Divorce After Infidelity: Public Relations 101
- They know how to keep their mouths shut. Do you?
Divorce after infidelity sucks, but the trick to maintaining your sanity is keeping your public relations game in check. Notoriously tight-lipped about the intimate details of their marriage, power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce’s PR team is so rehearsed that you don’t even know if they’ve ever fought over someone leaving the cap off the toothpaste.
You might not be able to borrow the mega-couple’s platinum PR team to publicly control your image as news of your divorce spreads, but don’t worry! Wielding control over your public image when it comes to dealing with people who wish to pry for information about you or your spouse’s infidelities and the details of your divorce is simple when you follow these six rules.
6 PR Rules to Publicly Divorce Cheating Spouse
1. Apply the KISS principle: Keep It Simple for the Stupid. Keep your emotional delivery neutral and avoid giving the messy details. You might feel initially relieved to reveal the pain you’ve been feeling after dealing with sexual/emotional infidelity, but this can backfire. Keeping a neutral appearance throughout your divorce allows you to save face and look graceful under fire. Besides, you want a fast easy divorce and this will only make things more complicated when people expect to know more than they need to.
2. Spare the Details. People will ask millions of questions about your pending divorce, especially if they know sexual or emotional affairs were factors leading up to it. Safely assume that while some people ask out of sincere interest for you, most people are simply interested in using your situation as entertainment. Therefore, don’t give up “the dirt;” let them think what they want while you adjust to your new life. People have several influences for cheating… and it’s none of their business to know what’s going on behind closed doors.
3. Keep Your Divorce Off Facebook and Twitter. Constantly updating others about your divorce is not only a foolish choice but carries dire consequences when sites like Facebook and Twitter are involved. Social networking sites have come a long way, but are still extremely viral; something you say – even if you post it for a split second in the heat of the moment– can spread like wildfire within minutes and live on the internet forever. Even if you delete it, someone’s always got it saved somewhere. Avoid volunteering up-to-the-minute information offline as well.
- We hope this couple stays together- and we hope they continue to keep their issues behind closed doors.
4. Maintain and Practice Your Public Relations Skills. Develop a couple of sentences or even craft a personal statement regarding what you want people to know about your divorce after infidelity. Rehearse it at home until you feel confident enough to use it in public. Don’t go off the beaten path of this statement unless you absolutely must – and if you do, make sure it’s in private with those who you can totally trust.
5. Develop a Thick Skin. People are notorious for being obnoxious, providing unwanted commentary when you least desire or expect it. You’ll find people will have plenty of negative things to say about your divorce. They’ll add personal commentary on you or your cheating spouse’s sexual affairs and emotional infidelities too, if they’re aware of any. Remember that people tend to speak recklessly, and their inflammatory accusations and obscene commentary are reflections of their mentality. Let their projections be just that, and keep moving forward.
6. Shield Yourself and Your Family. Depending on how well-known your family is, it may be necessary to take a step back from the public eye during your divorce. Your family may feel intense stress from external pressures, such as a highly invasive social circle. If you have children, they might feel extra aggravation at school where peers may question or tease them for what’s going on. Protect your family’s privacy at all costs when necessary to preserve dignity and sanity for everyone.
Divorce after infidelity is painful to experience. No matter how bad it had gotten, you never really knew – or felt – it would ever come to this. However, these essential divorce tips for women can assist you in getting through what is arguably the toughest period of your life. They were written by a woman who experienced a heartbreaking divorce after over 20 years of marriage, so she understands your pain. In addition to this, you can also find great tips for dating after divorce or going from dreary, depressed divorcee to dazzling sexy divorcee!
