Couple with horse sperm on their pre-nup was the strangest divorce I’ve been involved in

‘A lot of people think things are split 50/50 in a divorce, but this is a huge misconception,’ says Holly J Moore, a lawyer who specialises in divorce and pre-nups.

The 43-year-old has aided in more than 2,000 marriage separations, so it’s fair to say that she knows her stuff when it comes to splits.

From a wealth of experience, Holly claims that no matter what, every divorce comes down to one thing — one of the partners isn’t getting their ‘core human needs’ met.

‘We all have four specific human needs: to feel special, to experience variety both in emotions and our practical lives, to have the stability of basic needs like food, clothing and shelter, and to be loved and cared for,’ she explains.

‘If I looked at all the divorces, one or both people were lacking one or more of those basic needs. It manifests in so many different ways, such as infidelity, addiction, abuse, but these are symptoms of an underlying problem.’

Another major mistake that people make in relationships is marrying the wrong person.

It sounds so obvious, but Holly says she’s seen countless instances where couples discussing what went wrong realise their issues stem from things they knew about their partner before getting married.

‘A lot of marital discord revolves around a difference in world view, different opinions on raising kids, even a difference in work ethics,’ she continues.

With so many divorce cases under her belt, Holly has seen and heard just about everything, but there are a few arguments between feuding couples that have really stood out over the years, one of the strangest being a fight over horse sperm.

‘I’ve had some really interesting cases — certainly some that were eye-opening,’ Holly, from Southern California says. ‘I had one pre-nup where the most significant asset was horse sperm for breeding. They had a really expensive horse and they wanted to protect that horse’s semen. That was definitely a first for me.’

In another case, she was representing a husband and going through the items staying in the home to work out their value, from fancy dining sets to an expensive couch.

‘The wife asked “What about all the batteries?”,’ she recalled. ‘She wanted to know about the batteries in the TV remote and the wall clock, things like that. That was a bit bizarre.’

Holly also once worked with a professional pinball machine player, who had hundreds of thousands of sea coral that he wanted to protect from his spouse. 

Holly, who has worked with everyone from your ‘average Joe’ to NFL stars and someone in the FBI’s witness protection programme, charges a pretty penny for her work, with an hourly rate of £470 ($600).

She often shares advice about divorce with her 209,000 Instagram followers too, including legal loopholes.

‘[As an example], California is a community property state,’ says Holly.

‘This means things acquired during the marriage are split equally, but not things obtained before – and there are so many complex nuances with credits, reimbursements and loopholes.

‘People also think that if they leave the house they are abandoning their rights to it, but that’s simply not true.’

Holly, who has been married for 20 years to her own husband, Jeff, says her biggest piece of advice to anyone that’s engaged is to draft a pre-nup before getting married — even if you don’t sign it.

This is because it serves as a way to facilitate all the tough conversations that should be had before marriage, which often many people don’t think have until it’s too late. 

Bear in mind that prenuptial agreements aren’t baked into law here in the UK like they are across the pond. It can help you get clear on what you both need, though, and take money issues out of the equation when you should be focusing on maintaining your relationship.

Holly adds: ‘People put so much emphasis on the wedding that the actual marriage falls by the wayside and that’s a huge mistake. Nothing good comes easy and every relationship will have highs and lows.

‘I’m an old soul but I think everyone gives up too easily.’

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