The term 'divorce boat' is no myth, just gotta understand what it refers to. In its most classic form, a couple decides to try kayaking. Since it's a totally new thing to them and they have no idea if it's going be successful, it seems to make more sense to buy one boat - a tandem - instead of two solo boats. Then problems arise when two people with zero skills hop into the same boat and attempt to use telepathy as a means of syncing their actions. High decibel strife in the form of shouts to steer this way and watch out for something that way ensues. And sooner or later the man, who always seems to end up in the back seat, wants a closer look at some fascinating thing on shore and sticks wifey, who always seems to end up in front, into a bunch of bushes where she emerges with a ton of crawly bugs and spiders in her hair.

But when you get two paddlers who have at least a few skills, and an actual plan, aboard the same canoe or kayak, great things can happen; and most of the success stories I've heard sound very much like yours, where two formerly incompatible solo boaters found perfect harmony working together in tandem.