“
In case you missed it, Gisele Bundchen “broke her silence” about her divorce to Tom Brady last week. Her entire interview was filled with fluffy, New Age inanities about modern love and being true to your authentic self, etc. Why am I even bothering to talk about this? Because the way that Gisele defines love, and the way that our culture defines it, is this: To love someone is to do whatever I want to do.
It's quite a convenient definition, but it's also meaningless. Love is not merely a feeling; even if it was merely a feeling, you clearly don't feel too great about somebody if you want to divorce them. But it's more than that. Love is a choice. It's an act. It's a sacrifice. To love your spouse is to be faithful and loyal. It is to be reliable. It is to look out for their physical and spiritual well-being. Divorce is the severing of all of that, which is to say that it is the death of marital love. That's the whole point of getting divorced.
Gisele talks about their marriage using language like, “We grew apart,” and, “Time goes by. Sometimes you end up going in different directions.” She talks about it like she has no control over anything. In any other situation, she is certain to speak highly and confidently of her own agency, and her strength as a fierce and independent woman. But when it comes to making excuses for a failed marriage, it’s as if she’s a helpless flower being swept along by the forces of fate.
The most important point is that a faithful marriage and a divorce are both choices. Neither just happen to you at random. Marriage is a choice. Divorce is a choice. Love is a choice.”
In case you missed it, Gisele Bundchen “broke her silence” about her divorce to Tom Brady last week. Her entire interview was filled with fluffy, New Age inanities about modern love and being true to your authentic self, etc. Why am I even bothering to talk about this? Because the way that Gisele defines love, and the way that our culture defines it, is this: To love someone is to do whatever I want to do.
It's quite a convenient definition, but it's also meaningless. Love is not merely a feeling; even if it was merely a feeling, you clearly don't feel too great about somebody if you want to divorce them. But it's more than that. Love is a choice. It's an act. It's a sacrifice. To love your spouse is to be faithful and loyal. It is to be reliable. It is to look out for their physical and spiritual well-being. Divorce is the severing of all of that, which is to say that it is the death of marital love. That's the whole point of getting divorced.
Gisele talks about their marriage using language like, “We grew apart,” and, “Time goes by. Sometimes you end up going in different directions.” She talks about it like she has no control over anything. In any other situation, she is certain to speak highly and confidently of her own agency, and her strength as a fierce and independent woman. But when it comes to making excuses for a failed marriage, it’s as if she’s a helpless flower being swept along by the forces of fate.
The most important point is that a faithful marriage and a divorce are both choices. Neither just happen to you at random. Marriage is a choice. Divorce is a choice. Love is a choice.”
