40+ Divorce Attorneys Share Anonymous Stories Of Their Clients’ Strangest Reasons For Divorce
The American Psychological Association estimates that 40 to 50% of married couples in the United States divorce. The divorce rate is even higher in subsequent marriages. Lack of commitment, infidelity, and conflict/argument are the most commonly reported major contributors to divorce. However, there are a variety of other circumstances that have led to the breakup of couples, some of which are quite bizarre. We can now share the strangest reasons why couples have split up, as told by divorce lawyers themselves, thanks to Redditors and u/KlyonneSpencer!
Sliding Marriages
This story sounds like something out of a movie — or, come to think of it, a reality show called Wife Swap, in which two couples with very different lifestyles swap wives to experience each other’s lives.
Sliding Marriages
We’re curious how many other couples around the world have considered doing something similar but decided against it for various reasons. There’s no denying that the situation described by the lawyer is one-of-a-kind!
Sneaky Spiritualist
This man is a complete jerk who conned his poor wife out of their home by fabricating a ridiculous backstory. On their honeymoon, he ‘discovered’ he could communicate with the dead, and that was the start of his ruse!
Sneaky Spiritualist
For his wife, this was enough, and she wisely filed for divorce. Unfortunately, she fell into his trap, and when he offered to split the proceeds of their house sale with her, she made the grave error of not consulting her solicitors before agreeing to the deal. She couldn’t do anything after that.
Dogs and Kids Aren’t the Same
We here at Parential adore dogs, so we understand how and why this man felt so strongly about his canine companion. However, part of loving and caring for a dog is ensuring that they remain healthy, as overfeeding can result in health issues.
Dogs and Kids Aren’t the Same
Is it, however, enough to justify divorce? There is no way. Someone should explain to this woman that dogs and children are not the same, and that they should not be treated as such. Will you toss sticks into a pond for your child to play with? After all of that, we hope this man learned how to feed his dog properly.
Ashes to Ashes, Divorce to Divorce
It’s understandable to be worried if your newlywed exhibits unusual behavior, especially if it includes speaking in tongues, communicating with the dead, and, um, placing your infant in front of a fireplace and allowing them to eat ashes.
Ashes to Ashes, Divorce to Divorce
Nonetheless, this individual decided to call it quits and quits. It appears that his ex-wife is in need of professional assistance, and we hope that she has since received it.
Psychic Hotline Mess
People spend absurd amounts of money on nonsense like psychic hotlines, but spending $42,000 on it while you’re married is a little excessive. That’s a recipe for disaster in our opinion.
Psychic Hotline Mess
Financial issues are a common cause of divorce, especially when one partner’s spending is out of control. You’d think that with such a large investment, this woman would have realized that she was headed for a divorce, but apparently not!
Don’t Gamble
As you might expect, gambling, and specifically gambling debts, is a major factor in many divorces. It’s amazing how many couples marry despite knowing that one of them has a gambling problem. Worse yet, when you discover that information after you’ve tied the knot.
Don’t Gamble
In order to raise money and pay off his debts, this gambling addict decided to divorce his wife (rather than admit his problem or seek help). We’re sure his wife was overjoyed to be free of him!
Momma’s Boy
This is a strange one, but we have more questions for the wife than the husband in this case. Living with your mother while married is bound to cause some conflict, and it will almost certainly result in a separation or divorce.
Momma’s Boy
However, as this woman points out, her ex-husband was ‘still’ living with his mother, implying that he did so while they were dating and married. What’s the point of marrying a man who still lives with his mother?
Talk to the Hand
Some of the strangest divorce stories revolve around a husband or wife inventing some bizarre reason to divorce their partner after they marry. To us, it sounds like a ruse to get out of the marriage after they realized they’d made a mistake.
Talk to the Hand
We’d say this one falls into that category, but the guy sounds like a jerk in any case, so we hope his ex-wife was able to recover and now feels free to speak to whomever she wants, whenever she wants.
Family Ties
Weddings, particularly the wedding reception, are frequently dramatic events. Typically, it involves excessive drinking or inappropriate conversations, but something like this is only seen in movies!
Family Ties
We believe that for an all-out brawl to start like this, this potential marriage wasn’t on solid ground to begin with. Isn’t it true that an annulment would have been preferable to a marriage?
Lingiustic Liability
You only have to watch one episode of 90 Day Fiancé to see how easily couples can get into arguments over translation issues. Of course, that’s a show about non-American women who get a 90-day K-1 visa solely to meet and marry their fiancées.
Lingiustic Liability
This story, on the other hand, was based on true events. Despite all of the languages on display, this couple was unable to communicate in the language of love. And the husband left as soon as he learned of his ex-wife’s behavior.
A Tale as Old as Time
As we mentioned in the introduction, adultery is a common cause of divorce, as you might expect. Normally, the act leads to divorce, but this jerk divorced his wife on the basis of some nonsense excuse.
A Tale as Old as Time
Presumably, he could continue to date multiple women without the ‘annoyance’ of being married to just one. However, in our opinion, adultery is one of the oldest stories in human history, and no story will ever change the fact that this guy is a complete jerk.
Mom Knows Best
You probably know someone who has a close relationship with their mother in your friend group or through six degrees of separation. They’re so close that their mother wants them to divorce their wife? It’s entirely up to you.
Mom Knows Best
Younger male clients who come to divorce consultations with their mothers reportedly have such relationships and’requests.’ What happens when their wives learn about their interfering mothers, is the question.
Slow and Steady Loses the Race
We’re confident that every couple would admit that there are aspects of their partner that they wish they could change. Despite this, many people continue to have strong, happy relationships because they love each other despite their perceived flaws.
Slow and Steady Loses the Race
This woman, on the other hand, must have hoped that after they were married, her husband would magically grow chest hair and be able to drive like a bat out of hell.
In Sickness and in Health
The following story isn’t funny in any way, because it involves a woman who was kidnapped in Mexico and whose husband refused to pay her ransom. We don’t know what we would do in such a situation, but if you love someone, wouldn’t you do everything you could to ensure their safety, including paying a ransom?
In Sickness and in Health
After going through this ordeal, the woman no doubt realized that her husband did not care about her as much as he cared about his money and made the wise decision to end the marriage.
Petty Doesn’t Cover It
Divorce, as anyone who has been through one, can attest, can be a very unpleasant experience. Clean divorces that go without a hitch appear to be the exception rather than the rule.
Petty Doesn’t Cover It
Given that the two individuals were arguing over a gun (that could have ended badly) and freaking Tupperware, this one is right up there in terms of ugliness. It’s safe to say that once the divorce was finalized, both parties must have been relieved to see each other again.
Don’t Diss the Dogs
We’ve already stated that we’re big animal lovers at Parential. So, if any of the employees here found out that their coworkers were trashing their pets, you can bet there would be a big fight.
Don’t Diss the Dogs
But would anyone file for divorce because of it? We suppose it depends on how much they love their dog! Although the bond between a man and his dog can be stronger than that between two people (because dogs are better, let’s face it), we believe that a stern conversation would have been preferable to a divorce.
Vegetarian Vengeance
There are many happy couples where one partner is a vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, or follows a different nutritional diet/philosophy than the other. It’s a personal choice to not eat meat, whether for dietary, environmental, or ethical reasons, and it should remain that way.
Vegetarian Vengeance
So, for someone to explicitly and intentionally betray their partner in this way (and it is a betrayal) is no laughing matter, and we can understand why this wife sought divorce following the ordeal.
Enough Is Enough
This is one of those extremely rare instances where someone tries to do something nice for their partner but ends up causing them so much annoyance that they end up divorcing them.
Enough Is Enough
To be fair, we’d be irritated if we had to do the same thing every morning for seven years. Was his wife’s memory truly terrible? Was it a sign that she rarely paid attention to what he had to say? Was she amused by it? This is a strange one, to say the least.
Close Your Mouth When You Chew
We’re confident that each of us has a habit that irritates, disgusts, disturbs, or all of the above other people. Loud chewing is an example of a habit that can irritate others.
Close Your Mouth When You Chew
It’s completely unbearable for some people, and it even has a name. Those who suffer from misophonia hate certain sounds, such as the sound of chewing or breathing, or even the sound of a pen clicking repeatedly.
This Is Just Wrong
All babies should be exclusively breastfed for six months, then gradually introduced to appropriate family foods while continuing to breastfeed for two years or longer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
This Is Just Wrong
We’re confident that the WHO never intended for people to carry that ‘beyond’ into adulthood! But we have to wonder if this woman was concerned about her former husband’s sick relationship with his mother before marrying him.
Curtains for This Marriage
Lots of divorces are based on reasonable grounds, others are based on grounds that require some persuading but are understandable, and then there are the few that are outright absurd — such as this one.
Curtains for This Marriage
Both parties must contribute to housework and chores in order for any relationship to work, but wouldn’t you say this is going a little too far? It’s only a shower curtain after all… Unless ‘he’ didn’t want to help with anything else.
Frugal Failure
We’re all for saving money and cutting costs, especially in these difficult times. Toilet paper, on the other hand, is something we believe you can never have enough of. And it’s entirely up to you whether you prefer the higher-quality items.
Frugal Failure
Also, no one likes having their ear pressed against the bathroom door while they’re trying to do their business. This guy should probably be grateful that he isn’t dealing with that anymore!
Horrible Parents
Unfortunately, in this case, divorce is the best option for all parties involved, including the children. When parents decide to divorce, a custody battle usually ensues, but imagine how despicable you must be to not want your own children.
Horrible Parents
It goes without saying that if you didn’t want to care for children in the first place, you shouldn’t have them. Hopefully, these unfortunate children were placed in a safe environment.
Got to Have Hobbies!
Some partners’ hobbies — and their addiction to them — can be a legitimate source of marital concern. Gambling, drinking (not a ‘hobby,’ we know), and calling psychic hotlines are all problems if you spend a lot of money on them or if they begin to affect your physical and psychological well-being.
Got to Have Hobbies!
Bingo can be considered ‘gambling,’ though it does not have the same reputation as other ‘traditional’ wagering options. And, given the couple’s age, we’re guessing they’d been married for a while before the husband decided he’d had enough. Shame.
Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Couples can become estranged when one or both partners realize they are attracted to other people. What happens, though, when your passion for an arcade game outweighs your love for your wife?
Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder
In this case, however, this woman made the wise decision to file for divorce for obvious reasons. It’s all well and good to enjoy pinball machines until you start to value your time spent playing the game over making your partner happy.
Lucky Break
Here’s a simple test to see if your spouse still cares about you. Many people are stupid, which is why online scammers continue to make money. However, some scams these days are quite sophisticated.
Lucky Break
However, if you receive an email from someone claiming to be the Prince of Turkey (Turkey does not have a monarchy, FYI) offering you the opportunity to marry them for a large sum of money, you should file it away in your spam folder. Clearly, this woman was desperate to leave her husband and responded to the email.
Skid Mark Situation
Poop stains on the toilet bowl have to be near the top of the strange reasons for wanting a divorce. For your information, using the fireman’s blanket technique — putting a couple of sheets of toilet paper in the water before you do your business — is a foolproof way to avoid skidmarks in the toilet.
Skid Mark Situation
This guy presumably discussed his concerns about the cleanliness of the toilet with his wife, but it came to a point where he had had enough and decided to end the marriage!
That Is Messed Up
There isn’t another way to look at it… This is by far the strangest and most revolting reason for a divorce that we’ve ever seen. We wouldn’t know where to begin if we were the wife.
That Is Messed Up
Did her ex have a fetish for poop? How had he managed to keep this a secret? But we wouldn’t have stayed around long enough to find out the answers if she had.
No Excuse for This Behavior
Many people place a high value on their families, but we’d like to believe that being convicted of murder is a line that most people would not cross for their families.
No Excuse for This Behavior
This woman, on the other hand, didn’t seem to think so, and went to great lengths to defend her father, even going so far as to harass the victims’ bereaved families on social media.
Starbucks Obsession
Keep in mind that spending $65 a week at Starbucks works out to $3,380 per year for those of you who think it’s not so bad… Everything was spent in a coffee shop!
Starbucks Obsession
Consider what else you could do with that money: pay bills, buy groceries, maintain your car, go on vacation, and so on. If he was willing to put that much money into Starbucks, we’re guessing he wasn’t willing to do the same for his wife, which is why he filed for divorce.
Gambling Addiction
This man loved gambling more than he loved his wife, to the point where he was willing to divorce her just to get out of the massive debt he had accumulated through gambling.
Gambling Addiction
We find it intriguing that the lawyer stated that this man “didn’t want to leave his wife,” yet he squandered their life savings and did little to change his behavior throughout the marriage, which eventually ended in divorce. We only feel sorry for his poor ex-wife; hopefully, she has grown stronger as a result of it.
That Was the Quick
When it comes to having a successful relationship, couples who dislike their partner’s family will always be at a disadvantage. Some couples are able to work through it, while others are forced to break up early.
That Was the Quick
So, despite the apparent animosity between the husband and his partner’s family, this couple (now ex-couple) was able to get to the point of getting married before the dilemma became so bad that he decided to call it quits.
Use Divorce, Luke
Even though we personally enjoy puns, we understand that being constantly bombarded with them (especially if they’re all from the same category) can become a little annoying after a while..
Use Divorce, Luke
Is it, however, worth it to end your marriage? Of course not, which is why we’re convinced that something else was at work behind the scenes to cause this marriage to fail.
Sleeping Problems
All of the leading experts agree that the best night’s sleep comes from sleeping in complete darkness, which shouldn’t be a problem for most adults because nightlights are designed for children who are afraid of the dark.
Sleeping Problems
However, these are the kinds of issues that arise when two people marry without having previously lived together. It’s crazy to think that a relationship can end over a nightlight, but it’s likely that both parties saw something dark in the other to get to that point.
Hose Her Down
Cars are something that many men love. Is there anything wrong with that? After all, everyone must have a passion. We’d all be pretty boring if we didn’t! We don’t know the entire story in this case.
Hose Her Down
Perhaps the husband spent every waking moment worrying about his car rather than his wife, but on the surface, this woman appears to be a little out of control, especially if they were both driving. Shouldn’t she be grateful that he was looking after it so well?
Avian Aggression
This can’t possibly be true, can it? Are you sure that this man really did train his pet parakeet to use profanity with the sole purpose of having the bird curse at his wife?
Avian Aggression
As a prank, that’s slightly amusing, but no one wants to be sworn at repeatedly in their own home, so we can understand why she’d had enough of the bad behavior. Instead of teaching the bird more romantic words, it appears that the man would have been better off teaching the bird more romantic words.
Expensive Taste
In any relationship, the exchange of gifts is essential. Partners can express their affection for one another in a variety of ways, including by purchasing or making gifts for one another.
Expensive Taste
Many people enjoy being surprised when it comes to receiving gifts on their birthday, but others would prefer that you stick to the script (or registry) they provide. This woman clearly fit into the latter category, but it’s outrageous that she was so upset because her ex didn’t get her the expensive jewelry she desired.
Misophonia
Ah, here’s another classic case of misophonia — a condition in which certain sounds cause emotional or physiological responses that some may consider unreasonable in the circumstances. Chewing, lip-smacking, and slurping are among the sounds.
Misophonia
We believe that more people should learn to chew with their mouths closed and practice better dining etiquette, so we can understand why this woman’s ex drove her absolutely crazy.
Burning Hatred
At times, we have to ponder why certain couples come together, let alone marry. If they’re constantly bickering and arguing, they have to wonder if they’d be happier if they didn’t have each other.
Burning Hatred
This couple apparently realized this after they married, and their hatred for one another was so strong that they both sought the other’s most prized possession in the divorce just so they could feel good about getting rid of it!
Extreme OCD
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is an anxiety disorder in which people have obsessive thoughts followed by compulsive behaviors. Obsessions and compulsions may take up an hour a day for some people with OCD, but for others, they can become so severe that they prevent them from living a normal life.
Extreme OCD
It can manifest itself in ways as diverse as hoarding toilet paper and being unable to maintain a healthy relationship, as this unfortunate woman (and her daughter) discovered to their peril.
Cats Over Kids
We understand that people care deeply about their pets, but to fight over Snowball’s (and/or Lily’s) custody while allegedly not caring about your own (very young) children? That is a disgrace.
Cats Over Kids
We’d like to inform them that a cat’s life expectancy is 13 to 17 years, so they should be more concerned about the future and well-being of their offspring. But these are people who fight over a cat’s name and diet, so there’s no point in trying to reason with them.
Seventh Time Is Not the Charm
We’re curious if this woman talks about the details of her previous seven marriages on dates. Or perhaps she’d had enough of failed relationships and decided to call it quits?
Seventh Time Is Not the Charm
Most men, we’re guessing, would flee if they heard the reasoning behind some of her divorce decisions. Are you buying hot dogs from the wrong brand? Seriously? This woman fits the profile of a serial divorcée, if such a thing exists.
The Social Experiment
We’d like to believe that the majority of people enjoy a good prank every now and then — emphasis on the ‘once in a blue moon.’ But to have to deal with it all the time? That’s just adding to the stress and anxiety you’re already experiencing.
The Social Experiment
So it’s no surprise that this woman decided to end their relationship before marrying this prankster, and it was a wise decision. Imagine how many pranks she’d have to deal with during her marriage.
That Was Quick
We’ve seen on trash television shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians that marriages can last a hot minute before falling apart. Kim Kardashian married NBA player Kris Humphries in a lavish, televised ceremony, but their marriage only lasted 72 days.
That Was Quick
Up by a couple of days, this guy has Kim beat. 70, to be precise. At the very least, their reasoning was the same: they simply ‘didn’t like’ their partner any longer.
Henry VIII Reincarnated
King Henry VIII is famous for a number of things, including his six marriages, two of which resulted in the poor women being executed by Henry. The monster was on the lookout for a male heir, which is why he married 6 times.
Henry VIII Reincarnated
This guy seems like he’d fit right in in medieval England, a time when his behavior would be appropriate. There are bad people in the world, and we’re sorry that his wife and her children ended up with one of them.