First comes love, then comes marriage, and then comes a Twitter war that signals the end of the marriage and the beginning of an ugly divorce. That's the stage former golden couple Morgan Deane and Graeme Smith have reached.The Irish pop singer went on a no-holds-barred Twitter tirade this week. She accused the former Proteas captain of not paying water bills and giving her no money to feed their children while he was in Dubai. She also claims to have been bullied by his friends for speaking out.Smith, who has been relatively silent about their acrimonious split, hit back in a tad more dignified way by issuing a statement in which he denied her accusations. He attributed Deane's attack on his integrity to a detailed psychologist's report, which he said she appeared "not to like".The couple announced their split in February after four years of marriage.Mr and Mrs Smith are not alone in dishing out dirt in public.mini_story_image_vleft1Other high-profile divorces that spilt into the public domain include those of former cabinet minister Tokyo Sexwale and his wife Judy; former Bafana Bafana and English Premier League footballer Mark Fish and his wife Loui; former Generations actress Sophie Ndaba and pastor Keith Harrington; and socialite Uyanda Mbuli and millionaire businessman Sisa Mbuli.Harrington accused Ndaba of verbally and emotionally abusing him on social networks, while she claimed he had threatened her life. They divorced in 2012.Mbuli, whose protracted divorce was finalised earlier this year, took to Twitter after she was arrested for contravening a court order during their separation, saying her only crime was "marrying the wrong man".Loui, who split from her husband in 2011, said on Friday that her "heart goes out to Morgan". The former lingerie model was embroiled in a messy and public break-up with Mark, during which they accused each other of infidelity during their 11-year marriage."Us women are passionate. When your kids are involved you become a lioness. I see a lot of my own divorce in that of Morgan and Graeme," she said.She said she and Mark were "the best divorced couple ever in the first year of separation"."Everything changed once he got involved again. I also turned to social media, not to embarrass Mark, but I did it to stand up for myself and my kids."mini_story_image_hright2She defended Deane, saying she was "obviously pushed to the edge and voiced her opinion on what she is going through ".Deane, in her tweet, said: "My husband left me the day after Christmas, had an affair, and has now sought ... to take my babies from me, their mother, 3 nights a week and has been given it. A national hero ..."Smith said in his statement: "Intemperate social media postings, repeated untrue accusations, deliberate attempts to obfuscate the facts and to put me in the worst light possible through whatever means at her disposal, and interviews with selected media have persisted. Any attempts from anyone to call her on what she has said are met with accusations of bullying."Johannesburg media lawyer Emma Sadleir said social media gave everyone a voice. "Everyone now has access to an instant, public, permanent platform. You can think of something in the heat of the moment and you can publish it - when you're angry, frustrated, fed up, drunk or overwhelmed."She warned that courts did not look kindly on domestic spats playing out on social media. "What the courts are saying about domestic social media spats is that, even if the allegations are true, they cannot be published because they are not for the public benefit. The courts have been at pains to emphasise the distinction between what is interesting to the public as opposed to what is in the public interest. You cannot air your dirty laundry in public."Cape Town divorce attorney Bertus Preller said that although it was easy for estranged couples to publicise their anger on social networks, the Divorce Act did not allow "the gory details of the divorce" to be publicised."With celebrities they may think it's reasonable to do this because they are public figures. But when there are children involved, surely it can't be acceptable to air your dirty laundry on public platforms."govendersu@sundaytimes.co.za..