REMARRYING an ex is a rare event and divorcing the same person twice even more unusual – with just a 0.018 per cent chance of it happening.<\/p>\n
But a mum-of-two from Western-super-Mare has done just that – joining the likes of Liz Taylor <\/a>and Elon Musk<\/a> in and exclusive club.<\/p>\n And she puts her romantic hiccups down to her name – Bridget Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bridget, 51, is now waiting for her second divorce from husband Rich to be finalised in December.<\/p>\n \u201cI met, married and divorced Rich and then remarried him and now we\u2019re divorcing again.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for a new chapter in both our lives and we\u2019re still friends,\u201d Bridget tells The Sun.<\/p>\n \u201cFriends tell me it\u2019s a storyline worthy of my namesake Bridget Jones’s Diary.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOthers say I am a modern day Liz Taylor who married, divorced, remarried and divorced Richard Burton<\/a>, or billionaire Elon Musk who twice married and divorced Talulah Riley.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPeople are gobsmacked when I tell them.\u00a0We never set out to be like Liz and Richard but I had to do what was best for me in my fifties and it made me stronger.<\/p>\n \u201cI am proud I am still friends with my\u00a0ex-ex husband… That was critical to us both.\u201d<\/p>\n The chances of a couple marrying and divorcing twice are rarer than being hit by a bus at a zebra crossing.<\/p>\n According to research, between 10-15 per cent of couples reconcile after they separate and about 6 per cent marry each other again after they divorce.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of those who remarry each other, 30 per cent go on to divorce a second time which equates to 0.018 per cent overall.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I heard the statistics I was shocked. We know it’s the right thing for us. I have no regrets,\u201d says Bridget.<\/p>\n Bridget, was just 17 and a glass collector when she met Rich, then 20, who was\u00a0working as a bouncer in a nightclub in Weston-super-Mare.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Rich asked me out I was standoffish. I fancied him but I was aware of bouncers and their reputations as ladies men,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI said yes to the date, hoping for the best, expecting the worst. What happened was young love.\u201d<\/p>\n After only two weeks of dating the pair decided to marry,<\/p>\n \u201cRichard’s company was moving to Manchester and I offered to move with him,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRichard responded by saying, \u2018I suppose if I ask you to marry me, you’d say no,” expecting me to laugh it off, instead of saying yes.<\/p>\n \u201cFour months before the wedding we discovered I was expecting our first child and on the 31st of August 1991, I said ‘I do’.<\/p>\n When Richard put my wedding ring on my finger I never imagined this wasn’t a forever marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bridget Jones<\/span><\/cite><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cMy mother in law gave me the wedding dress as a gift and it cost more than \u00a3500 which in those days was a lot of money. It had a high lace collar and sheer lace sleeves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a big church wedding and we had 80 guests. Luckily, my morning sickness stayed away.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Richard put my wedding ring on my finger I never imagined this wasn’t a forever marriage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Being married so quickly and so young was a challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking back we were so young and our son Ricky, now 31, was born five months later, in February\u00a01992 so we went from husband and wife to mum and dad really fast.<\/p>\n \u201cThose important early twenties when you party with your mates and date were suddenly consumed with nappies, feeding schedules and bill paying. It’s enough to stress mature couples but it was our undoing.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple welcomed their second child Ryan, now 29, in August 1994.<\/p>\n Bridget says the pair started bickering over work, money and daily chores.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were immature and not ready to settle down. Marriage is hard, working and raising two children under three is even harder in such a short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple separated in 1996, and Bridget remembers signing her decree nisi for divorce on the day Princess Diana died, 31 August 1997 – ironically the couple’s wedding anniversary.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite our inability to remain married we vowed to be great parents. The boys lived with me and saw their dad regularly,\u201d\u00a0she says.<\/p>\n According to Bridget, she and Richard went through what she calls \u201cthat terrible divorce phase of not talking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDivorce is painful and awful and with children you still have to talk and see each other. There is no way around it. But we vowed to put the kids ahead of our feelings,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n With two small boys to co-parent the exes were spending time together for their children\u2019s sake, keeping true to their vow.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe went back and forth to each other’s houses with the kids. We did our bit in each other’s homes picking up toys, tidying and co-parenting in a positive way,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cSoon Richard and I started talking properly and the boys were constantly nagging us to live together again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe explained we were great friends and neither considered getting back together.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2000 Richard won a trip for two on the Eurostar and invited Bridget.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went together and had an amazing time. That’s when we rekindled our romance,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started going on dates and Richard, then agreed move back in together to see how things went.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were taking baby steps and it made sense to share one house, even if I did have my own room. Not running two homes meant we could save money and spend it on the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n Bridget decided to take control of her own destiny, in 2004, using the Leap Year as an excuse.<\/p>\n \u201cI sent Richard a Valentine’s day card saying: \u2018You + Me + a beach somewhere – let’s get remarried\u2019,\u201d’ she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI could tell Richard was shocked and thrilled but we both knew we had baggage. After all we\u2019d been married and divorced to each other before.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we’d matured, I was older and wiser. I knew what I wanted in life and I knew I wanted him. He felt the same.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Richard accepted Bridget’s proposal and their friends were flabbergasted.\u00a0<\/p>\n She says: \u201cFor many people it was a huge shock. It wasn’t something they\u2019d ever heard of.<\/p>\n \u201cThey weren’t sure if it was a joke and they wanted us to be happy but in some cases mutual friends had taken sides and so they were confused. But most were incredibly happy – it was a fairy tale ending.\u201d<\/p>\n In October 2009, the couple remarried in Florida, at the Royal Chapel during a trip to\u00a0Disneyworld.<\/p>\n \u201cI chose a white wedding dress with a super full tulle skirt and fitted top – fairy-tale like – and very different from my first wedding dress. My dress this time around cost \u00a3450,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The couple’s son Ryan gave his mum away and Ricky was his dad\u2019s best man.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Royal Wedding Chapel was lovely and we had three relatives who flew out because they wanted to be part of our private wedding.<\/p>\n \u201cThis time, when Richard slipped on my ring, I was convinced this was forever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For many years, the couple couldn’t have been happier, second time around.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We were mature, we got on so much better, the sex was great and we have a wonderful family,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pair had dated other people after the first divorce and realised their timing had been off when they initially wed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was\u00a0proud of my decision. Sometimes people need time to grow and discover themselves and if kids are involved there is an added reason to give it another go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n However by 2016 Bridget admits the couple, now based in Bristol, were growing apart.<\/p>\n \u201cThe kids had left home. Work was our focus along with our lovely German shepherd dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cI started feeling depressed and realised we\u2019d become best friends without even realising it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was more and more distance and bickering. I was facing turning fifty and wanted different things.<\/p>\n \u201cLockdown hit in 2020 and we were suddenly on top of each other. Despite valiant efforts to save our second time around marriage, I knew we needed to divorce.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had plans in 2022 to travel to Florida in 2022 to celebrate my 50th<\/sup> birthday and our son 30th\u00a0<\/sup>birthday but in January 2021 I spoke to Rich and we cancelled them<\/p>\n \u201cInstead I explained to Richard I felt we needed time apart. He was shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n In February 2021 Bridget moved in with her mum to think about the future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did try another reunion in April 2021 but looking back it was a final goodbye,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cSecond time around divorce for us meant we were respectful and kind. I just wanted enough money to get a small two bedroom house.\u201d<\/p>\n In June\u00a02022,\u00a0Bridget bought a \u00a3242,000 two bedroom house in Weston-super-Mare.<\/p>\n \u201cRichard has our dogs but we still make joint decisions about them. I pop over to Richard\u2019s for a cuppa and we speak often.”<\/p>\n But Bridget admits telling family and friends was even harder the second time around.<\/p>\n \u201cSome couldn’t understand why we were divorcing again and others got it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cRichard\u2019s dating someone and I am just being single. Online dating is a nightmare.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m focused on my fifties and my job. What we had was amazing and our friendship now is brilliant too.<\/p>\n \u201cI do laugh when people compare me to Liz Taylor or Elon Musk. I never thought this would ever happen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing is to remain friends with my double-divorce ex.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe this Bridget Jones just needs time to plan her next single adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nYoung love<\/h2>\n
\n
Too much too young<\/h2>\n
Rekindled romance<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-300x100.png\")
<\/a>