Yuzuru Hanyu announces divorce

[el henry]

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but this whole secret Hanyu marriage/divorce seems very sus. Something isn't adding up imo.

But anyways while I do feel bad for Hanyu, he kind of enabled these rabid crazy fans for years, and now they're out of control. Should have nipped it in the bud years ago.

Yuzuru himself didn't "enable" Jackson B. Squat.

And wouldn't one have to be a conspiracy theorist to find something "sus".? That's the very definition of not believing a skater's own words on their own life, without any proof to support disbelief.

 

[Rebecca Moose]

Yuzuru himself didn't "enable" Jackson B. Squat.

And wouldn't one have to be a conspiracy theorist to find something "sus".? That's the very definition of not believing a skater's own words on their own life, without any proof to support disbelief.

It's not a conspiracy theory, but I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility or reality to find this entire situation rather odd. They couldn't even make it three months? Come on.

I'm trying to recall a celebrity of any kind that had a divorce for these reasons. Can anyone think of one?

This, speaks for me! And again....after only three months?!? This would make more sense after a year...wouldn't one think the tabloids' interest would eventually wane.

 

[TallyT]

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but this whole secret Hanyu marriage/divorce seems very sus. Something isn't adding up imo.

But anyways while I do feel bad for Hanyu, he kind of enabled these rabid crazy fans for years, and now they're out of control. Should have nipped it in the bud years ago.

Try not to pronounce on things you are clearly deliberately ignorant of (and no mods, I do not apologise after the previous people trying to victim-blame).

1. The official marriage paperwork has been verified and as has been said repeatedly on this thread, keeping such things private is quite normal in Japanese culture. Even the gutter press themselves never doubted its veracity. If you are calling him a liar, are you also calling Arakawa one?

2. As anyone who can actually READ will know, he says himself this was caused by the hounding of said gutter tabloid press as they do any hugely popular public figure, and Yuzuru is as huge as it gets. His fans good or bad had nothing to do with it, any more than Takahashi's rabid fans, Shoma's rabid fans etc, the Tutberidze group's manic following, would have in a similar case. Have you even bothered to check on the details of what Yuzu has put up with for years, and what has been going on since the marriage? I doubt it.

 

[el henry]

It's not a conspiracy theory, but I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility or reality to find this entire situation rather odd. They couldn't even make it three months? Come on.



.....

The fact that the marriage didn't last is sad. But the reasons given: endless harassment by the tabloid press and by some unhinged so-called "fans", whom Yuzu's real fanbase disavows, makes perfect sense to me. That's all I need to know.

(and not that it should make any difference, but I am not a Yuzu super fan. The fandom that I am most associated with is as neutral as it gets with whatever fan wars are swirling around. Except that our guy would be the last one to say anything nasty about anybody. So there is that. )

 

[TallyT]

One other thing that has been noticed... Yuzu in his statement asks that his partner, their families and the people around them be left in peace (he did this to give her and them their lives back). He did not ask it for himself, he must now know it will not be given, possibly not ever, and that is the price he pays for being the tallest of poppies.

ps - why are you liking my previous post?

 

[Rebecca Moose]

Try not to pronounce on things you are clearly deliberately ignorant of (and no mods, I do not apologise after the previous people trying to victim-blame).

fair enough, but isn't the point of a discussion board to um, actually discuss things?

I just said the situation seems odd, it's not like I'm making libelous accusations here.

or is this one of those forums where any criticism (or mere musings) of Hanyu is forbidden?

As anyone who can actually READ will know, he says himself this was caused by the hounding of said gutter tabloid press as they do any hugely popular public figure, and Yuzuru is as huge as it gets.

understood. But again, I am wondering... ending the marriage after three months seems premature to me? surely the tabloids would get slowly lose interest after six months or a year.

and I have a feeling his legions of superfans may be purchasing these tabloids, no?

I'm ignorant, but my perspective is where I'm from, marriage is sacred and not something you give up on after three months, no matter how bad the paparazzi are. You've got to try longer than that.

 

[TallyT]

The fact that the marriage didn't last is sad. But the reasons given: endless harassment by the tabloid press and by some unhinged so-called "fans", whom Yuzu's real fanbase disavows, makes perfect sense to me. That's all I need to know.

(and not that it should make any difference, but I am not a Yuzu super fan. The fandom that I am most associated with is as neutral as it gets with whatever fan wars are swirling around. Except that our guy would be the last one to say anything nasty about anybody. So there is that. )

Thank you, as always, for your gentle and unbiased words.

 

[el henry]

whole post

Of course I think anyone should be able to post an opinion. This is a skating board and we post opinions. I don't believe I said or implied that someone should not post??? I certainly did not mean to do that.

I said I disagreed. And I do. I tried to do it semi-respectfully (sadly I am not nearly as nice as the skater I "uber") and sometimes with humor.

I have been married for, well, a very long time. No one needs to tell me about taking marriage seriously. I see nothing to indicate that the parties involved here did not, and I am never going to criticize anyone for not enjoying the decades of wedded bliss that Spousal Unit and I have enjoyed. I am sorry that it could not work here.

 

[TallyT]

or is this one of those forums where any criticism (or mere musings) of Hanyu is forbidden?

No, but victim-blaming and calling people liars without evidence always should be called out, everywhere.

understood. But again, I am wondering... ending the marriage after three months seems premature to me? surely the tabloids would get slowly lose interest after six months or a year.

They haven't lost interest in him since he was seventeen. They've made vague but ugly insinuations for years about him, his parents, his sister... they made a classmate's life hell by rumours and gossip when he was a teenager. The partner - and at times her family - couldn't even leave the house. Random women who were photographed somewhere in his vicinity were written up as 'the one' and then their whole life history was dragged and examined for salacious details. They kept 'threatening' to publish dirt (which never turned up because Yuzu simply has none in his life, but imagine the stress of wondering if next weekend lies are going to be splashed in print about you). All this is on record.

Yuzu and his partner may have hoped for some grace, but from Japanese reports, it's only got worse, and he says in his statement, he wants her to be happy.

and I have a feeling his legions of superfans may be purchasing these tabloids, no?

No they don't, the Japanese Hanyu fans boycott them. It's the general public, sad to say, who are fascinated by him and don't think. Maybe now they will.

 

[TallyT]

PS - and just in case anyone is thinking 'well why doesn't he quit?' he has said, many times including recently, that he loves skating above all, and he gets great joy and a sense of purpose - and gets to give back to his community and his fans - with his skating.

Some people in this world get almost unimaginably huge triumphs and joys, and also huge tragedies and sorrows. I can't imagine it, I live a quite, simple life and probably would go to pieces if I had to be exciting.

 

[rabidline]

Just think for a moment: we have heard that Shoma and Marin Honda are involved, true? Well, Marin is from a celebrity family, imagine if the tabloids decided they wanted salacious details on their sex life and started hounding, stalking, ambushing, attacking online the members of both families and their friends and acquaintances, even making stories up to get a reaction (as they did with any woman they could drag into this) and to dig up or invent vaguely plausible dirt. Not because there was anything to gain but prurient newsbait, but because they could. Wouldn't we be shocked and horrified and wish it could be closed down?

You don't have to imagine because it happened. On a much smaller scale since neither Shoma nor Marin are as high profile as Yuzuru (no one in Japan is to be honest), and they're still just dating and haven't married yet, but it happened. The tabloids released the rumor right after Nationals and before the Olympics too... at the first ice show Shoma and Marin did in 2022 after they were outed (Nagoya Festival), fans saw Marin had to leave early at the finale and they were really worried because she looked like she had health issues.

Their dating rumor was left unconfirmed for a year, but many of the ridiculous things the tabloids reported back then about Shoma and Marin are still accepted as facts even now, even by figure skating fans. The irony is that when Yuzuru announced his marriage there was a lot of criticism on Shoma, because unlike Yuzuru, he was deemed as an athlete who can't keep his personal life private and "hide" the person he loves from the public eye. And of course Marin herself is already branded as a "bad girl" who craves media attention because she came from a celebrity family, and Yuzuru's wife was "better" for not being in the public eye like Marin is. And some of this comes from Shoma's own fans who believed the tabloids.

The Japanese tabloids have always been... much. And I feel like we shouldn't take that no information or photos or videos about Yuzuru's former wife being published as a sign of no stalking and/or harassment has been done against her and her family. Because most of the time, even when the stalked people stayed silent, the stalking and surveillance can still be intense. And it's not just about personal lives too... after Nobunari Oda filed his moral harassment lawsuit against Mie Hamada, reporters camped out at Kansai University and their practice rink to try get information about the lawsuit from the students... the skaters who are not as high profile as Satoko or Rika but trained at Kansai University. The reporters didn't get a lot of information about the case, but some skaters ended up stopping skating because the situation was just not easy to handle.

 

[TallyT]

You don't have to imagine because it happened. On a much smaller scale since neither Shoma nor Marin are as high profile as Yuzuru (no one in Japan is to be honest), and they're still just dating and haven't married yet, but it happened. Right after Nationals and before the Olympics too... a lot of the ridiculous things the tabloids reported back then about them are still accepted as facts.

The Japanese tabloids have always been... much. And I feel like we shouldn't take that no information or photos or videos about Yuzuru's former wife being published as a sign of no stalking and/or harassment has been done against her and her family. Because most of the time, even when the stalked people stayed silent, the stalking and surveillance can still be intense. And it's not just about personal lives too... after Nobunari Oda filed his lawsuit against Hamada, reporters camped out at Kansai University and their practice rink to try get information about the lawsuit from the students. Some skaters ended up stopping skating because it was just not easy to handle.

Oh no! I am so sorry for them, and apologise if I touched a sore spot on what must be tangled memories for their fans, joy for their happiness and pain for their being hounded. I honestly didn't know.

I did know something about the Nobu/Hamada thing.

 

[rabidline]

Oh no! I am so sorry for them, and apologise if I touched a sort spot on what must be haunting memories for their fans. I honestly didn't know.

I personally try to forget it because it was vile. It's still vile. And honestly, some of the tabloid rumors back then are parroted by people who don't like Shoma and Marin as facts, so I also had to watch people assume the worst of things out of tabloid rumors even until now. So it can also be that you heard some of the information about them, but you didn't know it was from the tabloids.

But... it all pales to this. Once again, I'm sorry.

 

[Moon322]

and I have a feeling his legions of superfans may be purchasing these tabloids, no?

I'm ignorant, but my perspective is where I'm from, marriage is sacred and not something you give up on after three months, no matter how bad the paparazzi are. You've got to try longer than that.

No, that's where you are wrong. As @TallyT already mentioned, Yuzu's fans never buy such tabloids, they avoid them online and don't buy phyical versions either. It's the general public who buy these things and often believe what is written in them.. The usually don't know much about Yuzu's life but they read these things and believe them.

I assume you come from a Christian country, where marriage is sacred. It's not the case in Japan where divorce is not such a big deal, though of course divorcing within three months isn't that common either.

 

[surimi]

This tweet is from a Japanese fan, I assume, and I stumbled upon it today by chance, but I found this excerpt interesting:
"Some of the women's weekly magazines were so bad that things continued to get heated, and even after three months, it didn't calm down, and more and more weekly magazines were featuring them, which was worrying."
So it looks like there was little to no badgering in the official outlets, but the media that pander to the tabloid readership base took their stalking to unbearable heights.
It's hard to imagine for an average person how out of hand the situation must have gotten to result in such drastic measures... but if you get stalked at every turn and shouted at by strangers who come uncomfortably close, when strangers start invading your personal space and badgering your family and friends to find out if you're 'the one'... then yes, I easily believe one can reach one's tipping point in a pretty short time.
Mental health is no joke even for hardened athletes, and it must be infinitely worse for folk unused to living under constant scrutiny. If, say, a loved one is in danger of a mental breakdown, then I imagine you'd do anything to help them, even if it means temporary separation. That's my take, others may have theirs .

Normal? I'm not saying his fans are normal.

Well, what an astute and unbiased assessment of my sanity as his fan, of your fellow GS members who are fans, and of millions of people you don't even know. Who woudn't enjoy being called not normal by a fellow user using blanket statements? Since GS seems to consider your gem of expertise harmless, I thought I'd let you know my appreciation.

 

[Skating91]

Japan is very socially conservative. People get married for a variety of reasons it's almost always mutually beneficial, not always because people are head over heals in love.

 

[Rebecca Moose]

ps - why are you liking my previous post?

um I was just trying to be nice and show appreciation for your reply (even if I disagree), sis

No, but victim-blaming and calling people liars without evidence always should be called out, everywhere.

I have to say this constant victim mentality from Hanyu fans is getting a little exhausting.

regardless, I am sorry he was forced to divorce after three months due to the Japanese tabloids. it's shameful.

 

[surimi]

I have to say this constant victim mentality from Hanyu fans is getting a little exhausting.

You know what else is constant and exhausting? So many not bothering to learn the word 'some', and merrily generalizing groups of people they don't like. Cheers.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

No, but victim-blaming and calling people liars without evidence always should be called out, everywhere.



They haven't lost interest in him since he was seventeen. They've made vague but ugly insinuations for years about him, his parents, his sister... they made a classmate's life hell by rumours and gossip when he was a teenager. The partner - and at times her family - couldn't even leave the house. Random women who were photographed somewhere in his vicinity were written up as 'the one' and then their whole life history was dragged and examined for salacious details. They kept 'threatening' to publish dirt (which never turned up because Yuzu simply has none in his life, but imagine the stress of wondering if next weekend lies are going to be splashed in print about you). All this is on record.

Yuzu and his partner may have hoped for some grace, but from Japanese reports, it's only got worse, and he says in his statement, he wants her to be happy.


No they don't, the Japanese Hanyu fans boycott them. It's the general public, sad to say, who are fascinated by him and don't think. Maybe now they will.

To add a bit about how far this "wife hunt" went, people are starting to speak now.
People who were just vague relatives or mere professional contacts of one of the "proposed spouses" have been harassed, sometimes paparazzi ringing at their own personal door. I can't imagine the hell it must have been for the "proposed spouses" themselves and how much they have been harassed, and it was even worse for Yuzuru Hanyu and his family, because, while marriage registers are not public in Japan, property registers are easier to find and some stalking paparazzi had discovered and published months before the announcement, that Yuzuru Hanyu had bought two apartments in a new building last year, and moved in last Spring. So, they had the newlyweds' address (in addition to his relatives' who had already been harassed), I'm sure Yuzuru Hanyu's wife couldn't even dare to go on the terrace or approach a window or she would have been photographed, this with no foreseeable end.

There's something I hadn't written in his Fan Fest because it was too vile and I hoped they'd get a row from the rest of the press, but one of the two Josei tabloids (the worst ones on this inhumane hunt), when they got a "good candidate" (someone who had no more agent to respond, and whose hometown local newspaper had a journalist gullible enough to believe that after several other "proposed spouses" this one was necessarily the true one, which gave the tabloids a "legitimacy" with a "respectable newspaper article", while said newspaper was just repeating a Josei tabloid's allegations without any own investigation; plus, a former colleague, being told by a paparazzi that "she was the wife" had answered "Oh is it so? Congratulations then" which seemed "ample proof" that she was), wrote an article calling any former acquaintance of hers, particularly any former boyfriend, to call them for an interview. Of course we can imagine "for a pay".

Not even "respectable" newspapers dared to publish Yuzuru Hanyu's own statement (by the way, a member of an excellent translation team recommended the Olympics translation of this statement as the most accurate) and suggested that there were other motives, or accused his fans... While some fans or haters might have been part of the stalkers (at this stage, we don't know), Yuzuru Hanyu very explicitly stated that it was the media wife hunt that had forced them into an unbearable situation and led him to decide to try to live a free life.
For those who should have reasons to believe that they have posted unacceptable words here and elsewhere, this bears NO responsibility into his divorce, per his own statement, I have to say it, unless they've bought those tabloids.
The notable exceptions among newspapers, telling the bare truth, are Sanspo and Sponichi to this date. I'm sure that Yuzuru Hanyu's fans, who are the main support of declining Japanese newspapers, will remember.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

May I add that in general, when people have been dating (particularly living together, of course we don't know if it was so with Yuzuru Hanyu and his wife) some time before marriage, there's a particularly high number of divorces in the months following the formal marriage? I don't think it's the same situation for Yuzuru Hanyu, but how comes it that the mere fact that a pair divorce a few months after a wedding makes the latter "sus"? I know examples in Europe.

I also remember one example of a marriage ruined by tabloids, between two European celebrities in their own right, children of bigger celebrities perhaps less discreet, but then, it's the relationship itself that deteriorated because every argument they had was found out by tabloid and overexposed and discussed, and in the end they divorced, and there was a child. Here, we can feel that Yuzuru Hanyu and his wife are still in love with each other, simply forbidden by unprincipled media from living together.

And, no, Yuzuru Hanyu is NOT an "idol", he's NOT someone whose personal life is necessarily public, he's an athlete and an artist who has always asked for privacy.