[koumori]

I've never liked the fact that Ayu referenced her divorce so openly in Return Road. I know she has always used her emotions and real life experiences to inspire her work, but using the photograph of herself and Mannie so openly just left a sour taste in my mouth. They seem to be on good terms now and I suppose that's what matters.

There's a lot of suspicion surrounding her two relationships, and looking at what we know, I don't really blame people for being wary of parts (or all of it) being for marketing reasons. I think we don't know enough to ever make a clear judgement on how things went on. Was Ayu just bitter about the divorce or did she use the photo to bring more attention to the PV? Was it a true holiday romance or a set-up for her next musical era? Was Maro a rebound after being her friend for so long, or did Avex think she needed another media boost for her new albums?

I don't think we'll ever know for sure. All we know is that all participants in these relationships have said they were true. The rest is speculation, even though it does look bad. I feel sad that Ayu's reputation has been affected by this, at least for me. Sometimes I wish she was still so mysterious to me, like before she got Twitter. I'm a selfish fan.