Katy Perry, the artist behind many songs in heavy rotation on Lexington radio stations like “The One That Got Away” and “California Gurls,” recently announced that she was separating from her husband, British comedian Russell Brand. Brand was actually the one filed for divorce after the two, who married in October 2010, had been married for about 14 months.

The reasons behind the divorce are not clear. Neither Perry nor Brand has spoken publicly about it at any length, but there are several possible factors.

One is that Perry’s career is taking off — her album “Teenage Dream” spawned five number one singles, which no other artist save for Michael Jackson has ever done off of one record — at the same time Brand’s is cooling down, since his most recent movies, like “Arthur,” have tanked.

Another reason that has been floated is that Perry, who comes from a Christian background, and Brand, who is an atheist, had trouble fitting into each other’s families.

Either way, Lexington readers should look at Brand and Perry’s divorce and see some issues they might face, albeit on a much smaller scale. Brand and Perry are now going to have to pull apart their respective fortunes; any Lexington residents who divorce will also have to divvy up property. Perry and Brand do not have any children together, but if they did, custody and a visitation schedule would have to be worked out. As you can see, celebrity marriages like this are the stuff of gossip magazines, but they still present issues that everyday people might encounter themselves.

Source: The Daily Telegraph, “Katy Perry breaks silence on her divorce from Russell Brand,” Jan. 9, 2012