Mel Gibson hit with divorce papers by Wife

In news that’s going to put a sizable dent in his Easter festivities, we just heard that Mel Gibson and his lady are heading for splitsville.

Robyn Gibson, 57, apparently signed papers on Thursday to end their 28-year marriage, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.” And it hasn’t taken long for rumors to start about possible cause. As we reported recently, Mel has been linked to another woman, but those in the know are quite clear that the true motivations go deeper than that. The couple are said to have become increasingly distant in the last few years and this sad situation was made even worse by Mel’s DUI arrest in 2006. The news of a split is regarded by many as a sad but predictable fade-out to black.

Mel’s current net worth is estimated to be in the ball park of $900-million, and under California’s community property laws everything owned by a couple is split 50/50. And the scribes at TMZ say the two have no prenup as they were married in 1980, before Mel’s career took off and he became a true Hollywood star.

Like most divorces this one is bound to be hard on the children, and the Gibsons have seven. Fortunately only ten-year old Thomas is still legally a minor, so they should be a lot less distressed by the upcoming split. In the court papers, Robyn asks for shared physical and legal custody of Tom, plus spousal support and attorneys fees. But she’s listed the date of separation as “to be determined,” which could cause some real fireworks — Under the community property laws, earnings cease to be regarded as shared once a couple split up.

If Mel does find he has ‘issues’ with this, his wife’s well prepared for debate; She’s hired the queen of celebrity splits, Laura Wasser, who already secured successful exits for Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears and also the great Stevie Wonder, and will doubtlessly bring the full weight of her talents to bear in Robyn’s forthcoming case.