The Sunderland family has found themselves in a firestorm — or, more accurately, a big storm in the Indian Ocean that could have taken the life of their daughter, Abby. They have been criticized by many people for allowing and encouraging their 16-year-old daughter to try to break the record for being the youngest person to sail around the world. I believe that enabling a minor to voyage alone for months in hostile seas (especially...

A Nassau County Supreme Court justice has sentenced a mother to six weekends in jail for civil contempt. Per the judge, the guilty mom — Lauren Lippe — engaged in a pattern of “alienating” behavior wherein she made false allegations of sexual abuse against her children’s father, Ted Rubin — allegations that were calculated to interfere with her ex-husband’s scheduled time and relationship with their...

Stephanie Rochester, who was charged with the June 1 suffocation death of her 6-month-old son, Rylan (whom she feared was autistic), may have been suffering from postpartum psychosis. This is a horrible tragedy, whether or not she was psychotic at the time of her son’s death. I am sure Stephanie Rochester is going through an extensive battery of tests to find out if in fact she is experiencing postpartum depression or postpartum...

It has been announced that Heidi Klum and her husband, Seal, are working on a new Lifetime show about love and marriage, called “Love’s Divine.” As a relationship expert who works with distressed couples who are near divorce, I think this is a great idea. We hear so much in the news about celebrity marriages falling apart. From Tiger to Tipper, we hear about couples who have fallen out of love — or fallen into the arms...

Tipper and Al Gore aren’t alone in choosing to end their 40-year-old union. The phenomenon of “The Gray Divorce” is growing. More and more 50-plus men and women are deciding to end their decades-old marriages. Some say it’s due to the economic freedom that many women now enjoy; others credit Viagra, because it has helped create vastly new sexual experiences for older adults. Sixty may be the new 40! A May 2004 survey...