Chapter 13.
The show aired.
Thanks to the trending topic of celebrity divorces, the reality show immediately captured public attention.
At first, almost all online comments about me were negative.
[It’s all scripted, obviously acting. Her, divorce? 11 livestream eating dirt if they actually divorce!]
[Gone crazy for money! Couldn’t get enough views from live streaming, so now trying reality shows. Can’t the government regulate these
unscrupulous celebrities?]
[Wanting both money and emotional fulfillment–pretentious and greedy!]
But as more episodes aired showing Marcus’s interviews and interactions, some viewers‘ attitudes gradually shifted.
[This Marcus guy talks like he’s everyone’s father. I couldn’t stand it either.]
[This Marcus guy talks like he’s everyone’s father. I couldn’t stand it either.]
[He gives her money! V
What more does she want beyond financial security?]
[But Rachel earns her own money too. Without her fame and resources, would his media company be as well–known?]
Cil forts serint olachel shows no sadness when talking about divorce.]
Duderstand her feelings that powerless sensation when your heart’s dead. Felt the same way when I divorced my husband.]
God, I hate middle–aged men who always lecture people. Starting to feel sorry for Rachel. Better off divorced!]
There were also some rational analyses:
[Even if this isn’t scripted, divorce would be difficult. Their business ties run too deep. In terms of business operations, an actress can’t outmaneuver a businessman. Her personal assets are probably all under his company’s name. If she divorces, she’d likely lose everything and more…]
Every night, I leaned against my headboard, reading through these comments that revealed so much about human nature.
Marcus didn’t particularly care about whether online opinions were good or bad.
His media and e–commerce sectors thrived on traffic he didn’t fear comments, only lack of comments.
In fact, the more controversial the public opinions, the better.
More debate meant more traffic…
Until
a video clip
leaked online.
to save V
Victoria.
It showed Victoria and me falling into the water, and him choosing to:
The Internet exploded
[What’s this? Life imitating fiction–saving the assistant instead of the wife?]
[Furious! That woman pushed Rachel in! As a husband, he doesn’t punish the attacker but rushes to save her!?]
[She must divorce! We viewers won’t accept anything less!]
[I’m trying to be polite, but this makes my blood boil.]
[This is what happens in public – imagine what Rachel goes through behind closed doors!]
Online opinions tend to be black and white. Once my vulnerable position became apparent, especially in such an outrageous case of favoring a mistress over a wife, netizens immediately rallied to defense.
Someone compiled a comparison between my audition footage from ei
eight years ago and the current reality show.
Back then, at nineteen, I was articulate and always smiling.
On stage, my smile was radiant and confident, every fiber of my being radiating enthusiasm and hope for the unknown future.
But now, I appeared silent, exhausted, my whole being emanating powerlessness and forced smiles, the light gone from my eyes.
[Before entering entertainment, Rachel was top of our class, won national math competitions. She could have been a great researcher.]
[To our generation of internet users, she was known 35 the “Queen of Smiles‘.]
[So this is how martians can change
<
150 this is now marnage can change a woman!j
People flooded my social media asking:
Told you end up divorcing?]
Pasta script, right? You really want to divorce him, don’t you?]
rely appeared on social platforms, unusually replied:
[Divorce involves many aspects. Working on it.]
Netizens analyzed this extensively, then worriedly swarmed Marcus’s company’s livestream channels.
The numbers kept growing, demanding Marcus make a statement. At peak times, viewer count reached one million.
Marcus actually appeared.
Being a businessman, he naturally wouldn’t miss this traffic opportunity.
In the livestream, he wore a relatable mid–range hoodie, his usually perfectly styled hair falling casually, earnestly reflecting on their marriage over the years.
He admitted that he’d been too focused on work these past years, giving me too little companionship and attention, leading to their marriage crisis. But he insisted he had always loved me, otherwise he wouldn’t have joined the show to save their marriage.
Regarding saving Victoria, he explained that she had a psychological condition and had fainted upon falling in, while I was a strong swimmer, and there were many staff members rushing to help off–camera. He believed that in such a situation, any rational and conscientious man would have made the same choice.
Finally, he spoke earnestly and gravely:
“I won’t divorce. I love Rachel, and I believe Rachel loves me too. Her bringing up divorce on the show is actually giving us both a chance. Otherwise, in today’s society with freedom of marriage, if she really wanted a divorce, who could stop her? Marriage isn’t easy – we should all cherish what we have.”
I watched Marcus’s red–rimmed eyes on my phone screen, feeling utterly empty inside.
The online discussion wasn’t completely suppressed, but it became divided.
In this era where traffic is king, people had seen too much deception and manipulation to fully trust public figures.
Some raised doubts:
[True, if someone really wants a divorce, how could they be stopped? Why y are p billions?]
At this crucial moment, the regular wife from the show started a livestream.
prople earning $3,000 a month worried about someone worth
With a meaningful tone, she said: “Rachel once confided in me during a late–night chat, saying she and her husband were too financially entangled, and she regretted not separating their assets when they married…”
Sharp netizens immediately y identified the key point.
[So it’s not that
it she doesn’t want to divorce – she can’t! If she divorces, she’ll be left with nothing!]
[Rachel’s been in quite a few movies and shows over the years, even if not
the
Surely she must have some personal assets?]
[What good are personal assets against a pure businessman? A few operations and personal assets become company assets.]
[God! This is like giving up your body, money, AND your whole lifell
[God! This is like giving up your body, money, AND your whole life!]
don’t!]
[She must divorce! Well boycott all Crawford Group products if they d
ally, this network phenomenon sparked by a divorce reality show, after several rounds of back–and–forth, reached an unprecedented
is divorce advocacy
entire Internet urged divorce.
These past years of economic downturn and social development stagnation had left many people in depression or giving up entirely. People had accumulated too many emotions needing an outlet.
Marriage was an issue that resonated with everyone.
Unlike ordinary marriages, celebrity marriages were the only ones that could be openly discussed, judged, and arbitrated on public platforms.
Everyone became both participant and judge.
In the following period, netizens not only flooded Marcus’s company livestreams with protests and boycotts but also indiscriminately attacked his media companies and traditional business lines.
Crawford Group’s stock price plummeted.
Marcus’s previously published autobiography was dissected word by word by media outlets for mockery
Even Victoria, involved in the divorce incident, had her credentials exposed by overseas netizens – her supposed Stanford Master’s degree was actually from a lower–tier collaborative program.
