
World No.1 Divorce Lawyer: This Is A Sign You’ll Divorce In 10 Years!
Steven Bartlett (host), James Sexton (guest), Steven Bartlett (host)
In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, featuring Steven Bartlett and James Sexton, World No.1 Divorce Lawyer: This Is A Sign You’ll Divorce In 10 Years! explores divorce lawyer reveals relationship slippage signs and tools to prevent divorce Divorce lawyer James Sexton argues most breakups aren’t caused by one explosive event but by “slippage”: small, unaddressed disconnections that compound over years until the relationship floods.
Divorce lawyer reveals relationship slippage signs and tools to prevent divorce
Divorce lawyer James Sexton argues most breakups aren’t caused by one explosive event but by “slippage”: small, unaddressed disconnections that compound over years until the relationship floods.
He frames relationships as a skill and a job requiring maintenance, performance reviews, and courageous honesty—especially for high achievers prone to deprioritizing partners.
He offers practical tools: non-defensive language for raising issues early, a weekly appreciation/feedback ritual, and “menu” communication to match support styles during stress.
He strongly advocates prenups (and even “petnups”) as clarity-building rule sets that reduce future conflict, protect both partners’ safety, and force the couple to practice hard conversations before marriage.
Key Takeaways
Most divorces start as “slippage,” not a single catastrophe.
Sexton describes divorce like a flood: “no single raindrop” causes it. ...
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High achievers most often lose marriages by stopping “seeing” their partner.
For busy, ambitious people, the common pattern is a partner slipping down the priority list. ...
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Treat love like a job you want to stay good at.
He compares dating to interviewing for a dream job—then people stop doing “performance reviews” once hired. ...
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Use non-accusatory language to discuss change early.
Instead of “you’re doing something wrong,” Sexton recommends “something’s changed—have you noticed? ...
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A weekly ritual can prevent years of resentment.
His core practice: once a week share three specific things you love/like about your partner (different each week) and three things that could be improved (optionally also: three times you felt loved, and three things that sparked desire). ...
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Ask for what you need with a “menu,” not mind-reading.
When a partner is upset, offer options: listening, advice, distraction, affection, walk, intimacy—then let them choose. ...
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Avoidance often hides fear: ‘If you knew the real me, you wouldn’t love me.’
He argues many people reject rituals and hard talks because they fear discovering they’re unlovable or inadequate. ...
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Independence can become a castle-and-moat problem.
Childhood chaos (e. ...
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Addiction is anything that helps you avoid feelings—work included.
He cites a therapist’s definition: addiction is what you do to escape what you’d feel if you did nothing. ...
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Prenups reduce risk by clarifying rules while you still like each other.
Sexton’s case for prenups: you already have one—written either by the state or by you two. ...
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Notable Quotes
“Slippage is these small disconnections… No single raindrop’s responsible for the flood.”
— James Sexton
“The number one reason… is that you’ve stopped seeing her and stopped noticing her.”
— James Sexton
“We’re more hungry than we’ve ever been, and we have no idea how to cook.”
— James Sexton
“Rom-coms are basically just an emotional version of pornography.”
— James Sexton
“Addiction is anything you do to get away from feeling what you would have felt if you’d done nothing at all.”
— James Sexton
Questions Answered in This Episode
You define “slippage” as the real marriage killer—what are the earliest, most specific micro-signs you see before couples notice they’re in trouble?
Divorce lawyer James Sexton argues most breakups aren’t caused by one explosive event but by “slippage”: small, unaddressed disconnections that compound over years until the relationship floods.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
In your weekly ritual, why include “three things you could have done better” alongside praise—how do couples prevent that section from turning into criticism or scorekeeping?
He frames relationships as a skill and a job requiring maintenance, performance reviews, and courageous honesty—especially for high achievers prone to deprioritizing partners.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
For high-achievers who hyperfocus (like Steven), what are the highest-leverage ‘attention behaviors’ that matter most to partners—frequency, quality, or predictability?
He offers practical tools: non-defensive language for raising issues early, a weekly appreciation/feedback ritual, and “menu” communication to match support styles during stress.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
You said women cheating often signals the relationship is already over, while men cheating can be ‘scattershot’—what do you think drives that difference, and where might that view be controversial?
He strongly advocates prenups (and even “petnups”) as clarity-building rule sets that reduce future conflict, protect both partners’ safety, and force the couple to practice hard conversations before marriage.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Your ‘menu’ approach to support is practical—how would you script it for a couple that’s already resentful and interprets questions as avoidance or coldness?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
If you had to give one relationship ritual to stay in love, what would that be?
Once a week, tell your partner three things that you love about them and three things they could have done better.
But some people are thinking, "Well, and if I told Dave that we're gonna start writing these notes to each other, he's gonna cringe and not gonna do it."
Bull [censored] ! H- honestly, Dave can't name three things he likes about you? Really, Dave, is that a big ask? I absolutely call [censored] on that. The bigger question is: What's uncomfortable about that for you? And look, I'm not a therapist. I'm a divorce lawyer. I represent some of the most high-achieving minds, athletes, entrepreneurs, and they're just as bad at this as anybody because there's a part of us that's afraid to poke at, "What do you love about me? What am I getting wrong?" And it's not just romantic relationships. Like, my mom died ten years ago after a long battle with cancer. [gentle music] There was a lot between us that needed to be said and wasn't said. And there's a part of me that wishes she was here so that I could have apologized for some things I got wrong, but we don't do that. Because people just don't want temporary discomfort. And so I think there's something deeply courageous about love, about commitment, about saying, "I'm gonna give them the opportunity to hurt me. Like, it's scary, but I'm brave." You know, your marriage will end. It ends in death or divorce. And for two people at the end of their relationship to say, "This person helped me become the most authentic version of myself," that's the greatest gift you could give to another human being.
As you can see from this photo, I just proposed to my fiancée, and I'd like some advice on how not to mess this up. Like, if my fiancée ends up walking into your practice, what is the reason she's likely to end up there?
The number one reason that I'm gonna have a woman sitting across from me divorcing someone who's a great provider, a great protector, is-
That is not obvious to everybody.
And it'll keep me in business for the rest of my life.
[inhales] Guys, I've got a quick favor to ask you. We're approaching a significant subscriber milestone on this show, and roughly sixty-nine percent of you that listen and love this show haven't yet subscribed for whatever reason. If there was ever a time for you to do us a favor, if we've ever done anything for you, given you value in any way, it is simply hitting that Subscribe button. And it means so much to myself, but also to my team, because when we hit these milestones, we go away as a team and celebrate. And it's the thing, the simple, free, easy thing you can do to help make this show a little bit better every single week. So that's a favor I would ask you. And, um, if you do hit the Subscribe button, I won't let you down, and we'll continue to find small ways to make this whole production better. Thank you so much for being part of this journey. It means the world, and, uh, yeah, let's do this. [upbeat music] James, as you can see from this photo, I just proposed to my fiancée, and gladly, she said yes. So I've brought you here in part because I'd like some advice on how not to mess this up, because I know from speaking to you previously-
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