Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife, Robin, much like other public figures are open targets for praise, criticism and speculation. Stories abound as to the future of Dr. Phil’s popular talk show and don’t stop there. Rumors continue to follow the couple in nearly every aspect of their lives, professionally, public and private. The latest series of stories making the rounds is that Dr Phil McGraw and his wife Robin are headed for divorce. Is there any truth to these rumors?
Sad to say, does it even matter?
For whatever reasons, there will be those who love to talk about someone else and if the other person is a public figure, there seems to be an ‘anything goes’ mentality no matter who may be hurt.
My husband and I have been happily married for years. Yet, rumors and speculation followed the announcement of our engagement. At the time we lived in a small mid-western town where the popular pastime was, as is often the case in small towns, gossip.
Seems his ex-wife was none to happy to know that he was moving on with his life and she tried several different ways to get under our skin, including some false accusations that got the law involved. When that didn’t pan out she began telling anyone who would listen that I was marrying ‘her’ man because I was pregnant. Since we were active members of our local church she hoped to embarrass us and cause a problem with our church family and friends as well as cause enough tension to come between us and our plans to marry.
At one point she even showed up on my doorstep and declared she ‘knew for a fact’ I was pregnant and that was why we were ‘rushing’ into getting married.
Our announced wedding date was six months from the time of her announcement so just the idea of it being a rush to the alter seemed to be to be an overstatement even if her accusations had been true. When I simply stood my ground and told her to believe what she wished, she left ‘justified’ in ‘knowing’ that she was correct in her accusations.
The truth was I was unable to have any more children and had of course told my soon- to -be- husband all about it before we announced our engagement. His take on the whole situation was to simply tell his ex it was impossible for me to be pregnant but I saw no need to ‘defend’ my reputation or our relationship against malicious rumors.
Thankfully our relationship was secure enough not to be shaken by false accusations. Knowing who we were and where our values lay, gave us more than a solid basis to simply stand by and let the ex-wife be the one looking foolish when time proved the stories she stood by to be unfounded. Ignoring the gossip, speculation and whispers caused by his bitter ex spouse was not always easy. Had there been any insecurities on either side of our relationship, or had our close family and friends become tangled up in the need to take sides or defend us, it could have caused a rift or perhaps even achieved the intended purpose of canceling the marriage.
Of course, no one except Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife Robin know the details of their relationship. They have been in the public eye for taking a stand on family life and relationships and that is sure to stir up a wide variety of opinion as well as the need for some to look for a ‘fly in the ointment’, especially from those in the public arena. Sure-there is the chance that speculation and unconfirmed rumor can undermine any relationship. It remains to be seen how the McGraws deal with this latest round of rumor. As in my own personal experience, if given enough time and space, rumors will fade away as those who fabricate them find other victims for their unwanted attentions. Close friends and sources say the rumors or marital trouble and divorce are ungrounded and as in the case of all speculation, time will tell.
