The Duke and Duchess of York Photograph: Niki Nikolova/FilmMagic
Many divorced couples remain civil, if through gritted teeth, for the sake of the children. Occasionally, you even hear of affable divorcees who – far from splits so bitter that offspring must choose which parent should attend their wedding – can tolerate spending entire holidays together. The Duke and Duchess of York are a case in point: so amicable have they remained since they officially ended their 10-year marriage in 1996 (after being separated for four), that their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, have described them as "the world's happiest unmarried couple". While leading separate lives, since February last year they have even shared digs at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park (she moved in temporarily after a fire at her rented home and sort of stayed on).
But in the latest development in their post-divorce love-in, things have taken a surprising turn, confirming that their friendship runs far deeper than staying geographically close and keeping appearances sweet for their girls' sakes. They have gone on holiday together, without the children. Without anyone, in fact. Just the two of them spending a relaxing fortnight in a secluded six-bedroomed villa, tucked away in 350 acres of Spanish woodland.
You could be forgiven for thinking that Prince Andrew's life is one big, perpetual holiday, but Fergie really needed a break. Her documentary on the Manchester council estate where Shameless was set, was met with ridicule and disgust. She evidently needed to retreat from this hostile world into a place of complete peace and safety – the company of her ex-husband. It is a move made more perplexing by the fact that, last we all heard, she is in a two-year relationship with the Findus frozen-food tycoon Geir Frantzen.
But despite all those divorce tales of wives taking husbands to the cleaners and ex-couples not being able to stand each other, perhaps the reality often isn't so different to Prince Andrew and Fergie's story. My own parents split up 20 years ago (after 20 years of marriage) and finally divorced so that my father could remarry 10 years later. But when Dad and his second wife were considering buying a property together, they sought outside advice from the person he'd always known had her head screwed on when it came to grown-up matters such as this – his ex-wife. My mother also attended their wedding shindig and has frequently accompanied me when I visit Dad and his wife in Devon. They, in turn, have crashed at my mother's flat in London and we all meet up at Christmases, one big interwoven family. As my dad says, "your mother's an extraordinary person, and we've never seen the point in arguing over the past. We both probably knew it was time to move on, so you muddle through it and get on with life, but you're still family."
You don't have to have had children with someone, though, to have a chance of staying friends after divorce. Most couples marry for good reasons; much goodwill is invested in a marriage. So it makes sense that they would make good friends too. "While there is a difference between a friendship and an intimate adult relationhip," says Mo Kurimbokus, a counsellor at Relate, "if something didn't work in the marriage and they both realise that, there's nothing to say they can't go on to support and help each other."
For some people, divorce is simply another stage of their long and valued relationship with their former spouse. Arianna Huffington, editor of the Huffington Post, one of America's most influential political blogs, recently wrote that "Just like marriage, divorce isn't easy either." But her own divorce has now outlasted her marriage by a year. On what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Huffington received a bouquet of flowers from her ex with a card that read: "Happy 20th Anniversary. We'll always be the parents of two remarkable young women. Love Michael." All of which was detailed in a blog last month from Crete, where Huffington was on her first family holiday with her former husband, 12 years after their separation and genuinely enjoying it.
Chris Evans and Billie Piper are similarly compatible divorcees. Evans was on the scene just 15 hours after Piper gave birth to her new husband's baby, and is now said to have set up a trust fund for the child. Meanwhile Hugh Grant remains a permanent fixture in Liz Hurley's marriage. "If I'm alone with Hugh, [husband] Arun and [son]Damian, I can turn off my cell phone . . . no one else really matters," she told Harper's Bazaar last year. (Admittedly, Grant and Hurley weren't technically hitched, but I think we can grant them common-law status).
You can't help wondering, though, if overly happily divorced couples annoy each others' current partners. What, emotionally, could the prince give Sarah Ferguson that her boyfriend couldn't? "They have shared a lot with each other," suggests Kurimbokus, "and already have a strong understanding of each other. It's not surprising she's turned to him when she's feeling so low. Things didn't work for them in marriage but the friendship side of things seems to be working really well, so why lose that too?" •
