“I left him after 32 years together.
It’s been five years, and I haven’t missed him for even a second.”
Not all marriages last forever.
Here’s what they had to say:
1.
“My ex-husband, as I knew him, just…vanished.
(She dumped him three weeks after the divorce was final.)
He was in complete denial that he was hurting anyone.
It was very sad and hard to watch.”
anonymous
2.
“Coming up on 20 years of marriage and were separating.
There is no infidelity or big event that caused it.
We just poisoned the relationship from the inside out slowly.
Twenty years is a long time to just walk away from.”
christy3761
3.
Turns out, thats a federal crime.
He went to prison, and my mom filed for divorce."
“My wife of 20 years told me that she was raped at a party when she was 17.
I could not handle the information.
I left to live elsewhere.
She then divorced me after a five-year separation.
(I paid a non-court-ordered support during separation, because I had older daughters living at home.)
I then applied for and received a Catholic annulment of the marriage.
Not good for a 65-year-old man.
I think I never got over the ‘big lie.'”
“I was married just shy of 30 years.
I was tired of being told how to live my life.”
“Simply, I outgrew him.
Once the kids were grown, Id had enough and filed for divorce.
Hes still convinced were going to get back together (after three years divorced).
Nope, not gonna happen.”
“We were married for 37 years and had grandchildren!
My idea was to travel with our fifth wheel trailer and just get out and do stuff together.
When asked what happened, my reply would be, ‘She found interests that did not include me.’
Specifically, she started to have an affair with another woman.
After the Supreme Court ruling, they got married immediately.
I got over it, but it took about a dozen years before I trusted a woman again.
We just got married.”
“After my husband fought a battle with cancer, the treatments left him with zero sex drive.
Sex was a very vital part of our relationship that was greatly missed.
After deciding it was time to seek out having anonymous affairs, the relationship simply fell apart.
The adult children don’t understand the new living arrangements and have stopped socializing as much.”
“We love each other very much.
But our childhood traumas caused a mismatch from the beginning (anxious attachment paired with avoidant attachment).
When I worked hard to take off that mask, it became evident that we were sadly incompatible.
We have two kids and are currently taking our time figuring out how best to uncouple.
We have been together 21 years.
It’s OK to let go for everyone’s happiness.
“He was abusive, but after years of it, I was so defeated.
It took my daughter, who was around 12, to give me what I needed to leave.
Why do you stay with Dad?’
But it woke me up.
Then we started the long road to healing.”
donnavanleusdenr
12.
“I was married for 25 years.
She chose to be bitter and mean and vindictive, and our marriage did not survive.
I wanted it to but could not survive the negative emotion.”
“One morning I took my husbands car to work because my car had a flat.
Twenty-six years together, never saw it coming.
“My husband and I divorced in the late 1990s.
He began to frequent ‘chat rooms.’
Suddenly, his inbox was filled with messages from women.
This nerdy tech guy had turned into a chick magnet.
This all happened as he was approaching 40.
He decided that getting married in his early 20s cheated him out of his opportunity to sow wild oats.
Sounds a bit like a midlife crisis.”
“We had three teenagers and one income, married 25 years.
I felt like we were drowning in bills.
I felt like I was going to die, chest pressure, the whole deal.
Finally, in one argument, she screamed in my face, ‘I hate you!
I’m never going back to work!'”
“That’s when I knew she did not love me.
There was no ‘us’ left.
I filed for divorce and moved on with vigor and purpose.
My dad will do and do and do, but he doesnt usually say much.
Relationships need communication and understanding, neither of which they had at the time.
sheabert
18.
It is a grief I will take to the grave.”
“Our 29-year marriage survived the first two times he cheated on me, but not the third.
When I filed for divorce, he begged to make it right.
It was not innocent.
Lots of sexual innuendos and more meetings with his new group.
He got drawn in and was secretive and just changed.
He treated me differently.
Our comfortable life we had built together was no more.
Our finances were dealt with.
So did he in the end because all those so-called, newfound friends gradually disappeared.
He has huge regrets and would do anything to have me back.
That was five years ago.
I have moved on.”
“Not me but my parents.
After 19 years of marriage and two kids, they never fought one time.
My dad and I both had suspicions of my mom cheating, but she never admitted to it.
They spent the remainder of my brother’s and my childhood co-parenting peacefully.
Both have since remarried.”
sydneydavis1214
22.
“Found out one year into marriage that he had an affair.
Then kept finding out about affairs and other children he had.
But I kept taking him back because I thought he would change, and I loved him.
I needed my kids so I filed for divorce.
Horrible man and horrible divorce, but he got his karma later on.”
“Wife lost all interest in sex.
Not only that, but no physical contact or affection.
Im in another relationship with a wonderful woman, but honestly, I still miss her sometimes.”
If my partner is not going to have my back and make me a priority, why be married?
Ive called a lawyer and told the kids.
“I left him after 32 years together.
Gradually, he became more selfish and arrogant.
He stopped caring about my happiness.
It’s been five years, and I haven’t missed him for even a second.
It’s better to be alone than be with someone who makes you feel alone.”
“My dad cheated throughout his 26-year marriage to my mum.
My mum wanted to stay with him, but we found out he wasn’t alone in quarantine.
Neither of us were growing in life, and we had just basically become roommates with kids.
There were other things.
And I didnt want that.
So I knew I needed to finally end it.
I dont have any regrets about any of it.
I had a very successful 25-year marriage, and I am enjoying a successful divorce.
We get along fine.
Were both better off as friends.”
jenniferrobertson1
Some entries have been edited for length or clarity.
