TMZ has reported that Ricki Lake’s marriage to Christian Evans is ending
after just two and a half years. According to TMZ, Ricki filed court documents
on October 16, 2014, “citing irreconcilable differences, and says
they legally separated on October 9”. In fact, TMZ reported that
Ricki is agreeing to pay Mr. Evans
spousal support.
In Canada, the
Divorce Act, 1985, introduced only one ground for divorce in Canada – “marriage
breakdown”. Further, marriage breakdown may be substantiated in two ways:
- the parties having lived separate and apart for one year; and
- the other spouse is guilty of adultery or cruelty.
In Ontario, “marriage breakdown” is most often substantiated
by a period of separation for one year. If a party claims that their spouse
is guilty of adultery or cruelty as the grounds for divorce, that party
must provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the court of such. Since the
courts are backlogged, a party may not be able to argue before a judge
for more than a year. Thus, it becomes not only more cost-efficient for
a party to make a claim for divorce on the grounds that they have lived
separate and apart separated for one year or more, but the divorce will
be granted more swiftly as well.
The only other means to end a marriage is to argue that the marriage itself
was invalid. An order to annul the marriage can only be made where one
or more of the requisite elements of a valid marriage are not present.
In Ontario, for a marriage to be valid, the parties must have the capacity
to marry and the formalities of marriage must also be present. The issue
of annulment, however, is not at dispute between Ricki Lake and Christian Evans.
Thus, although it seems that Ricki Lake wants out of her marriage at all
costs, the courts would be unable to commence processing a divorce until
the parties have lived separate and apart for one year. This means that
Ricki Lake’s divorce may only become finalized shortly after October
9, 2015, as she is claiming that her and Christian Evans legally separated
on October 9, 2014.