Barry Diller took the witness stand this afternoon in the Delaware Chancery Court to tell his side of the story of a disintegrating marriage—his 13-year partnership with John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp.

Dressed in blue suit and blue and white tie, Diller's testimony was often more emotional and witty than Monday's testimony from Malone. Diller was often laughing and creating laughter in the courtroom gallery.

Malone and IAC/Interactive Corp, the $5 billion company built by Diller with Malone's backing, have filed dueling lawsuits, a showdown billed as the Clash of the Moguls.

Diller, for one, still holds hope for his relationship with Malone, whom he got to know in the early 1990s because both men are boating enthusiasts.

In the midst of a contentious cross-examination, Kevin Abrams, Liberty Media's lead lawyer, asked Diller what he envisioned of his relationship with Malone. Diller called that "a good question," and paused for a pregnant moment. "Well, I have hopes for it. That's the honest thing I can say."

In fact, Diller testified that talks continued "Up until the other day, and probably today as well, depending on the circumstances," to end this marriage in an amicable divorce, a deal in which Liberty Media would get the Home Shopping Network in a swap for its shares in IAC.

The lawsuits follow Diller's proposed plan to spin off four businesses from IAC, each having a one-tier voting structure, wiping out the super voting stock now held by Liberty Media and its majority voting position in IAC. Under their partnership, Diller has a proxy to vote the Liberty Media stock.

Even as IAC's stock price stalled, and as Liberty Media C.E.O. Gregory Maffei complained publicly and privately about that performance, Diller said he viewed his partnership with Malone as a "first-rate relationship."

That all changed on the morning of October 27, 2007, when the Wall Street Journal ran a page-one story under the headline "Can This Marriage Be Saved?"

Both Maffei and Malone were critical of IAC in the lengthy article, and Malone was quoted in the story saying this: "The hook is set. It is our company. Barry ain't going to be able to spit the hook."