"Marriage Ref" contestant blames Jerry Seinfeld for his divorce

(CBS) The contestant in the debut episode of "The Marriage Ref" is blaming the NBC show and its executive producer Jerry Seinfeld for the breakup of his marriage.

Howie Kohlenberg, a 47-year-old New York beauty products salesman, told the New York Post that his wife of 14 years became so obsessed with stardom as a result of the show that she went to Hollywood to pursue a movie career and ran away with a Canadian producer.

The show's reps had no comment but Seinfeld told the Daily News in New York that he found the whole thing amusing.

""I love it, I love, I love it! When people get upset I enjoy it," he said."That he's having problems, and blaming me, it's all - anything that alleviates the withering, blithering boredom of existence I'm in favor of."

Kohlenberg and his wife, Christine, who were arguing over a now-defunct business they owned, appeared on the show's first episode March 4, 2010.

They were picked out of a pool of squabbling couples for the show, which has a panel of celebrity judges mediate marital disputes. The show began its second season on Sunday to a smaller-than-hoped-for audience.