Success or Happiness?

If you haven’t heard the news yet, this week Chris Pratt and Anna Faris announced they’re breaking up after several years of what the general public had by and large considered a happy, nay even adorable marriage. The general public did not take it well.

I mean, so what? It’s a Hollywood marriage, aren’t those doomed to failure? But I suppose this was meant to be the exception to the rule, with both people involved being so gosh darned likeable.

Shortly before this, I belatedly learned that Dan Harmon (the man behind Community, co-creator of Rick and Morty, etc.) had gotten divorced from his wife about a year ago. And so here’s two cases where I can absolutely envy the talent and success of Chris Pratt and Dan Harmon in their careers, but their personal lives didn’t work out so well. Both men’s careers really took off in the past handful of years… is that related? Are success and marital happiness mutually exclusive, and Dawn and I should thank our lucky stars we remain relatively obscure in our efforts?

I’m sure there’s a middle ground to be sought and had, and there are Hollywood marriages out there that defy the stereotype. Also neither breakup seems to point towards a scorched earth scenario so much as just “creative differences”… but then again there’s Harmon’s old studio production card and his new one this year:

Don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here counting my blessings…