Mr V Mrs: Call the Mediator ~ anyone watching?

[fatnan76]

It's so painful to watch. At least Martin and Victoria's ex both seem to be waving red flags of controlling behavior.

I watched it last night and wanted to slap them all with a wet kipper screaming "will nobody think of the children?"

Vicky was just hyper, hyper vigilant, hyper wriggly, hyper determined. But Jason was weird. Utterly controlling and weird

Sue was really oddly 'not there' and Peter was, well, quite 'Jerry' in a perfectly Surbiton / Accountant manner

Martin and Vicky seemed to be that train wreck couple everyone seems to know. You swing between feeling sorry for each of them and then just wanting to put them out of your own, sadly disbelieving misery. He climbed in through a tiny window and they had rampant sex? Really? Ye gods!

As I said, wet kippers all round.

Oh... and can we as them to speed up the sound track when the blond mediator lady speaks? I thought she was meditating at one point... Om....

[can I add Lighthearted to that last comment, please?]

I cannot understand what motivated them to appear on national TV.

Vicki's ex was a controlling nutter - that pile of emails telling her how to parent! And the manipulative text message regarding contact.

Sue seemed very weak, but her ex- husband was trying to avoid full financial disclosure (which he was legally obliged to do).

I've forgotten the 3rd couples names, but OMG that was like watching a car crash! She was obviously determined to block contact by whatever means necessary. And I was gobsmacked by the breaking in & having sex episode!!!

I sort of sympathise with Sue's ex because he was clearly negotiating with a third party, who was effectively the 'OW' in the relationship. I would be inclined not to fully disclose if possible in those circumstances. Plus I think Bernard was getting some twisted revenge on Peter for their split years before.

I feel sorry for their kids. No wonder the youngest wouldnt speak to her.

Bernard came across like a Disney villain. He'll have her back, control and manipulate her but also make it very painfully obvious that he has no intention of supporting her and she needs to claw what she can from the family she shat on.

And that bloke sending the links to stuff...I watched on catch up last night and actually told the TV to fuck off in disbelief!

The other couple were horrendous...the ones withdrawing contact and having sex and cheating and not turning up to contact. I feel really sorry for their kids.

I agree, couldn't believe it when he said he wouldn't support her and wasn't sure how long he'd be around so she better get as much money as she could. She came across as a dippy easily led idiot tbh.

Definitely settling old scores I think. Sad that a family was destroyed in the process.

I agree bambam
So depressing
Easily led. And he's got the kids too even though they are older (Peter that is)
Hope he meets a nice woman in the future that can show him not all women are like her

But as a pp said, Bernard does have his own children, who presumably would have strong opinions if Bernard leaves his worldly goods to his new floozy (as they might see it).

Sue's ex was getting in some nasty digs about her not doing the housework and was, as a pp said, trying to get out of his legal obligations of disclosure - there has to be an assumption that he was trying to get away with giving her a bit less than he might otherwise be obliged to do, or else why try to avoid it? And making a big deal about not taking the children's home away when they were grown men - can't say I was particularly convinced by that.

I think sue was under the illusion that Bernard would marry her and she would get the house but that's all back fired
Hence trying to get all she can from first marriage
Plus leaving without saying but putting casserole in the oven
Very weird
I also didn't understand why Peter didn't just downsize to pay her off as kids were grown up

I just think in Peter's case he didn't want to negotiate with a third party. Can you imagine a woman being in mediation with her ex and he had to scuttle off every 5 minutes to call OW to see if she approved!!

In that instance I'd say the law is an ass and the majority of people would take issue. I would fight tooth and nail not to disclose despite what the law says if I knew OW would be picking over my finances.

I think Sue has clearly been ping ponging between these two over the years and I think sadly is going to be very lonely when Bernard pops off. I felt a little sympathy for her as she seems to desperately need a dominant figure in her life to tell her what to do rather than leading an independent life. Plus the gum chewing irritated me!!!

To be fair to Peter he said he didn't want to fully disclose for 2 reasons:

1. He gave her all of that information the week after she left. He spent the first week after she left working up the full disclosure and, as he feels that January XX was the date she left their marriage and that anything after that is none of her business.

1. He doesn't want Bernard to get all of that information and laugh at him- use it against him further. Not Bernard.

1. He doesn't want to sell the house as she walked out and told the kids she wouldn't make them leave their home. A bit sad as she was not thinking straight at the time, but that only makes Peter (and sons) hate Bernard even more for making their wife/mum even more.

I felt most sorry for Susan. She looked so needy, so bereft.Nobody seemed to have much respect for her, Bernard described her as useless only a housewife!

The women are selfish and horrible.

That's a sweeping statement susieq, what makes you say that?

Anyone watching tonight?

Yes I am. Yvonne is so disengaged, seems distant and uninterested. I feel Richies frustration but understand lizzies point . I don't envy the mediators.

I don't like Yvonne

I think she had boyf waiting in the wings

All worked out very nicely for Yvonne.

Yvonne-major cow. Why should she get £200 grand? Effectively, she contributed nothing. (for the kids, obviously) Blonde crazy hair lady struck me as not overly clever and a bit mad. Why so shiny?!

I'm completely behind the idea that SAHMs contribute to the household economy with their contribution to childcare/domestic work/all that - goes without saying. But there was just something dead-eyed about the way Yvonne seemed to be implying that she never wanted to be a SAHM in the first place (ie, she had a job herself that she gave up that was never mentioned), while also implying that she would be going on benefits and not even considering picked up her career when she moved to Somerset, so she would need all of the money. All of it.

I know these things are heavily edited but there must have been a huge backstory to that one, or else she was stitched up into the Grabby Cow role. Esp when Alan was constantly interviewed in his car, to give the impression that he was now living in the backseat.

all I will say is , Thank goodness (DV) I do not have to mediate, I found it very stressful to watch , awful.

Interesting, I didn't react that way to Yvonne at all - I thought she and her ex were the most normal of the characters. If she has the children and can't support herself otherwise, it's reasonable that she should have an amount that would enable them all to have an acceptable home for the children's sake. If they were married, then who brought what into the relationship is not relevant, as all assets are considered mutual anyway.

Blonde-haired bobbing-headed woman otoh came across as a complete nutter. Obv her ex had a very short fuse, but she was pretty much goading him. I really wanted the mediator to put on a stern mum voice and say, "Now, do you want to sort this out, or do you just want to shout at each other?"

Peter seemed like a vindictive nutter, although Mandy might have just been hiding her vindictiveness better.

Most of the couples really deserved each other, if it weren't for the innocent children caught up in these shitstorms.

Whatever the mediators get paid, it isn't enough.

My ex-H and I went through financial mediation and actually found it very helpful. But then, we have never been at each other's throats to that extent and were extremely keen to avoid an expensive legal battle. It wouldn't have made good tv.

Shiny faced woman had had botox and something pumped into her lips.I was weirdly watching that thinking - is she normally like that or has she done that for the cameras?

Switched over to catch a bit of Danniella Westbrooke in therapy on Ch5 which also was uncomfortable to watch.

I wondered if Richie had had a touch of "grass is greener" at some point, and then discovered it wasn't.

Yvonne came across as unpleasant.