On February 11, 2014, TMZ reported that Sue Shifrin-Cassidy, 64, long-time
wife of teen icon David Cassidy, 63, had filed for Divorce in the state
of California. The couple had been living separately since August 2013.
Although the filing comes as no surprise given the couple’s separate
residences and Cassidy’s recent legal troubles, including being charged
with his third DUI, Shifrin-Cassidy nevertheless insists that she is “truly
heartbroken that [their] marriage is ending.” Cassidy is currently
seeking treatment for alcoholism in a rehabilitation program.
According to
contactmusic.com, the couple have been together for 28 years. They wed in 1991 and had
a son together, Beau, 23, shortly thereafter.
In his statement to E!News, Cassidy insisted that he has attempted to reach
out to Shifrin-Cassidy over the last three months, and had hoped that
the long-time couple would be able to resolve their matter amicably and
out of the public eye. Shifrin-Cassidy insists that the filing is not
attributed to Cassidy’s drinking problem, but that the divorce has
been “looming for some time.”
This divorce will be the third for Cassidy, who was previously married
to actress Kay Lenz in 1977 and South African horse breeder Meryl Tanz
in 1984. Shifrin-Cassidy was also married once, previously.
Probably most well-known for his role as Keith Partridge in themusical/sitcom,
the Partridge Family, which ran from 1970 to 1974, about a single mom trying to pay the bills
by singing and touring in a pop band along with her 5 children. As a result
of the show, Cassidy became a teen heartthrob-the Justin Bieber of his
day. It was called “Cassidymania”: every teenage girl had a
David Cassidy poster in her bedroom. Cassidy was 20 at the time. The bigger
issue was that Cassidy loathed being a teen idol. There were 10 albums
that were released in the 1970s with songs from the show and most had
a respectable one million in sales.
During the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, Cassidy’s career as a pop star
and songwriter was much more successful than his film and television roles.
From being a teen idol, Cassidy’s career tanked. Cassidy spent decades
not being able to get much traction in either serious film roles; virtually
all television series he tried ended up being cancelled. Most recently,
Cassidy has starred on Donald Trumps’,
Celebrity Apprentice.
While custody and access issues are moot in this case, given Beau’s
age, property division and
spousal support are live issues for this duo.
Aside from time spent in rehabilitation, both parties continue to work.
Cassidy continues to tour and perform his music, while Shifrin-Cassidy
is an author and song-writer. While their respective incomes are undisclosed,
in the event that there is a discrepancy between their incomes, it is
likely that the party with the lower income may be entitled to spousal-support,
given the length of the parties marriage.
Assuming that one party is entitled to spousal support, the duration of
that support could be indefinite. In Ontario, the “Rule of 65”
applies where the sum of the duration of cohabitation and age of the support
recipient at the date of separation is 65 or more. In that instance, a
court may order that spousal support should be indefinite.
Moreover, where the parties have cohabitated for 20 years or longer, indefinite
support may also be appropriate. In the alternative, the parties’
may agree to lump-sum support, which can assist in facilitating a clean-break
between the parties.