by Dionne Mahaffey

Created on: June 12, 2009

A few years ago when Paul McCartney and Heather Mills announced they were divorcing, no one was surprised that the former Beatle and the activist were parting ways.

Despite a wedding in a castle and a young daughter, the duo's six-year union was irrevocably broken. And when the celebrity couple's split got to court, and the daily dispatches revealed a tempestuous, far-from-fairytale marriage, we reveled in the ugly details.

And this reaction, the response of so-called fans, is part of the reason that celebrities divorce so often. What do we mean by that? No, we didn't actively wish them ill (though we all felt a bit betrayed when Sir Paul decided to move on after the death of his beloved Linda, didn't we)>

But when our scrutiny - via the media - of the every move and possible rupture in a relationship is under the microscope, it's easy to place unrealistic expectations on a marriage.

And to plunge into the relationship for the wrong reasons to begin with. In fact, entire media empires are nearly built on the alleged inevitable union of celebs. Remember when every magazine and Web site was reporting that Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn had done everything but actually exchange rings when they were filming a movie in Chicago? We were salivating for a wedding, especially because we still felt badly that Brad had ditched Jen for Angelina. (For the record, both have gone on to date and dump several others.)

Which is not to say that celebrities are deliberately playing out our wishes. It's simply that our opinions - of them and their careers - are powerful dynamics. And the army of those reporting on celebrity lives just keeps multiplying.

Let's be honest: They live in bubbles where their every whim is met with an immediate affirmative response. Everyone rushes to do their bidding. And if they don't? They're out. Compromise and communication are not prized commodities.

It's a transitory world where longevity is measured by movie shoots, rather than years of a faithful relationship. Where stars are surrounded by other ego-driven, ultra-attractive people and the opportunity - and expectation? - of dalliances during what can be very intimate work.

Still, weathering tough times in this rarified realm is defined more by yielding to the wishes of a producer whose artistic opinion is loathed, certainly not by digging into the everyday difficulties of money woes, office angst and childcare challenges.

To be fair, though, living life in a fishbowl is truly draining - ask any Hollywood shrink. And compound that with separation from loved ones, the nature of the business, and our voracious appetite for consuming the gory details and you've got what we've got: a celebrity culture where enduring marriages are the exception rather than the rule.

Who's the exception and why? Here's what Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have to say:

Will: "Really, really good sex. I'm really good at it. [Also] we talk a lot. Sometimes people hear us talking and think we over-talk situations but communication is everything."

Jada: "I will throw away my career before I let it break up our marriage."

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