The marriage fizzles, but the television show is a hit!

Was it real, or was it entertainment? Britain's Daily Mail is running a story about the Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries marriage that lasted only 72 days. The story asks that very question. Was it love, or was it a hoax? Could this have been a real marriage, or just a staged wedding intended to pull in a huge and hugely lucrative audience?

Humphries, a professional basketball player who is currently idled by the NBA lockout, arguably gained more fame and notoriety as the suitor of a highly visible reality television star than he ever did on the court. Kardashian, for her part, boosted the ratings of her family's personality driven entertainment empire to stratospheric levels as the fledgling romance, engagement, and ultimate marriage tantalized viewers and drew them in by the hundreds of thousands.

The two met, ironically enough, exactly one year before the divorce papers were filed. That timeline certainly meets the definition of a whirlwind romance. The discussion around water coolers and executive suites isn't about romance or broken hearts, or infidelities, however. It's about money. And it is that exact issue that has casual viewers and professional celebrity watchers alike wondering, was this ever a real romance in the first place, or was this just business?

Reports suggest that a prenuptial agreement will keep either side from flirting with poverty over the split. But the $10 million dollar televised wedding turned out to be an investment that worked beautifully on the professional level, while it was simultaneously a complete bust on the personal side.

Make no mistake, there are real people involved in this situation, and it's entirely possible that there are seriously hurt feelings that are leading to legitimate emotional pain as the story unfolds. But there are many, many dollars at stake, too. There is a television series in the mix, at the very least – which the Daily Mail report suggests has led the network to engage in emergency meetings, where one can only assume that damage control is the primary focus of the discussion, while questions on how to exploit the unexpected twist of events to their entertainment oriented advantage comes in a close second.

Whatever the case, whether it was love and loss, or ratings and bigger ratings – this story isn't going away any time soon. And neither are Kris or Kim.

You can read the full Daily Mail story here.