine happened, we were definitely talking divorce, and the quarantine forced us to sit still, block out the noise from the world – you know the world can get very, very loud, and we tend to let the world’s opinion mean more in certain situations than it should.”
He added that the pair had a number of “uncomfortable” conversations which were “blatantly, painfully, brutally honest”, but ultimately beneficial: “We’re actually stronger now than we were before. Now we feel like we can really talk to each other.”
England and Wales
Recent changes in the law in England and Wales will rush divorces through in just six months, without the divorcing spouse having to give a reason, and without the other being able to contest it.
Statistics show around 10,000 people file for divorce each year but do not go through with it.
Separate figures also suggest that around 50 per cent of people who get divorced regret having done so, mostly citing emotional reasons, rather than financial, for wishing their marriage had not ended.
More on no-fault divorce:
‘Govt has picked worst possible time to change divorce law’
‘Divorce not linked to marriage’ says Govt, as no-fault divorce Bill takes step forward