After that, his private life became fodder for the gossip columns as he experienced a public backlash and negative publicity due to the shocking news of the couple's pending divorce. Many were angry and upset at this turn of events, as the Russells had been viewed as the "perfect Hollywood couple". They received hate-mail from irate fans, and Russell was pressured by the Hollywood community and Roman Catholic Church clergy not to proceed with the divorce because it would cause "a public scandal".