Swooning is a common response to hearing about high school sweethearts who end up married for a decade or more. Some might even say it’s aspirational. I will admit that it’s rare to meet someone in your teens and survive multiple growth spurts, self-evolution, and challenges. I’m also of the school of thought that marrying and spending the rest of your days with your high school sweetheart is overrated. Although I don’t know the intricate details of their relationship, the content creator couple Kristy Sarah Scott, 30, and Desmond Scott’s recent split may be a prime example. The pair, who rose to fame because of their funny family-related social media content, are headed for divorce after almost 12 years of marriage.
The Scotts married in 2014 when they were just 19 and 20 years old, and had been “best friends” since the age of 14. The former couple, who share two boys, celebrated a decade together in 2024 and gave aspiring lovers hope. I admit to living vicariously through them when I was single, hoping to meet someone who would make me homemade meals daily and partake in my shenanigans. Despite the united front they put on, there were clearly cracks they could no longer fill, considering Kristy ultimately filed for divorce in December 2025. The reason cited in the filing wasn’t the typical “irreconcilable differences.” It was alleged cheating, which shocked fans, myself included.
She hasn’t publicly spoken about the split, but Desmond shared a public apology for the “attention” his extracurricular bedroom activities have garnered.
“I want to begin by apologizing to Kristy, our family, and everyone who has been impacted by the public attention surrounding this situation,” he began in an Instagram Stories post on Jan. 10. “I know this news has been disappointing for many, and I’m truly sorry for the hurt it has caused.”
Desmond added that he and the influencer “faced challenges and made sincere efforts to work through them.” Those efforts were unsuccessful, considering he allegedly told Kristy he wanted to separate at the end of 2025. He admitted to making “choices that I am not proud of,” but only after asking to separate.
“I took responsibility for those actions, I shared this with her directly and personally, and ultimately we decided to divorce,” he concluded.
Cheating is trash, no matter the reason for it going down. So, this op-ed isn’t in any way arguing that Desmond’s “choices he isn’t proud of” are acceptable. But I do want us to stop romanticizing being with one person your entire life. Instead of clinging to this utopian idea of love, I want us to think about the level of sacrifice required to experience only one person romantically your entire life. Then ask yourselves whether it’s worth it.
Something I’ve learned from love and loss over the past two decades is that we don’t own people, but we have the honor of experiencing them. While experiencing people romantically, you’re also given the gift of experiencing different versions of yourself, and this process unlocks a deeper level of intimacy. Over the years, I’ve witnessed different men bring out different parts of me, and I can now pinpoint my non-negotiables and the type of man who can truly help me self-actualize. The mirrors they held up also showed me who I am in love, where I fall short, and where I needed to grow.
One risk in any romantic relationship is that you’ll grow in different directions over time, and I feel that risk increases when you’re with the same person from your youth. I can’t begin to explain the stark differences between my 14-year-old self and my current self. The depths to which I know myself, my emotional intelligence, and my maturity levels have grown leaps and bounds. I’m not sure any relationship before 30 could have survived those changes, honestly. There’s also an added layer for those on a journey of healing from trauma, which I find begins after your teens. You may get to a point where you’re no longer compatible with the person you chose before embarking on that journey.
Again, I don’t know what went on in Kristy and Desmond’s relationship, but I felt compassion for them both when I realized how long they’ve been together. Over the years, they built an admirable life, had two adorable sons, and shared beautiful moments we did see and many we never will see as fans. However, they’ve never gotten to experience other people or experience themselves as single individuals. To me, that feels like too much of a sacrifice to make just to live up to other people’s relationship goals or an idealistic view of love.
I’m not saying we need to have double-digit romantic partners throughout our lives, but I am asking how you know what you truly want in a partner if you’ve only had one. I can’t say seafood pasta is my favorite dish (it really is, though!) if that’s the only food I’ve tasted my entire life. In a perfect world, Kristy and Desmond would find a way to stay together, especially for the sake of the kids. But not every high school sweetheart story will end like Lebron and Savannah James; Snoop Dogg and Shante Broadus; Kendrick Lamar and Whitney Alford; Ja Rule and Aisha Atkins; Ryan Coogler and Zinzi Evans; or LL Cool J and Simone Smith. Also, many of these longtime couples have experienced alleged infidelity and hurdles within their relationship, suggesting that no matter how sweet the love is, there’s a desire to explore other people. I’m not saying dating multiple people before settling down guarantees fidelity, but I’m sure it eliminates some curiosity.
It’s brave of Kristy and Desmond to take a less optimal route and give themselves a shot at discovering versions of themselves outside of one another. Who knows what internal treasures they’ll discover once they begin their single journeys or partner with other people? Either way, I think exploration will get them closer to the love they desire, rather than living out a script written by someone else.