Thankfully he and his ex just didn't work out, it happens. She was a lot younger (not teenager younger), had never even been to the US let alone lived here, and was so out of her depth she got homesick and wanted to go back to the UK. There was some obvious resentment on his part being he had a dream job at NBC in NYC, was living the life and she was terribly homesick. Sad really that I went from being a guest at their wedding to seeing them maybe 18 months after back in the UK.
But yes, no money grabbing lawyers, it was just done via letters between lawyers. My parents' divorce was messy. He left my mum in a complete financial mess.