When parents divorce, the kids involved can sometimes be left affected, often negatively. These 6 stars all went through having their parents divorce at some stage, and have spoken on how they felt about it at the time. For some, they were left feeling like relationships don’t work out, while others wanted their parents to split because they weren’t working and were constantly arguing.
Christina Hendricks
Christina encouraged her parents to split because they weren’t happy: “(They split) when I graduated from high school. It didn’t affect me – they hadn’t been getting along for some time and I was just like, ‘Just get a divorce. Save yourselves’.”I believe very much in marriage and in working hard for it. My husband’s parents are still together and I really like that. But I wouldn’t have wanted my parents to stay together if they weren’t happy.”
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly believes her parents divorce pushed her to work harder: “Divorce isn’t fun. It affects relationships you get into when you are older. I think you have to work a little harder because you’re constantly thinking it’s probably not going to work out in the end. Also, I travel a lot and work a lot. The way I live it’s hard for me to even find someone.”
Justin Timberlake
Justin still feels affected by the divorce which happened when he was three: “My parents divorced when I was three. I’m humbly and honestly finding out that I have a lot of issues with that… I’m finding more and more that… I’m going to break the chain because that’s what you want to do, break the chain of your parents. But at some point, it’s in your blood and you have a thing that happens and you’re like, ‘Holy s**t, my parents did that.’ And I read something somewhere where the first three years of a child’s life are the most important for the parents and the child’s connection, and right around there, as soon as my parents had me, they divorced.”
Johnny Depp
Johnny wanted his parents to divorce because they weren’t happy, and he saw it coming: “I recall hearing my parents argue and thinking: ‘Come on, this is torture. Just split!’ They stuck it out until I was 15, but I’d seen it coming for years. When they finally did divorce, I thought: ‘OK, this is the right thing.’ My mum got ill after my father left, so my attention was taken up in making sure she was OK. I didn’t have the time until later to mourn that loss of a sense of family, however unhappy.”
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake believes what his parents did takes guts: “(Divorce can) bring out the truth and honesty in a relationship, and that’s greatly relieving to everyone – that people can kind of move and change and grow. And so, in some ways, as much pain as there is, there’s also a positive outlook on it. And thinking, you know, some relationships last a lifetime, and some relationships don’t. I think it takes a lot of courage for my parents to make the decision that they made, and I trust both of them and their outlook on life. They’re wonderful parents to me and my sister.”
David Beckham
David would like to see his parents back on speaking terms after their split: “There’s nothing more I’d love to see happen. I’d love them to be back speaking. I’m sure they will in years to come. But as people know who’ve had mums and dads who’ve been through divorces, it doesn’t happen straight away. Sometimes it never happens. But that would be perfection for me. I’d love my parents to be on good terms and us all to go out for dinner again.”
