TMZ is reporting that figure skater Johnny Weir and husband Victor Voronov,
who separated earlier this year, have reconciled.
Weir, an American figure skater and world bronze medalist in 2008, has
become infamous for his sense of fashion, outspokenness, and, most recently,
his hosting gig at the Sochi Olympic Games. Voronov, a lawyer, and Weir
were married in December 2011 in New York City. The couple announced their
separation from one another in February 2014.
Now, just two months later, Weir and Voronov have apparently reconciled.
And while a reconciliation is always nice to hear about, this one is particularly
interesting and unique.
According to TMZ,
Voronov agreed to call off the divorce provided that Weir sign a document apologizing for criticism of Voronov
in the media and pledging to keep Weir’s mother out of the parties’
relationship conflict.
However, it gets more unusual… TMZ reports that
Weir then advised that he had some conditions of his own. The marriage contract obtained by TMZ:
- Defines the types of cheating behaviours that will and will not be allowed,
including “sexting,” “aggressive flirting” and “social
media/Grindr dating”, as well as any form of “sex outside the marriage;” - Stipulates the ability for one party to veto the other’s contact with
anyone “in close range… with someone from our past or someone to
be part of the future” (in other words, the ability to veto contact
with an ex-boyfriend); and - Requires joint STD tests every 6 months with the results being read with
both parties in the room.
What about property, you ask? Well, the agreement deals with that too, although
not in the traditional sense. According to TMZ, the marriage (post-nuptial)
contract states that gifts given from one party to the other belong to
the giftee (and not the giftor). The agreement also apparently contains
a section entitled “ultimatums,” whereby the parties are allowed
to create certain consequences for failure to complete certain tasks.
Interesting to say the least.
While it is difficult to tell at this point how much of the aforementioned
agreement would actually be enforceable if tested in a court of law, we
are nonetheless happy that the parties have reconciled.
That being said, the parties must be aware that a short reconciliation
may not have the effect of changing their official date of separation,
if they separate again. In Canada, spouses are deemed to have lived separate
and apart for any period during which they lived apart and either of them
had the intention to live separate and apart from the other, and that
period is said not to end only by reason that the spouses have resumed
cohabitation during a period of not more than ninety days with reconciliation
as its primary purpose. Accordingly, if the new arrangements don’t
work out for Weir and Voronov, and they split again in less than ninety
days, they could be looking at their old date of separation for determining
when they can officially obtain a divorce (one year from their original
separation date). With respect to property division, however, the valuation
date would be the date the parties officially separated after reconciling,
unless the parties’ agreement specifically addresses this issue.