What Some Roseville Marriage Counselors Think of Kardashian/Humphries Split

When TV celebrity starlet Kim Kardashian recently filed for divorce from pro basketball player Kris Humphries only 72 days after tying the knot, some Roseville marriage counselors weren’t surprised by that turn of events.

The high-profile split has drawn particular attention in the Twin Cities where Humphries is a native of Minnetonka and his family still lives in the area.

Given the high-stakes pressure of a lavish wedding stitched into the plot of the Kardashian’s reality TV show,  “I don’t know how seriously it (the marriage) was taken,” said Meg McChesney, a Roseville marriage counselor of more than 20 years. “I haven’t seen many people get married and divorced that quickly.”

Michael Thomas, another Roseville counselor, agreed, noting Kardashian and Humphries may have spent too much attention to the myriad of details surrounding their wedding at the expense of letting their own relationship languish and suffer.  

“If there were millions of dollars waiting in the wings (with the reality TV show), that may have created a lot of pressure to push them (Kardashian and Humphries) to marriage,” said Thomas, who has been a marriage counselor for nearly five years.

“I have never seen anything like this show up in my own practice,” Thomas said of the marriage and quickie divorce.  

Thomas noted that the Kardashian-Humphries nuptials were a high-profile example of how American culture has “enshrined the wedding as this huge thing."

Meanwhile, the Roseville marriage counselors said although they really don’t know the factors that contributed to the couple’s split, the high-profile case has done nothing to enhance the institution of marriage.

“It’s a shame that marriage (in the Kardashian-Humphries case) has been treated as a commodity,” Thomas said.

Diane Beers, another Roseville marriage counselor, echoed similar thoughts, contending, “This is just too bad. It’s another nail in the coffin of the public perception that marriage is bad’’ and that “marriage is put out as entertainment.”

Bekah Saliterman, who has been a marriage counselor for about 10 years, said she has never encountered a client situation like Kardashian/Humphries.

“When people come to me, they are desperate for help,” she said. “It is unfortunate there isn’t more marriage preparation. I think if there was more counseling before (getting married), I don’t think there would be a high rate of divorce.”

Still, Beers said she thinks quickie marriages and divorces could be on the rise given the growing numbers of people who connect through online match and dating services.  Those people prone to a marriage failure are those who rush into the relationship purely on the basis of romantic love rather than mutual trust and commitment, she said.

Whatever the case, the Kardashian-Humphries union has especially attracted media in the Twin Cities because of Humphries ties to the area.

Humphries, 26, was born and raised in Minnesota. He led  to a state championship in 2002 and was the sole bright spot on a lackluster performing U of M basketball team in 2004. He left the U of M after his freshman year and was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 14th pick of the 2004 NBA draft.

Humphries has enjoyed modest success on the pro level in his six NBA seasons. He has played for four different teams, most recently the New Jersey Nets.

Kardashian is known for her show, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” on the E! network. She and Humphries began dating last December, and the relationship was highly publicized while it played out on the show.