I didn't say people couldn't discuss this, I said I'm usually for it. But it's tiring. It has usually been about the music for a LONG time and that's part of the reason why I loved her and the Japanese industry. There was ALWAYS music - unlike in America where it takes years to put out an album. "Can We Go Back To The Way It Used To Be?" Lol.

There is music (how beautiful you are, Party queen) but a lot of people seem to be holding back on commenting about them either because they want the album to be completely new for them or they just don't like the tracks enough. I'd say it's more the former than the latter.

I think that when things like this happen, people are going to talk for a while but eventually it will die down as it always does. It hasn't even been a few days and people are acting like it happened weeks ago and the discussion is still going on. If you don't like reading the discussions about her divorce/whatever else concerning her personal life, couldn't you just avoid coming to the thread(s) in the first place? It's not like people are going into the music-related threads to talk about this.

This discussion sure has moved fast! I checked on it last night and now it's an entirely new thread...

I'm kind of shocked that they're announcing their divorce, but I really haven't been watching AHS or following Ayu this past fall, so it's more about me not seeing the signs than anything. I know it's nothing new to say, but I'm kind of sad to hear this. From what little we were able to see, she looked genuinely happy when she was with him. I think, even if everyone says "Well, it was doomed to fail", that happiness means something to both of them.

At least there's no children... That would really complicate things!

Everything gets tiring here after a while. To me, it's not such a big deal as it doesn't really influence my life in any way. Still there are always people who have no lives of their own and who can't wait to just gossip about random celebrities and this is a real candy for those...Ayu had one studio album, 1 mini album and four remix albums released during the past year or so. There is always music.

I wonder why if she had to tell us why she didn't wait until things were all finalized.

Idk, I am fine with shooting-the-**** with friends about the crap I read on TMZ and perezhilton, but it's so ... strange to be discussing this kind of thing about Ayumi (and other asian artists). I guess it shouldn't be that way but I can't help but feel how surreal this stuff seems.

^be however you want lol

Ayu seems to be a powerful and sensitive subject for a lot of people. She's helped a lot of us in some very powerful ways. It's kinda hard to think some things about her.

:shrug I find it interesting that people don't think there are some really convenient and fishy things about this whole situation...but whatever, it's going to be discussed anyway. Here, and probably worse in the media lol

I don't want people to be surprised and upset...but obviously can't help that...

This is probably the biggest bombshell Ayu has had made public about her personal life - by no other than herself.

Japanese will probably turn to her music now to see if there's any 'hints' in her lyrics about this breakup. No doubt there will be - Ayu writes about her life. And this would have been a big part of it for the past year.

Blaming the earthquake for their divorce is.. I think there's much more to it than that. Surely they drifted apart for other reasons. As for wanting to stay in Japan.. well.. she's never expressed interest in entering any non-Asian markets. Don't know why she would decide to relocate to LA.

The only reasons she would have to relocate to LA would be Mannie, being able to drive her own car again, shopping alone if she chooses & just being able to step outside without being mobbed. That may have been enough, but since she said she asked permission from Avex 1st, I don't think she would haave had their approval to move nearly all her work to LA to make living there possible. And those who keep bringing up the real estate agents, you didnt check her twitter list very well, Mie Kim(likely Stanley Kim's sister) has been called her unni(big sis) for a very long time and Christophe Choo is someone she met through Mie being a friend of his also. So I don't think she was ever looking at real estate anywhere in the US.

I think Ayu herself would not be happy her fans talking about her divorce over and over. I don't say anyone said something bad, but it's that situation when you're sad and someone want to cheer you up so badly but you want just to avoid the topic and have your mind alone for a second, for a breath. There's nothing really to discuss about. It happens, she's a huge star and it's hard to keep a reletionship within a 287382173812738km distance.

that's all I wanted to say.

When you allow yourself to become a celebrity you accept that people are gonna talk about your business, no matter how "personal". Like some have said, she didn't need to tell us about Mannie at all, but she did. She told us, and I bet she knew people were going to talk about it. I understand that celebrities are people too, but what makes them special half the time is that people wanna know and talk about them, otherwise they wouldn't be famous. There are a few exceptions, of course.

Really? Would the constant jetsetting to and from Japan made it worth it? She has lived with fame for a very, very long time. Most of her life.

Most of her recording is done abroad so it would have made little impact there. She could easily do all of her PV shoots in the US. There's hardly any TV promotion of public appearances. People can easily go to her rather than Ayu going to them, but think of the costs associated with that. All she would have needed to come back to Japan for is concert tours + rehearsals. Which take up a huge chunk of her year. Wouldn't have worked anyway, regardless of the earthquake.

sure, but it doesn't mean that we had to be that obsesive about her personal life. she told us, like friends tells you a decision he/she made, and we had to respect it like you do to a close person.

Once previews come out for the new album, or perhaps a studio version of Party Queen is out there people will forget about this.

What I personally feel is that if she had been married for years, it would be something to truly discuss...but this marriage only lasted a year and it's probably best she got out of it, so people will forget about this pretty quickly I think.

^ no. the fact that it was short will bring back all of those rumours about it being a sham to promote their careers. Being a long marriage would have made it seem more genuine.

Then again, if this happened at the height of her career it would be big big news. At this stage, I think it will cause a blimp on the radar for the press and general public, but not for too long.

Obsessive? Talking about it for a few days is not obsessive. There are many members here to add to a discussion. Everything that happens to celebrities gets dragged on forever. Remember when Anna Nicole Smith died? That went on for months, especially because new details came to light. The more info about Ayu's divorce the paparazzi dig up the longer this is gonna go on. Also, no one is forced to come to this thread. Its for people who want to discuss the divorce and know more about it.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I just hope she's OK. She's a strong woman, and we'll all support her under the same sky.

UGH the "fans" make me so angry. Some of the things that come out of their mouths...I just wish I could beat them with a frying pan. I'm so serious.

Nobody can judge anybody else. And all people can do is speculate, because ONLY ayu and Mannie really know the honest, intimate details. And why speculate? Damn gossips. Just hope for ayu's happiness and support her if you really are a fan!

Otherwise, you disgust me, and give all ayu fans a bad name.

Actually, I don't see anything bad on talking about the divorce :shrug. As long as people respect her (and Mannie, but whatever lol) and don't start to insult her nor other members.

I'm still shocked and sad because of this news, but I really want to know more about.
Not like an obsessive fan though. I'm following her since so many years so.. I think it's natural to be a little interested in her private life. Especially when it comes to such awful things like a divorce.

Agreed.