Trina Braxton, a member of the Braxton singing family and star of the reality show “Braxton
Family Values” has filed for divorce from her husband, Gabriel Adrian-Solis
on the grounds that their marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
Gabriel is challenging her divorce application because he is still in
love with her and is requesting more time to fix their broken relationship.
The pair have been married since August 2003 and have been living apart
since March 2013. Although the couple did not have children together,
Gabriel helped raise her two children from a previous relationship.
According to
The Huffington Post, “The 38-year-old mother is
seeking a “total divorce“ with a financial agreement to divvy up the former couples’ assets
and debts.”
Both have admitted to adultery. Trina even accused Gabriel of being a serial
cheater on her reality show and admitted to having an affair herself.
Despite their unfaithfulness, Gabriel is not ready to give up on his marriage
and believes that he and Trina could reconcile. Gabriel has allegedly
filed documents to petition against the divorce and is seeking that a
judicial declaration be made upon the possibility of a reconciliation
and that they still love each other.
In Ontario, one cannot petition against a divorce. However, a party can
oppose the divorce on an interim basis as there need to be reasonable
arrangements for child support in place and this can impact on exclusive
possession of the matrimonial home.
As well, a party can slow down the process of obtaining a divorce through
unreasonable behaviour and refusing to cooperate with their spouse, however,
they cannot actually prevent the divorce from happening. It is important
for spouses considering this course of action to remember that there can
be serious cost consequences for clients who behave “unreasonably”
throughout divorce proceedings. The cost consequences are outlined in
Rule 24 of the
Family Law Rules. The following are some highlights of Rule 24:
- A successful party who has behaved unreasonably during a case may be deprived
of all or part of the party’s own costs or ordered to pay all or part
of the unsuccessful party’s costs. - In deciding whether a party has behaved reasonably or unreasonably, the
court shall examine, the party’s behaviour in relation to the issues
from the time they arose, including whether the party made an offer to
settle, the reasonableness of any offer the party made, and any offer
the party withdrew or failed to accept. - If a party has acted in bad faith, the court shall decide costs on a full
recovery basis and shall order the party to pay them immediately. - If a party does not appear at a step in the case, or appears but is not
properly prepared to deal with the issues at that step, the court shall
award costs against the party unless the court orders otherwise in the
interests of justice.