Lovers’ Quarrels Hit The ‘Net

17Apr08

Wow. I thought that posting the lyrics to love songs on your profile and changing your relationship status were public enough. I had no idea. In today’s tech-savvy world, there really are countless ways to humiliate those you were once intimate with. And for us voyeurs, who needs reality shows when you have genuine, unscripted angst accessible from your desktop? Take, for example, the blogosphere. Or more specifically, this weblog, where an old flame confronted me on the specifics of our (not-so) romantic relationship, while another attempted to oust my identity on my “About Me” page (just as a FYI, us bloggers know where comments come from, despite any not-so-clever attempts to conceal it using pseudonyms and bogus email addresses). Oh, but my trivial encounters are the tip of a very large, emotionally-charged, electronic iceberg.

Enter actress and playwright Tricia Walsh-Smith, airing the dirty laundry of soon-to-be-ex-husband and Broadway bigwig, Philip Smith. And you thought your parents’ divorce was bad. Watch a teary Tricia discuss everything from her “evil” stepdaughter to the nitty-gritty of her prenup to her husband’s porn and Viagra use. The whole thing is sad, but Tricia does have a sense of humor, which makes the video EXTREMEMLY entertaining.

So how do we protect ourselves from public disgrace? The answer: DON’T TRUST ANYONE. Or maybe, don’t treat anyone SO badly and avoid involvement with crazies. And beef up on your knowledge of defamation laws in effect in your jurisdiction. Then sit back and enjoy the ride. And what a ride it could be (just ask Philip Smith)!

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