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Breakups Dooce Jon Armstrong, arguably the better half of the Dooce.com empire, has started opening up about his separation from his wife Heather. He begins by addressing the many questions he’s received asking why he would help Heather out with her latest project – helping his future ex-wife film a sponsored post featuring free furniture when he apparently was forced into an apartment with nothing. In a long post, Jon talks about what he calls “Recent Events”: Many of you might wonder why the hole I’d agree to help Heather. And I’m with you. I’ve asked myself this question plenty. I should mention that I’m still a partner of Armstrong Media. It’s in my interest to have the business be successful. By extension, it’s in my interest for Heather to be successful. It’s also been a great opportunity to work on the necessary changes in the relationship dynamic that I need to make. It has not been easy work. Being at the house and working in the office has been a challenge on more than just an emotional level…Coming back home to work has forced more than a few realizations. At the forefront is the abundance of ironies. That Heather is outfitting a guest room via help from a sponsor while I shop for furniture for my new place is one of the more bittersweet ones. After admitting that most people “have correctly surmised that I didn’t want this separation”, he offers what appears to be a glimpse into married life with Mrs. Dooce: I’ve also made an effort to be positive despite the deep, deep pain that I feel every day. It’s difficult to be told that you did it wrong for years and take a look back and feel the deep regret that if only you’d known you were doing it wrong, you could have made changes and done the work that would have fixed the wrongness. How does one handle this gracefully? I don’t know. I’m trying. There doesn’t seem to be any mentions either of marriage counseling or divorce lawyers, but it doesn’t sound like Heather is making much effort to repair the relationship beyond being “very nice” to her estranged husband. And Jon seems to view his continued work with her as purely business – “looking out for myself professionally, I’d be kind of stupid to pass up some work on a high profile website because of Recent Events”. Where will this wind up? It’s impossible for the millions of people who have watched their lives for years not to speculate on what’s going on, or where things will go. Maybe it’s impossible even for Jon and Heather. As Jon sums up his post, “Crazy times, people. Crazy times.” On the heels of Mr. and Mrs. Dooce Blog announcing their separation comes news of other bloggers who are potentially ending their marriages. Anissa Mayhew, who evidently came to fame by documenting her health issues, announced yesterday on her blog that she was calling it quits. The kids know. I wouldn’t think about telling any of you before telling them. They’re hurting, but they also knew that something was wrong. I feel so sorry to them to not be able to provide the home they deserve. I HATE THAT. Especially after what they’ve already been through. But having been through what I have, overcoming the obstacles in my way, embracing my inner happiness….I owe it to myself. Though the blogger known as MckMama hasn’t specifically said so, readers are assuming the worst based on some odd tweets and blog posts. On January 29th, she posted a vague sentence to her twitter saying “Definitely never thought we’d be researching new places to live right now. Life throws you curveballs, that’s for sure.” On her blog she says she has no internet or computer, and doesn’t “know how or when or if I’m going to blog about this next phase in our lives”. Still not clarifying what’s going on, she tweeted yesterday that “If I had something to say, I’d say it. But I just don’t.” Other bloggers have long been blogging about the ends of their marriages. Melissa Summers, author of the “Suburban Bliss” blog, has been documenting her divorce since August. Kate Inglis of “Sweet/Salty” has also blogged about her recent separation. On an internet where weddings and babies make for popular content – and in some cases, big pageviews – it’s clear that life changes are the fastest way to get readers coming around. Whether for personal catharsis or as a way to keep connected as one builds a new life there is no denying that such posts generate plenty of buzz. Is airing divorce or separation just the next logical step for those who habitually share their entire lives online? And what will the next generation think when they can find the inner thoughts and the details of their parents’ disintegrating marriages somewhere in a cache years from now? And most importantly of all – who will win the race to the book deal finish line?
As predicted on GOMIBLOG nearly two weeks ago, Heather Armstrong (of dooce.com fame) and her husband are “taking a break”. Readers of Dooce.com are starting to wonder if there’s trouble in paradise. Dooce’s husband has been publishing vague posts about something being wrong for the last month or so, and regular readers are drawing their own conclusions. A post from December 13 speaks about a “feeling of impending doom” and that he is walking on eggsheles:
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