Divorce Humor


by Pete Desrochers

May 2011

Pete Desrochers

Humor in life is wherever you find it, but divorce mediations aren’t exactly the best venues for humor…or are they?

A couple of colleagues and I started jotting down some of the funnier and more bizarre happenings, and they almost read like a comedy script. Undoubtedly, you have had similar experiences, and I’d love to hear about them.

This certainly won’t compensate for all your rougher mediations, but allow me to share a few snippets of lighter moments:

“My husband had his project cut off a few months ago, and he hasn’t provided me with any relief since.”

“In accordance with my lawyer’s instructions, I gave birth to the twins in this envelope right here.”

“Hey, the only beast in you is a jackass!”

“I don’t think I was to blame for the bad marriage, or him either. But if either was to blame, it was him.”

“If you stand close enough to him you can hear the ocean.”

“Do we have to bring that steamroller in high heels back into the room?”

“Sharing his bed was OK. Sharing his bathroom was gross.”

“She took a baseball bat to the motorcycle I was building in the garage. It just lay there, silent and motionless.”

“Shut up, you prehistoric old bugger…does it still have to be his turn to talk?”

“My husband is very abusive. He always hits me back a lot harder than I hit him.”

“She had an affair without warning me of her intensions.”

(To the mediator) “Did you notice how she dresses better for these mediations than she does for me?”

“Calling him an idiot is an insult to stupid people.”

“It’s men like him that make women gay.”

“He was stationed back in the States after being injured by a roadside IUD”

“Isn’t having an affair with one man for a long time better than what he did? He had affairs with lots of women and they never lasted long. At least with me you know where it’s been.” 

“The only thing that will get a rise around you is my middle finger!”

“How he can have such a narrow mind in that expanse of nothingness is beyond me.”

“He keeps telling our daughter that I’m illiterate. That ain’t right, ‘cause he knows we were married a week before she was born.”

“He tells so many little white lies he could repaint the kitchen.”

“He’s an instant idiot…just add the booze.”

“I’m not a whore, and even if I was, I’d have better clients than him.”



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Biography




Pete Desrochers is the Founding Director of The Negotiators. He has been a mediator and negotiator for over 10 years, including international negotiations in over a dozen countries on four continents. However he is probably best known for his published articles on stress, personal relationships and conflict. A strong proponent for settling divorces and domestic issues out of court, Pete believes that gentleness and compassion can only come from strength, endeavoring to provide a safe, friendly environment to resolve even the most volatile disputes. He is equally comfortable in corporate boardrooms, standing before international tribunals or resolving children’s problems. Pete is a Collaborative Law practitioner and a syndicated social commentator in both the United States and Canada.



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Website: www.thenegotiators.com

Additional articles by Pete Desrochers



Comments



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 John ,   Houston TX    07/05/11 
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Peter, I loved the quotes and they made me laugh. I hope you continue to post funny stuff as what we do is too serious for us to be solemn! John
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 Kathleen Hammock,   Highland IL  khammock@hammocklaw.com      06/18/11 
 Divorce is never humorous  
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I'm sorry to read this article on Mediate.com and it made me consider taking down the link to the divorce articles on my website after a friend who looked at it called me and chastised me for choosing to post this article. I hadn't read the article until that call. But now that I have, I'm concerned. My clients who are divorcing are always in so much pain. We all make misstatements sometimes, but honestly, this article made me feel like it was mocking divorcing people. I am sure that was not the intent but I'd really hate to have a client be offended by it.
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 Diana ,   Los Angeles F  diana1159@aol.com      05/12/11 
 Sometimes I make my own jokes 
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Sure, clients have said some awesomely quotable things. Humor in the session can break the tension. When I say something I know people don't want to hear, I preface it by saying, "Now this is the part where the mediator gets fired," because it seems like everytime I tell someone who can't make ends meet that they need to consider getting a job and what are their plans for that...I get fired! Simply for being Captain Obvious. LOL
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 Les Wallerstein,   Lexington MA    05/11/11 
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Thanks to Pete for sharing these humorous tidbits. Airing the honest and incisive remarks of mediation clients is by no means disrespectful to them... Their comments reveal the common humanity in us all.
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 Michael  ,   Montreal QC    05/10/11 
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Thanks for sharing this look at humanity at one of our most vulnerable and moving moments. As mediators know, these comments often drip with the underlying fears, worries, and threats that grip each dispute. I know publishing these comments is not meant to disparage or belittle the disputants. What I learned is what Kurt Vonnegut said about human expression--sometimes it can be like looking at a beautiful woman who has one blue eye and one green eye. Humanity is a beautiful thing.
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