Divorce is a staple of Time’s top 10 marriage stories of 2011

Earlier this month, as part of its annual “Top 10 Everything” list, Time Magazine created a list of its top 10 marriage stories of 2011. A few happy tales made the top 10, such as the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But unsurprisingly, many of the top 10 had more to do with divorce than with marriage.

Second on the list is a story titled “Marrieds Are the Minority,” which discusses the recent Census data indicating that households headed by married people are no longer in the majority. In 2005, 50.3 percent of the 111 million households in the U.S. were made up of single parents, unmarried couples, and people living alone, tipping the majority toward unmarried people for the first time in American history.

Of course, there couldn’t be a year-end list without a mention of reality star Kim Kardashian. In a story titled “Kim Kardashian Reminds Us Why We Hate Weddings,” the author discusses the $18 million wedding, 72-day marriage, and contentious divorce of Kardashian and NBA star Kris Humphries, which we discussed in an earlier divorce blog post. Following the divorce announcement, many accused Kardashian of engaging in a fake, made-for-television marriage that not even her short-lived husband was in on. Kardashian denied this, of course, but the jury is still out on her reasons for marrying and divorcing Humphries in the span of less than a year.

Finally, the article mentions a talked-about statement made by Pat Robertson on his television show “The 700 Club.” When asked whether it was acceptable to divorce a spouse stricken with Alzheimer’s disease, Robertson answered in the affirmative, angering both critics and supporters.

Certainly, it has been an interesting year in marriage and divorce. It remains to see what 2012 will bring!

Source: Time, “Top 10 Marriage Stories,” Belinda Luscombe, Dec. 7, 2011