Wow, what a busy week it has been for celebrity splits and marriages. First, there was the news that Jodie Foster split from her long time partner Cydney Bernard. Then, Cynthia Nixon, who had not talked about her lesbian relationship until recently, said she wanted to marry girlfriend Christine Marinoni.
Now there is another lesbian couple that claims they want to get married. Ellen DeGeneres and galpal Portia de Rossi have decided to take advantage of the California Supreme Court ruling that struck down the ban against same sex marriages yesterday. Sources say she made an announcement that she and Portia would wed on an episode of her show that will air today.
The ruled was just overturned, so it may take as long as a month for same sex couples to be allowed to marry in California. Ellen will not be the first lesbian celebrity to marry however. Rosie O’Donnell and Kelli Carpenter were married in San Francisco in February 2004 after the city’s mayor Gavin Newsom told the city to start granting marriage licenses to same sex couples.
Sometimes I wonder why same sex couples want to be able to legally marry anyhow, given the high rate of divorce, especially among celebrities. Another unlikely, but seemingly long lasting celebrity couple has announced their plans to divorce. Singer Shania Twain and her producer husband Robert “Mutt” Lange have announced they are splitting after 14 years together. The couple married on December 28, 1993, just as Twain’s success was kicking off. Lange has produced albums for such rockers as Def Leppard, AC/DC, Foreigner, The Cars, and Bryan Adams. He produced three of Twain’s albums after their marriage: “The Woman in Me,” “Come on Over,” and “Up!”
Some thought the marriage between the singing beauty and her rock ‘n roll husband, who is 17 years her senior, was odd, but it seemed to be working. The two had a son, Eja D’Angelo, in 2001 and split their time between homes in Switzerland and New Zealand.