After front-page coverage in the NYTimes Sunday Styles section [1], not to mention almost two years on the brutal front lines of the legal battlefield, Christie Brinkley [2] and Peter Cook [3] have finally settled the terms of their divorce.

Peter Cook got his teenaged assistant [4]. Christie gets custody of the kids, and better yet, the Hamptons real estate. With a measly check written out to her now fourth ex-husband for $2.1 million, she can wipe her hands clean of her 12-year marriage. If only we could all claim that kind of closure.

We might soon be seeking it. Bloomberg news reported [5] today that 48 percent of marriages in the U.S. will end in divorce if current marriage and divorce rates continue in the future [6], according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.