Nancy Chemtob, a marriage attorney, helped divorce Mary-Kate Olsen, Tory Burch, Bobby Flay and other celebrities. After decades of practice as a founding partner of Chemtob Moss Forman and BeydaOne of the largest matrimonial firms in New York City, Ms. Chemtob divorced herself in 2012.
Her divorce was horrible and unexpected, she said. But she overcame it and remarried 6 years later.
These days, Mrs. Chemtob, 57, lives in Chelsea with her husband, Michael Kubin, 71, an executive in targeted advertising. They each have three adult sons from their first marriage, some of whom stay with them occasionally, and Goldendoodle, Sunshine, in their three-bedroom apartment.
MASSMEDITATION MASS When I met Michael, he almost made it a prerequisite for me to date him that I started to reflect, I guess, due to the trauma of the divorce. Now that’s the first thing I do when I wake up at 7am. We meditate through a dial-in call with Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation, an organization dedicated to the practice of Transcendental Meditation. Sometimes there are 2,000 people on the call. You shouldn’t drink coffee before, but I do.
SELF CARE We’ll have breakfast, usually oatmeal, which Michael can cook. The only thing I can cook without burning down the house is an egg in a hat. Then I go to Tracy AndersonFitness class at 9:30 at TriBeCa. It was absolute torture, but it calmed me down physically and mentally. When I walk home, I listen to self-help books. Last Sunday, I heard “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.” Before that it was “7 Habits of Influential People.” They are job-oriented, not ‘how to get better skin’ things. I’m always looking for things that teach me how to be more organized, how to get things done.
THINGS TO DO When I get home, I’ll look at my calendar for the week and try to organize what I need to get done personally around my work appointments and social plans. These are things like going to the chiropractor, returning furniture, or buying a wedding present. I’m at the age where all my friends’ kids are getting married. As the week goes by, I know I’ll have to start canceling some of them, because with the kind of work I do, there could be a crisis. For example, I may have an emergency court appearance on Wednesday.
HOPPING TABLES We often go to lunch with my kids, Michael’s kids or friends. Eating is an important part of our lives. At Chelsea. I love Pastis and Cookshop. I live close by Chelsea Market, so it can be fun walking in there and deciding what you’re eating. We always do something in the afternoon as a reward for a long week.
CRISIS CONTROL I might reach out to a struggling customer to see how they’re doing. When people prepare for a divorce, most problems don’t happen Monday through Friday, 9 to 7. Think of a weekend visit: It could be “My kids don’t show up” or “wife/ My husband is late.” I usually get a call every Sunday from someone in crisis. It could be someone in a store and their credit card declined, or a domestic dispute involving the police, or suddenly someone introducing the kids to a girlfriend or boyfriend. new without notice. I always say to my clients, “If you need to talk to me, give me a call anytime.” For those cases where there is a really high level of conflict, I think it’s fair to check. Everyone is going through the worst time of their life and you want to ease their mind.
ZOOM WITH COUSIN On the third week of Covid, my cousin Aya called me from Philadelphia. That call evolved into a family Zoom call at 4 o’clock every Sunday with three other cousins in London, one in North Carolina and one in Israel, along with my sister. At first, we discussed how we had all been to different places and family history. Our last call we talked about The Queen’s Jubilee and Netflix. It is always an interesting call. We have become very close. And it would never have happened without Covid.
VIRTUAL FRENCH FRIES Sunday, we’re going to have dinner, or my son, Jack, who is a wonderful cook, will cook dinner at home. In a perfect world we would go to my favorite place, I’m Sodi. I could eat there every day. However, I will be obese. They have the best fries you’ll ever eat in your life.
SECURITY BOOK All my kids have been through Riverdale Country School, and I’ve been in a book club with all the women at school ever since. Before going to bed, I would read whatever fiction or nonfiction book we were reading. I really enjoy connecting with them. Before going to bed, at about 10 o’clock, I will do crossword puzzles on Monday. The quizzes started getting harder on Tuesday, so it gave me a certain amount of confidence during the week.
