Just last week Suze Orman appeared on "Good Morning America" to advise couples not to share a bank account so that "nobody could take anybody else's money." Now on Oct. 12 GMA aired a segment about Sidetaker.com, a Web site that allows arguing couples to "just log on and let a group of complete strangers weigh in."
Last year when Justin Marinos couldn't decide whether to dump his cheating girlfriend, he jumpstarted Sidetakers.com to make the decision for him. Responders voted to ditch the girl, and he did.
So much for the good ol' days of compromising behind closed doors. Sidetakers had 200,000 readers last month with 11,000 registered users anonymously - and often shamelessly, airing their dirty laundry.
"You don't have to worry about other people knowing who you are when you post these," Marinos said. "You could post something that you wouldn't tell a friend."
And there are plenty of posts that fit those criteria.
They range from the banal (bickering about the number of toilet flushes allowed per day) to the disgusting (spouses arguing about sex toys) to the serious, like wives asking for advice on abusive, alcoholic husbands.
And the vast majority of the responses, if heeded, would probably result in colossal relationship failure if not a run-in with the law: Cheat on your wife if she won't have enough sex with you! Stalk your boyfriend of six years if he won't give you his home address (which is slightly strange in itself).
Diana Kirschner, a psychologist and author of "Love in 90 Days," approved of this "People's Court of the Web world," saying, "If you can take a time out and break that pattern [of bickering] in any way, it can sometimes be very helpful for the couple to come together."
Back in the day, before reality shows became ubiquitous, before baring the most intimate and unattractive aspects of your life became accepted and even required, relationship problems were solved by a long walk or a night on the couch. Now it's by whining to 200,000 complete strangers.
