stumpjumper

<B> She met him before he was famous- he was well known but he wasn't LANCE ARMSTRONG.</B>

Er, they met at a fundraiser *after* some of his fame. She was working for the PR firm and thought he was a pompous athlete, he thought she wasnt doing enough to support the effort and went to yell at her...
The rest is history as they say.

pokey

The whole thread is inane.The story made the papers.Why drag it in here and pick it apart, and speculate like a bunch of Dr. Phil wannabees?

RacerX

...and you need to add your little comment because?
Maybe you should check the name of the topic and website. People like to talk about all bike-related in a bike forum...gee, what a novel concept.
Maybe you should take your non-too clever comments over to the political debates going on in this forum and show them how above everything you are.
In the meantime why don't you invent some new definitions for other side dishes besides applesauce (lame).

pokey

Politics!! Well, add religion too and and I wouldn't touch either with a 10 pole no matter what the material. So maybe that is being really 'ABOVE' the applesauce?

fubar5

Dr. Phil is a crazy show..Have you ever watched Dave Letterman's show and seen him bash Dr. Phil?? It's great!

Strangely, when I read the article in SI about Lance, when Kristin said something on the matter of Lance not being religious, it struck me as though that was a point of friction, and that there may be some problems between them.

I hope that they don't divorce..In Lance's book, he says he always had a grudge against his real father because he left his mom. It would seem somewhat hypocritical to have said that, and then to leave his own kids.

I also think that tour number 5 coming up is probably a part of the problemo. Lance is probably training even harder than ever.

Greg

I agree although your use of adjectives is poor.

We Americans have turned the institution of marriage into a cynical practice.

Don't kill the messenger.

I enjoy and work on my marriage daily.

RonH

Wow! This is really sad news.
I read his book in 2001 and thought the chemistry was right for them.
Some of the posts have referred to their religious "differences". I may be wrong but I don't think that has a lot of bearing on their situation. I think he is under a lot of pressure to train for the "fifth win". If they can't work out their problems and Kristen doesn't go to Europe with him he probably won't have the mental attitude it takes to win the TdF.

I sincerely hope they can patch things up for the sakes of three lovely children and their chance for a wonderful life together.

Don't let us down Lance.

SBeach

Forget the tdf. There are 3 children who need their dad to pour milk on their cereal every morning. Stick it out Lance.
It's not about the bike, and it's not out you anymore Lance.

wabbit

Let's face it, cyclists are very high maintenance characters, and lance is probably the most high maintenance of all. The same drive that has pushed him to win four tours is probably what may cost him his marriage. His entire life is the bike and she's home with three little kids, and all the money in the world doesn't make up for being all alone all the time. There's no way winning five or six tours will come without a price- he'll age 20 years, or it'll cost him his marriage. Something has to give.

orguasch

Pokey
is right, lets not speculate, things are already bad for them, and adding our 2 cents will not help their marriages, let just leave them alone.
Oscar

trmcgeehan

Years ago, a pretty young woman in our office got married. Three months later, she was separated and seeking a divorce. I asked her: "Was there another woman, Carol?"

She replied: "Yes. His mother!"

cyclezealot

I get tired of the US obsession of smut TV and making issue with someone's private lives, when it is no ones' business... I am somewhat interested here.. Guess reason.. We as obsessed cyclists hear from our spouses - is that all you do..
You marry the head of GM or the nation's top athlete, you know it is an abnormal life, but the financial rewards are good and later in life the family will benefit.. Those aspiring spouses with extradnorary gifts must live them.. What would be the pits more than the life of a US politico ! A real fish bowl.. Do we condemn a First Spouse if they do not fit the role?
Anyway the cycling world needs its stars and since fame is a fly in the pan- if I were the cycling pro- I would expect the spouse to life the life for a couple years- travel with me and get a Nanny.. We can afford it.. But that is me...
The chance to ride the tour de France and have the podium girls kiss you would be tooo much to give up... Someone said Lance's spouse is religious.. Think I noticed Lance always has a cross about his neck.. Manybe not mean much?

webist

Two good people got together. Two good people are having trouble. Whatever happens, I think each is probably a good person and will continue to be so.

jatkins679

So it's 'no one's business' only when the 'business' is less than flattering?

When you allow publication of and assist in the writing of a book about your life and you very clearly garner and cooperate with press coverage of many non-cycling issues and aspects of your life, then you really don't have any right to complain when the press covers the more embarrassing aspects of that life. You can't have it both ways. To his credit, though, Armstrong has seemingly not spouted the usual hypocrisy that many celebrities do when the press covers their divorces, addictions, arrests, and the like.

I think this obsession or over-the-top coverage about the Armstrong's marital problems is pretty silly and I generally make an effort to not read that sort of stuff. But then again the press writes what people want to read, too. Someone is reading that stuff...

I think what people probably need to keep in mind is that regardless of what is written about Armstrong or whatever we would like to believe about him or the pedistal some may put him onto, it's very likely he is just like you and me: not a saint, not the devil, just someone in between.

And with that notion should come the expectation and acceptance that his life has the same issues, problems, and difficulties that we all have. One of those is almost certainly a less-than-perfect marriage and one that is probably at least a little more difficult than most simply due to the constant media spotlight.

easyrider

In general, I agree with you 100%. It would be nice if celebrities could hold on to some scrap of a private life. What I find interesting though, is that the ARMSTRONGS themselves sent out a press release and MADE this a public issue!

He easily could have gone off to Europe and raced through the spring and July without anyone wondering why she is home with the kids. The coming war and concerns about terrorism could be a perfect smokescreen.

Then they could really get to work on the marriage in August after some time to reflect. I'm just not sure why THEY made this a public issue.

SamDaBikinMan

Very good point easyrider. This could have been invisible to the public. Confusing......

Cyclesister

It is bound to be hard to maintain a healthy family situation with the kind of schedule Lance has to have. I hope they work things out.

fubar5

Maybe it's a secret plot to confuse everybody....

jatkins679

I think a likely possibility is that some tabloid(s) is coming out with a story about their marital problems and they wanted to get their side of the story out first. It seems among celebrities that that happens a lot (pre-emptive press release).

Regardless, under the best of circumstances marriage for anyone who is (1) so visible to the public and (2) clearly one of the very few best at what he does is going to be difficult at best. It's certainly possible, but sometimes I don't see how.

The stress that professional athletes feel is incredible: one wrong move by you or one of your competitors and your athletic career is over in an instant. Or that people will never forget you 'til somebody new comes around (that interest in your story is fleeting). Then there's always the fact that you're a target: Armstrong's success and fame are things that countless other cyclists are shooting for and are looking to knock him off professionally 24/7. I mean, when you see those annual reports that list the best and worst jobs, professional athlete is always ranked as one of the most stressful jobs around. It's not difficult to see why and it's not difficult to see how that might make your personal life a little more rocky.

Whatever the reasons behind the press release, it was a nice thought but I doubt it will do much good. To the extent that the public here follows him, elements of the press will still seek out the less-than-positive aspects of his and his family's life and print it. It's too bad, but then again someone is buying enough of that crap to entice publishers to cover it.

roadbuzz

Anybody know if Rumsas and his wife are still together?

dh20281

Armstrong will still win 'The TOUR' this year, He is a giant and totally focused.

shokhead

Well he's focused on some of the finer delights in france from what i heard on the sports talk this morning and they also said he's dumping her for some of the finer france extras.

Guest

Wow- I just read an update that goes more into detail. It makes it seem like this is probably something a bit more permenant:

https://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/55308.htm

Oh well...

Koffee

jatkins679

Yeah, that's sad (if what the NYPost wrote is true). The closing line of that article speaks the truth, though: in every failed relationship, there is usually plenty of blame to go around.

wabbit

Blame or responsibility- either way. ANd it does sound like they were kind of mis-matched in some pretty basic ways. If you're breaking up after only four years, it sounds like there are some serious differences there and maybe they don't really have a lot in common. And a guy who is so driven and single minded like that should have probably put of marriage and kids until he retired, like career women who put off kids until their 30s so they can spend time at home with them!