Recently in an interview on the “Today” show, Gabrielle unfortunately revealed that she and her husband Laird had decided to file for divorce just after 4 years of tying the knot. It was only a small bump in the road however, as the two were able to sort things out within a year without having to end their marriage. After getting over the bad times, the two super athletes have been in love and together ever since. Obviously, no one knows the real reason why they decided to part ways in the first place but the media would not relent on their attempts to find out the real reason. The media craves these kinds of details and they desire it even more when there’s a potential stain on the records of public role models. However, the couple denies that the reason for the temporary split was an extra marital affair.

That is usually the first reason people point to when it comes to relationship problems but Gabrielle insists that was not the case in hers. Also on the Today show, Gabby ignited controversy by saying that the secret to her 17 year long marriage with Laird Hamilton is that the couple adopted “traditional gender roles”, to improve their relationship creating an “old fashioned dynamic”. Gabby’s exact controversial words from her book are “To be feminine means being soft, receptive and here it comes…submissive! In contrast to her rise to fame as an independent woman, according to her a women being submissive is a sign of strength and can really help them in their marital life.