Radio duo Matt & Meshel (Matt Tilley and Meshel Laurie) have announced they are giving away a divorce to listeners.
The giveaway came about from Laurie – from her own divorce experience, and the expense that is often associated with it, particularly from a legal standpoint.
“We can help you,” said Laurie on air this morning on the KIIS101.1 station from the Australian Radio Network (ARN).
“We’ve got some money. We’ve got some experts. We’ve got… all different kinds of assistance to help you go through your device.”
“It’s an unusual thing to give away,” chimed in Tilley. “But we are nonetheless giving away for the first time, I understand, a divorce.”
However, it’s not the first time a broadcast medium has given away a divorce.
In 2008, lad’s mag Zoo Weekly – which was recently closed by Bauer Media – also gave its readers a chance to win a divorce.
Back then the campaign caused a rather large stink with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting it being branded inappropriate and unethical.
“The idea is we’re going to try to get this guy out back on the scene and try to set him up with some more suitable girlfriends to have a good time,” Zoo Weekly mag editor Paul Merrill said at the time.
“When a marriage fails it’s always sad but what’s even sadder is being stuck under the same roof as someone who’s shagged your best mate or something.
“This is hopefully going to encourage people to see the error of their ways and get out rather than put up with 40 years of misery.”
There doesn’t appear to much controversy surrounding the KIIS divorce give-away at the moment however, and the competition only applies to people who are already on the path to separating, not couples who want a quick escape.
