Breaking up is hard to do…

One of my friends is currently going through a painful separation from her husband. They have two children, including a baby, and she’s finding it very stressful. Half term, a time for family, is only highlighting the newly raw absence of her ex. ‘I spend a lot of time crying when the kids are asleep,’ she told me the other day. My heart goes out to her.

Despite her own pain she’s trying hard to keep smiling in front of the children. She knows that the most important thing is to help them feel as secure as possible, and let them know their Daddy still loves them and will see them as often as possible.

Peter Andre and Katie Price are just two of the latest high profile parents to call it a day. I enjoy watching their show, Katie and Peter Stateside, on ITV2, and hope they can work things out.

But I’m getting increasingly uncomfortable with the way they appear to be conducting this latest relationship development in the public eye. If they are really set on divorce, then reaching an amicable solution to their custody arrangements should be paramount for their kids’ emotional well-being – and that must surely mean keeping it as low-key as possible.

The other day top divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd-Platt told me that one of the main things she advises her clients is to try to reach an amicable solution together to avoid unnecessary legal costs. ‘Arguing and fighting in court will only reduce the assets,’ she explained. ‘For the children’s sake, try and resolve what sensible access arrangements you can put in place together. Don’t make it into a war if you can avoid it.’

Seems like sound advice to me.

written by Liz Jarvis