The announcement of divorce from billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates left everyone surprised. While it is their personal affair and no one has right to interfere into same. However, they are public figure having influence over millions of followers across the world, hence, it is imperative to analyse the impact of their decision on the society.
Though Bill and Melinda have been successful in keeping low profile in public domain, particularly on social media, still they are role model for millennial generation around the world. Hence this decision could affect their iconic image too.
Many people got shocked to hear this news. And their first reaction was, how this is possible? How such a nice couple can divorce after 27 years of long marriage? and that too after raising 3 teenager kids?
The reason behind their divorce remains a mystery, but in some of their earlier media interviews, Melinda was seen raising red flag through her cursory mention about Bill’s distress in balancing work and family.
But, work-life stress is the by-product of today’s lifestyle. And people followed Bill in many ways, more particularly as a family man, who was seen so attached to his kids, inspite of having engaged in so many activities.
More often corporate employees who reel under work-family anxieties were given examples of Bill. In HR trainings on emotional skills, there were sessions on how to cope-up with work stress and maintain work-life balance. Bill’s life was a prominent case study.
Bill was considered legend, not only because he is super successful in building his fortune from scratch, but also because of his family-man image. People identified bill’s image as a doting father and a caring husband.
Good family is a foundation to maintain harmony in social fabric. Particularly in the corporate world, when prominent couples like Jeff Bezos-Mackenzie got separated, bill was seen a great inspiration in the society for promoting family value to the next generation.
Bill’s family is seen as an ideal family with happy husband, content wife and joyful kids. No one would have imagined even in dream that there will be split in this heaven, owing to work-life imbalances.
Nowadays everyone goes through some or other stress in their life. However, this should not be the reason for any break up. Because, couple in true love never dump each other; in whatever conditions they may be.
At times, lack of trust, differences of opinions, unusual habits of partner, inability of sexual performance or lack of reproductive abilities becomes the reasons for failure in relationships. However, people in genuine love, will not just separate for any of such silly reasons.
Usually, couples when enter into relationship without any leaning towards each other, see break-ups, owing to lack of balance in their relationship. So, whatever justifications they may give to public, when they break-up, they miss true bond in their relationship.
Bill and Melinda too released their statement mentioning that “We continue to share a belief in our mission and will continue our work together at the foundations, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives”.
Their statement exhibits their personal aspirations overcoming their love. No doubt every individual has unique identity and it should be protected and respected. However, love is unconditional. It is the bliss by god. Identities melts into bond, when love is pure. People in love never think about overpowering each other.
Hence when the duo states that “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage”, it shows that they have spent enough time thinking many things, like where they fell short or long. Or how they are different?
But, one thing as an outsider, we can notice that, they may have missed to give a thought on how it all started? Why they came together? How they remained together for so long? How they cared for each other? How they loved each other?. Though nothing was existing in them, there was still something that brought them together.
Love is not always explicitly expressed. At times it is invisible and seen through action of a person. Not all people are extrovert, who out-rightly speak truth. Lot of people do not even know how to express their love for someone. So love and care are not something, which are shown. But they are something which you feel from inside.
Two persons, when come together to form a family, which is a divine bond, it is implied that they both may have some similarities as well as dissimilarities. It is not necessary that they must be in love for each other. But when they come together and develop leaning for each other, the process of love starts.
Love is not a one-time affair, which you just express by giving some gifts and forget thereafter. But. it is a perpetual belief and devotion for each other. It has to be enduring with deep reliance and patience. It should be like our relation to god. Because, we know god do exist, though we have not seen him. Still, we believe and devote ourselves to god.
Notably some couples are exceptions. You will see them fighting over some unreconcilable differences in their thought-process. But when there comes question about something common in them, they bury their differences and get together. Often such common cause are life goals or mission. But more particular cause become children.
Such couple exhibit mature behavior in relationships. They overcome their dissimilarities through bonding over similarities, to maintain harmony in their relation for their family and especially for kids. Such mature couple understands that breaking relation is not even one minute affair, but maintaining same consistently is the real challenge in life.
Marriage is not just a get-together of husband and wife. But it is a process of building home with family. Such couples who prioritize their family bonding over their individual identities, are seen in true love for each other. They just focus on raising kids keeping aside all their personal desires and issues.
God has made male-female pair, not only for sexual pleasure or reproduction purpose, but it has also put onus on them for survival of life. Nature has entrusted them with parental duty to raise their offspring with responsibility, such that life will continue to survive without disruption.
So, raising kids is not just a pecuniary responsibility, but also a social and ecological responsibility. Giving birth to children is easy but making them survive stably in life is tough. Giving good values to children must be the foremost duty of every parent. Otherwise, whole society will become sick.
Couples must understand that children’s world is beyond their material pleasures. They need parents, and not just guardians. They are curious about everything in nature. But if their constructive abilities are not harnessed, they will develop destructive instincts.
Hence as the children grow in age, parent needs to give special attention for nurturing responsible persona in them. Because this is the age, when they groom with feelings and understanding. They are highly responsive and absorbing to whatever parent injects in them. But what generally parents do in real life, is a different story.
Couples when come together, develop leanings towards each other. Initially for certain years, though they feel that they have feelings for each other, yet they tend to incline more physically. It is quite natural, owing to their tender age, they remain involve more intimately.
But with age, when most of females see downfall in their physical urge, male may encounter with exact opposite impulse. There is nothing wrong in this, because with age, both male and female undergoes lots of physical and psychological changes in them. They both tend to witness cavity, emptiness of life and fear of losing something.
So, to balance this urge, they both need time and attention of each other. But if they don’t get enough attention from partners, they tend to involve more in outside activities, may be social gatherings like clubs, parties or outings to keep themselves busy.
Actually, in this age couples must spend most of time with each other. They must go together on long holiday. They must watch movie together. They must play sports together. They must do shopping. Somehow, they must spend time with each other.
This is typically called ‘Nervous 45’ situation, which happens with most of the couple after completing 45 years of age. They tend to loose interest in each other, if they don’t get attention of each other. They both have to go through the real test of maturity in this age.
Yes. Age is the real culprit in most of the separations. Often most of the separating couples fails to recognise this. But eventually realize this with passage of time. They regret to have not given one more chance in their relationship. Realization often comes in life when all material urges are lost.
But why it happens in that age? Why does female behave strange, when male act impulsive? Why do both male and female go through physical and psychological changes in that particular age?
Well. There are lot of scientific research and studies done on this aspect under various branches of science. The most cognitive reason found by science behind this situation is body hormones and their capricious fluctuations.
Typically, in this age, female cross her menopause phase. It is the natural cessation of her menstrual cycle which is the end of her fertility power. This may not be a smooth transition for her. Because she enters into a dormant phase of her body cycles, which were hitherto continuously into a long productive process through ovulation and menstrual cycles.
Naturally female goes through drastic hormonal changes causing lots of physical and psychological stress in her. Due to which she may lose physical interest or even sometime sexual interest in her partner. However she need utmost care and understanding in this phase. So naturally she seek unusual attention from her male partner.
To add to this, female take care of all home responsibilities including children. Hence, she remains under constant stress of work too. So, she needs physical and mental involvement of her partner at home.
And right at this stage, male expect her to satisfy his self-esteem needs. He seeks more physical involvement from her. He needs her undivided time and attention in his self-actualization journey, which becomes one of major reasons of conflicts in most couples.
That is why it is said that – Age may evolve feelings in couples, but, not necessary maturity. However, some couples are of ‘made for each other’ types. It means, irrespective of any common cause for their relation or even without having children, they sense a strong bond with each other. They share great union of hearts. They do not blame each other for their weakness but they feel that they get complete by their unions. Usually. such tie-ups have great marriages. They are called Soulmates or spiritual companions.
On other hand, when I see people breaking up, I wonder what kind of relation is this? What such people achieve by breaking relation? Do they really become free to do whatever they want? What happens to their common dreams and causes? Were they real or fake? Just like their relation, which too may have based on some fake understanding about each other.
I really wonder as to why such couple do not recall their first visit? Why do they not remember their very reason of meet? What was that something that made them together? Why such couple do not think about their children? As to what will happens to them after their divorce? What will they feel? How will they cope up with the pressure of missing their parents together?
Why couple separating often ignore that they are the reason for their children? What right do they have to snatch life from their children? Do they feel that raising kids is god’s responsibility? Do they feel that children are machines in a factory which can be operated by employee?
I don’t know, what kind of bond such people share in their life? Are these people real or fake themselves? I get very emotional when I think about such family where children are made to suffer due the immature behaviour of their parents.
How come couple go to such an extreme step of separation and that too after living together for 27 long years? Are they really free now to do whatever they want? And even if they do that, what after that? what is next?
Anyway, divorce is the personal matter of each couple and no one should have any right to talk about same in general. But children are part of society. What will they carry in their life, when they see such examples? Will they trust in long relationships? Will they believe in staying as family?
Divorce in any family is a disaster. Children is middle class family do suffer financially because of division of resources. But in elite family, children do suffer more. Not because of loss of livelihood but due to loss their childhood. Which is far more dangerous than any financial sufferings. And, I hope separating couple would need to understand this before breaking up.
It is also said that quite often the reason behind rich divorces are far more commercial and economic. They may be purposeful division of assets either for ringfencing them from taxation or revenue enforcement or may be for wealth management.
And. it may be seen also that the amounts of such splits are mind-boggling in some of such billionaires’ divorces, where in spite of division, stock market has made insane reactions. Perhaps more in rising wealth of such couples.
In one of prominent recent example high-profile divorce, the Mackenzie got about USD 35.8 Billions from her husband Jeff Bezos, by virtually splitting their joint 75% stake in Amazon. And both are growing in their wealth. Perhaps Melinda may get a large share in Bill’s total worth of USD 130 Billions and would becomes richest person in the world.
May their wealth keep growing with tides in the market. However, it should not so happen at the cost of losing childhood of their sweet children. May god give them second chance to rethink on their decision.