I was sat in my car this morning with a friend/work colleague on the way to work and we were listening to BBC Radio Oxford. One of their guests was a divorce lawyer giving her personal view and some professional advice on divorce (and a particular recent 'celebrity' split).
My friend who was in the car with me is currently going through an awful typical 'MN LTB' type split and became really upset listening to this woman on the radio who didn't have the best attitude, is anti-divorce and sounded very disapproving of anyone who chooses to go down that path. (Though I'm sure given her experience she has good reasons - in SOME circumstances at least).
This lawyer seemed to make very little in the way of concessions (for leaving abusive relationships, for example) and was trivializing reasons for splitting up (like having a partner that snores!). She did have some sensible advice for people going through divorce but my friend felt that this woman was very judgy, a bit patronising and if my friend had heard this lawyer talking before she'd finally resolved to LTB then it would have affected her decision and she might not have gone through with it. She's currently worried about the impact this interview may have had on other listeners who may be too afraid to separate from their partners and may be looking for excuses not to, even when it's actually in everyone's interests to go through with it.
I'm incredibly lucky to have not been in a similar situation as my friend so if I had been sat in the car on my own listening to this radio programme I might not have given this a second thought but it's offended and upset my friend so much who just needs all the support she can get right now. Obviously I want to support her as much as I can too but my question is have we read too much into what this lawyer was saying or is my friend's anger justified? If you think it is then do you think it's worth me contacting the BBC with her concerns at all?
I genuinely don't know the answer and I'm not even sure I'm the best person to articulate it but I care about my friend and anyone else who may also have been upset this morning and this may well have coloured my view! I need your help because I don't think I can be particularly objective; I'm sure it's one of these situations where the perception of what's being said depends on our existing views and circumstances so I'm happy to be told IABU and am just being oversensitive because of my friend's reaction.
You can hear the interview on the BBC Radio Oxford website, here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0805ypn Fast forward to 02:05:29 to hear the interview.
Thank you if you made it this far and for any advice you may have for us both (she knows I'm posting this)!