Edd’s MANtra: Hollywood Divorce?

August 23 may go down as the official African-American day of mourning.

One night earlier, the news broke that Motown legend Nick Ashford of the duo Ashford & Simpson passed away. Not 24 hours later, we get more news that will have every beauty shop from here to Compton buzzing, via philly.com:

Will Smith, the West Philly rapper turned movie star, and his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, have decided to separate, according to In Touch Weekly.

“An insider” is the only source named by the celebrity news magazine, and no confirmation – or denial – had been issued as of this morning by the couple’s publicists, other news outlets say.

To paraphrase the wise scribe Shawn Carter: “First Will and Jada break up, now every day I wake up/somebody got a problem on Twitter.”

As of this posting, neither Will nor Jada have confirmed or denied the (probably false) claims, but that hasn’t stopped my Twitter followers from having a meltdown. My timeline this morning was as depressing as a Rick Ross wet T-shirt contest. Seemingly every third tweet proclaimed that if the rumors were true, all marriages are shams and that they’ll never, EVER get married.

What affect does a Hollywood marriage have on your own? As the saying goes, “what they eat don’t make you … excrete fecal matter from your bowels.” #radioedit

I get that Will and Jada are beloved, and as I’ve mentioned before they’re permanent fixtures on Mount Perfection – meaning they are totally flawless and they are immune from criticism from the African-American community. Or so I’m told. And celebrity couples aren’t exactly known for having long lifespans, so it’s easy for the public to become attached to any couple that stays together longer than six months. Lord help us if Michelle cheats on Barack with Anderson Cooper. Y’all would jump off a cliff.

On the surface, I don’t have a problem with people aspiring to be like other couples but it’s quite ridiculous to think that your heroes don’t face the same problems you do.

I’ve heard claims that it seems like the Smiths have the perfect marriage, and if they can’t make it, no one can. Well, seems is the operative word. Just because the Smiths don’t tote their baggage in plain sight and whine and complain on Twitter (COUGHCousinChrisBrownCOUGH) doesn’t mean they are living a fairy tale. Heck – they’re ACTORS, if anyone would know create an illusion, they would.

I certainly hope the Smiths’ marriage isn’t coming to an end. As a married man, it stings a bit every time a couple decides to call it quits, especially when children are involved. But if Will and Jada’s marriage is over, that has no effect on my own. In fact, it will force me to work even harder to maintain a lasting bond with my wife.

Marriages CAN last – you just have to put in the effort. Just because your favorite couple is having trouble doesn’t mean your relationship is doomed from the start. Just think, if you give up, you and your spouse might never have the opportunity to make magnificent music together:

Hopefully the music you make with your spouse isn’t this crappy.

UPDATE: Reps for the Smiths have denied the breakup. Told y’all. Hopefully, you can all resume dating now.