It’s not a divorce, sp, and the comparison is specious.
It’s a realignment of the UK’s constitution from one where the country is subservient to the EU (remember, the Lisbon Treaty declares that EU law trumps national law) to one which regains its sovereignty over all matters.
It’s a mess because the EU will do all it can to make sure it is unsuccessful. They want to make sure that no other member nation tries to escape. They have been wilfully aided by the UK government which, instead of making every effort to act in the best interests of the UK, makes every effort to appease the EU in the vain hope that it will somehow allow us to retain some of the advantages of its club. That was never going to happen and our stupid politicians, so enthralled to the Brussels machine as they are, cannot bring themselves to make a clean break.
They do so at their peril because over half those who voted chose to leave. The arrangements being discussed at present provide nothing like a departure. All they provide is EU membership by another name and the electorate will not let them forget it should it come about. About five times as many nations are normal countries than are EU members. Many of them do very well. The current government needs to take a look around at them instead of worrying about what our future relationship with a declining economic bloc will be.