Anyone who saw her (coolly received at the box office) film ‘Katy Perry: Part of Me‘ knows that pop diva Katy Perry was torn up by the breakdown of her marriage to funnyman Russell Brand, as evidenced by that whole sobbing backstage scene.

The indication was clear. Perry’s husband was making less of an effort to see his wife while she was on tour. Their divorce became official this week, and Brand spoke to Howard Stern about his love for his former wife, saying “It mostly didn’t work for practical reasons.” He also said that he wanted to have kids with her, but would not elaborate on what went wrong there since he didn’t want to make Perry sad.

Brand was completely considerate of his ex-wife’s feelings, pointing out that she is young and sensitive and was quick to declare that he still loves her. There is the suggestion that the wounds are still very fresh, since he worried about hurting Perry with his words.

“I loved her so much, it just seemed like the sensible thing to do [when we got married] … I just loved her so much,” he declared (quotes via Us Weekly). After a year and two months, they both realized that things were not quite what they seemed. Quick: Somebody cue Perry’s latest single ‘Wide Awake,’ which details a fractured relationship.

He said, “I was really, really in love with her, but it was difficult to see each other … We were together when it was right to be together, and when it wasn’t we worked it out … It was a lovely relationship … It mostly didn’t work for practical reasons.”

Much of the scenario Brand detailed is depicted in the film, with a little more blame placed at his doorstep. He seemed to shift some of that blame to her career during this interview. “She’s young, successful and dedicated,” Brand said. “You can’t fully understand it until you do it. I was really into the idea of marriage and having children.”

He would not go any further when discussing domesticity, in order to protect Perry’s feelings. “I don’t want anything to hurt her,” he said. “She’s younger than me, she’s a young woman and she’s beautiful and she’s sensitive and I care about her deeply. I don’t want to be too glib. She’ll read it and she’ll be sad and I don’t want that.”

How bittersweet. It’s clear Brand still cares deeply about the woman who was once his wife, and that it’s pain that still smarts for her.

Brand was also a stand up guy, exiting the marriage without attempting to extract a hefty settlement, to which he was entitled, since there was no prenup. Perry raked in $40 million in earnings while married to Brand and according to law, he was entitled to half. He walked away from that chunk of cash because “I’ve got a good job. All I want to do is, I want to live a good life, seriously watch me,” he told Stern. “I’m just trying to be a decent person making jokes. I’m not into taking money from women or anybody. I don’t need it.”

Again, that serves to make the dissolution of the marriage even more tragic, since he seems like a good guy who married a woman he loved. When he said, “I got married because I fell in love. I got divorced because it wasn’t working,” we felt the sting for both Brand and Perry.

Brand has moved on, though. He is now dating Isabella, the young sister of actress Jordana Brewster.

Watch the Katy Perry ‘Wide Awake’ Video

 

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