This post was created from a spontaneous Twitter rant. I saw the (above) young brother’s video and even though I’ve heard it all before-it started a fire!

Now the young brother in the video (link above) inspired this rant. Let me first say, he has every right to his “opinion”. No matter how uninformed or naive that opinion might be. I’m personally tired of unmarried men in general, with barely two nickels to rub together, commenting on this matter.  The matter of high profile celebrity divorces.  Here goes:

Like it or not, marriage is a business transaction. It has always been this way. For thousands of years, every culture has expressed this aspect of coupling through dowries, arranged marriages etc. The purpose of marriage was (and still is) to delegate the transfer of wealth and “legitimize” children (heirs) to that wealth. That wealth could be the man’s, it could be the woman’s, it doesn’t matter.

Fast forward to today.  Not much has changed except for the fact that we can now choose our spouses for any reason.  That reason could be love (the accepted cultural ideal reason) or for any trivial reason in most free societies.

And in countries like America, where marriage is a government sanctioned institution, with laws, privileges, etc. making your “union” official involves the signing of a legal binding contract—which involves among many things, financial union too.  Assets and liability responsibility accrued during the marriage are shared by each party (note: there are some protections from certain financial liabilities, involving tax evasion, fraud, etc.)

Again marriage is a legal binding contract.  A negotiable contract at that! (ie. pre-nups).  If you don’t like this non-fairytale, non-Disney, unromantic aspect of marriage, then don’t involve the federal government in your relationship!  By legally marrying someone, you have officially involved the government in your relationship.

In order to break your marriage, your legal binding contract?  You must do it through the courts!  You must be granted permission for a divorce!

All legality considered, talking about what you think someone “deserves” during a high profile divorce is completely irrelevant. Kobe Bryant & his wife, Vanessa, entered a contract. He knew the deal, & so did she.

“TROPHY WIVES”

I want to explain something.

Women like Vanessa Bryant “sell” themselves to the highest bidder. (I’m sorry this is not for the faint of heart!) She is an attractive woman.  Athlete “trophy wife” material.

And not all women are “athlete trophy wife material”. It is the blunt truth.

They are not coming into these relationships with millions.  What they bring to the table is their youth and beauty.  <——Highly sought commodities! Something highly coveted by powerful, wealthy men.  The men in these marriages seek out the “best women” their money can attract.  Heck, add their fertility to that list if the man desires children (heirs, legacy). 

I bet you’re thinking “Kim this is SO unromantic!”.  I know. lol.  But we’re talking about money in high profile relationships.  The super-rich aren’t “regular people”.  It is silly and naive to think that huge sums of money and power are “trivial factors” when it comes to high profile celebrities, athletes and how they mate!

Much like Tiger Woods’ ex-wife, Vanessa probably had “options”. Meaning, other well paying men she could have paired herself with (these women know the deal! They know what they’re “selling”.) But she chose Kobe. 

Vanessa Bryant gave Kobe Bryant her youth.  She gave him her prime “beauty” years in the eyes of most men. This is what “trophy wives” have to market and ultimately bring to the table. :-/  Everybody is in on it.  Both the man & woman whether they talk about it openly or not. It is an “understanding”.

And, much like Tiger’s ex-wife, Vanessa Bryant bore Kobe’s children too. Bearing children affects the “stock value” of the athlete’s trophy wife.  These women are mothers now.  The next suitor has to accept her children as their own.  For the rich especially, that can get complicated.  For it is a court’s discretion to decide who is financially responsible for minors, even if they aren’t biologically yours.

Basically, these women could re-marry rich men and those men could be mandated by courts to support non-biological children.  Surprised? Don’t be. It happens everyday.  Even to the “commoner”, barely middle class man. :-/

Just google “paternity estoppel”

I could also get into the racial aspect of this, but I won’t!  Not now, anyway.

SCANDALS

Well, both Kobe and Tiger are not regular people, they are multi-million dollar brands. Their lifestyles and public images are how they secure huge endorsements from companies unrelated to their sports.  The “clean, cut, hetero, family-men”. *wink*

Due to their very public (and downright raunchy) infidelities over the years, we all know now that is pure BS. Right? :o)  Okay. So how did they survive these scandals? How did their “brands” recover?

“Trophy Wives” to the rescue! Per the “agreement”, she is the buffer for your scandals.  She stands by her man! (so he can’t be that bad, can he?) ;-)