Nicholas Sparks splits from wife

Romance author Nicholas Sparks announced last week his divorce to his wife of 25 years, Cathy.

Sparks spoke at Oklahoma Christian University for the McBride Lecture for Faith and Literature on Nov. 21. The news of Sparks’ divorce took students by surprise.

“He just talked about his wife and that their relationship was simple,” senior August Cronin said. “But it was still his favorite love story even though he writes all these beautiful stories.”

News of Sparks’ divorce is not uncommon in the celebrity world, where divorce rates are high.

“I think a lot of times we want to make issues like divorce very black and white,” Bobby Kern, assistant professor of Psychology and Family Studies, said. “The more we study those issues, the more we dive into emotion, thought process and the fact that we are people, the more we realize that there’s a lot of gray area.”

According to the American Psychology Association, about 40-50 percent of marriages in the United States today end in divorce.

“He is a human being and all human beings deal with complex issues,” Tina Winn, professor of Psychology and Family Studies, said. “Just because he writes about something does not mean he is not going to experience difficult times. Even in his writings, there is always a crisis that becomes a part of his stories.”

Fans of Sparks’ note the irony of his divorce announcement because of his preferred writing genre.

“He is always talking about true love and finding your soul mate and then he ends it with his,” junior Emily Jennings said. “He preaches about a forever love and his did not even last forever.”

An off-campus marriage seminar was announced last week that is taking place in Oklahoma City on Feb. 7.

“Forever. For Real.” is advertised as a free, interactive relationship workshop for dating, engaged and married couples by providing practical tools needed for a healthy relationship.

“I think anything that we can do to promote the reality of what marriage is intended for is fantastic,” Kern said. “I think the idea of educating a generation that has seen split homes and families broken that that does not have to happen and it isn’t the intention of marriage. It goes hand in hand with what God tells us anyways.”

Cronin said seminars like this present a full picture of marriage.

“It’s neat to hear people talk about bad sides of marriage, because as single ladies we always hear that marriage is perfect and wonderful and so when we get there, we expect it to be awesome,” Cronin said. “I think you have to realize that you cannot do it on your own. I think seminars like that are an awesome idea because people have advice and we should take it.”

All attendees have a chance to win a vacation getaway courtesy of iHeartRadio and engaged couples can save $45 on an Oklahoma Marriage License.

More information about the seminar is viewable at ForeverForReal.com.

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