Before I go into this, I have to confess that this has been a very hard post to write. Social media, you see, is a funny thing… you think you see someone’s life but in fact you really don’t. You only see what that person wants you to see. Which most of the time is the very much sanitized and “ready for primetime” version. I too am guilty of this, very much so in fact. Even with the heartfelt posts I share and the brutal honesty I tend to include in my words, they’re still not everything that’s going on in my life. Nor should they be. Because being good at telling my story means knowing which stories to tell.

And which ones not to share, ever.

Actually I used to eyeroll my Nana when someone would make the mistake of asking her how she was doing and she’d tell them about everything including her bunions (oh my lord the worst ever) and the perils of buying decent girdles (don’t ask for specifics, seriously, just don’t). I finally told her one day that nobody really wants to know, that they were just being polite, and her reply was that if they didn’t really want to know then they shouldn’t ask.

That’s the rule – don’t ask.

But you didn’t ask, and yet here we are, with me writing again. Because I’m ready to tell the truth finally about something that is very sad and very hard that is going on in our lives. And I’m caveating this with the statement that I hope no one will feel the need to try to make this a scandal or anything ridiculous like that. To be sure, what’s happening isn’t a good thing but it is a necessary thing and it will hopefully eventually result in something good for us. I hope so anyway. And as for why we’re telling everyone like this… simply put… it’s faster. Our immediate family knows. They’ve supported us both as we started this journey. Now we’re bringing the rest of our world into the circle.

So… without any more noise…

As most of you know Robert and I have been separated for quite a long time. We have finally made a decision about our long-term future and we want to share this decision with our friends and family. After 2 plus years of separation we have finally begun the journey toward divorce. To be very clear with everyone, we are not angry with each other and we do not intend anyone in our shared circle of friends and family to feel like they need to take sides. We’re on the same side – each other’s – and we hope all of you will remain the same. We both feel much sadness over the loss of our marriage but we intend to work very hard to maintain our friendship which has always been the bedrock of our relationship and honestly the only thing that has kept us together when there was little else to hold onto. Truthfully no one will ever make me laugh or smile the way Bob does, no one will ever really “get” him and push his boundaries the way I do, and our political and philosophical discussions will I’m quite sure continue on for a very long time. We still have much love for each other and for our shared family and friends and we hope all of you will bear with us as we navigate this new path both together and apart.

There… ugh!

Now I’m sure I heard the collective non-gasp. For something that is definitely non-news. And I want it to be very clear that this wasn’t a decision we came to hastily. We’ve considered lots of different things, looked at many ideas, but the reality is that we’re just too far apart and some things can’t be fixed. Love, it seems, just isn’t quite enough.

Who knew?

So go hug your significant other right now and be grateful for them and what they bring to your life. And don’t worry about me or Bob. We’re going to be okay… eventually… and maybe sooner. We’re working on it. And we appreciate our village as we live through this thing.

Thanks.