You think your life sucks compared to those of celebrities? You think money and fame can solve all your problems, even the marital ones? Guess again. Celebs are as miserable as the rest of us, and the common denominator is often marital status, or rather, the status of marriage.
From Tiger and Elan to Sandra and Jesse, proof that money can't buy marital bliss is all over the place.

My marriage is not exactly a model to be emulated. My wife could write a book about me that would challenge The Bible in length. However, our financial status doesn't make that much of a surprise; people give a natural correlation to money and marriage: the less money you have, the harder marriage is. To put it in a way more relevant to this article, the more money you have, the easier life (and marriage) will be.

Wrong!

The aforementioned couples aren't the only ones with their business out in the street. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards are also a bit rocky... even after already letting themselves and the universe know that they don't really like each other. (It seems like I could be more convinced that Charlie is at fault than Denise, but you never know.) All I know is that these two have been fighting publicly for a while, and by publicly I mean international television and internet. It has literally become entertainment. Their agents should put them in a room together and have Pay Per View charge $30 per household to see it.

And then we have our latest marital debacle, Juan Carlos Cruz , who allegedly (I emphasize "allegedly") hired homeless guys to assassinate his wife. Now, even if he didn't do this, the fact that it is a possibility says all the wrong things about his marriage. Being a famous and loved Food Network star couldn't provide the resources or breathing room to get through his marriage.

Most mature adults know that marital bliss is not determined by material possessions. Many people, however, do think that money can at least alleviate the problems in a marriage. I know that an impromptu trip to the islands right now would help my wife get over some issues she is having with me right now. I know that when my wife and I are having a fight, that if I could simply get out of the house to check out a movie by myself, it would give me the energy to come back and deal with our issues maturely. If a little bit of money can alleviate some marital stress, a lot of money can definitely do so, right?

Wrong!

According to The UTNE Reader , both rich and poor people find the most happiness from the simple and inexpensive things. Even if you are rich, a nice walk with your spouse does more for general happiness (let alone marital bliss) than flying to Cabo in a personal jet on a whim. I know it is hard to believe for some of the more financially typical readers, but there seems to be something to this.

My wife and I are not perfect, and if we were constantly followed by paparazzi, the whole world would see how ridiculous we can be. However, Hollywood (and the paparazzi, unfortunately) have taught me that the focus should not be on the resources we don't have, but on what creativity, imagination and simplicity we do have.

I wish all aforementioned celebrity couples and former couples the best of luck. I only reference your problems as teachable moments for a bigger issue. You may have helped save or at least strengthen the marriages of many others. Just please don't sue; as you can infer, I have no money.

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Would you date someone who had previously dated one of your friends?

Yes! I'm perfectly happy to date my friend's exes. They're exes for a reason.

No! It's too incestuous. I don't feel comfortable dating a friend's ex.

Maybe Yes: I haven't had the opportunity, but I don't see a problem with it.

Maybe No: I haven't done it, but I don't think I would.