20 People Share What Led To Their Divorcing In Less Than An Year

Once upon a time movies and books made us believe that once we said ‘I do’ we would begin our fairy tale lives. However, that fantasy ended a while back and we are now more than ever aware of how much work marriage actually requires. 

#1

Image source: poohbear1025, Foto Pettine

Two months in he told me I was too fat and will no longer be [making love] with me. I lost 75lbs in three months (by doing it the wrong way) and he told me he was already seeing someone else. He seemed surprised my parents would no longer pay his bills, and was kicked off their property 30 days later (per laws of my state).

#2

Image source: the_house_from_up, Emma Bauso

Cliffs: My new wife changed the second I said “I do.” She instantly became controlling, manipulative, and would lie about anything to get her way (and double down when caught). The marriage lasted about 10 months.

Before we got married, she was considerate, kind, and sweet. Apparently all for show.

#3

Image source: anon, cottonbro studio

Not me but a friend. Their marriage didn’t last through the reception. Groom got absolutely s**t face drunk and slaps the brides child from a previous relationship and then hits the bride in the face. She filed for an annulment the next morning.

EDIT

Just wanted to update on the fallout a little since this comment has a lot of traction.

Groom was a truck driver (long and short haul) so he and the bride didn’t spend a ton of time together over their relationship so I guess she didn’t know he was like that. The actual assault happened behind closed doors and was kept pretty hush hush until the next morning to save face.

I don’t know enough about marriage law to comment on the legality of their marriage but I was told she would be filling for an annulment so that’s what I wrote.

This all happened about 10 years ago and I’m no longe in contact with the bride but last I heard she was doing better and had moved on. The groom had racked up several thousands of dollars in debt in the brides name during the relationship that wasn’t discovered unTIL things started falling apart. I think he’s in jail now.

#4

Image source: WineAndDogs2020, RODNAE Productions

Not my story, but a fraternity brother of my husband had a marriage that lasted maybe 100 days before they split. Apparently she didn’t internalize that marrying a military person would mean moving around, and he just assumed she knew and was good with it.

#5

Image source: anon, Eren Li

When my (former) buddy called me to tell me he got herpes from my wife.

I was in Afghanistan.

Edit: I did not contract it. My buddy called to *warn* me.

Edit II: that was years ago. I’m retired now and remarried happily to an amazing woman that somehow tolerates me.

Edit III: I am thankful he told me.

#6

Image source: Luseal14, Mẫnn Quang

Happened to my friends- husband suggests an open marriage, girl for some reason agrees. Fast forward 3 months into being married…he gets jealous cuz they find a hot guy and the girl likes the guy better then her husband. They lasted 6 months.

#7

Image source: Dr_Walrus1, Bruno Cervera

Right during the wedding ceremony I’ve been sent a private homemade video of my bride with another man

#8

Image source: musickf, Julian Hodgson

First one, she left me for a guy she met in her furry group. Second claimed to be poly, moved her bf in while I was living there, cut all intimacy with me, mentally abused me and kicked me out when she overheard me talking about the possibility of divorce.

#9

Image source: elainegeorge, Kaique Rocha

Not me but a family member:

She was married after a quick relationship. His family had money, and I think she wanted a nice life. A few months later, she was in a horrific car crash which took her 9-year-old sister’s life, their grandmother, and left her with severe injuries – shattered 3/4 of her face, and she may have broken a hip, and her back too if memory serves. She was in a medically induced coma when her sister’s funeral occurred.

Less than a month or two after she gets out of the hospital, her husband (married about 6 months at this point), says to her, “You need to get over the accident.”

Edit: I should mention that the “money” her husband’s family had was small town money. Thousands, not millions.

#10

Image source: Froggetpwagain, Odonata Wellnesscenter

I had a friend who married one of the most horrible people I’ve ever met. So charming at first, but within the first 3 months of them being together, we all started to notice a few things and we decided none of us liked him. One day we saw hand shaped bruises on her arms, and literally the next day they were at the courthouse getting married. We had a small gathering shortly after, which he ended up turning into their wedding celebration, bachelor party, whatever he could to make it all about him. He got extremely drunk, and basically tried to [take her life] in front of all of us. She told us they didn’t have their rings yet, but they would get them soon, and he walked over to her and started strangling her for embarrassing him. She ended up breaking down, and realizing that for the entire four months of their relationship, and nine days of their marriage, he had progressively gotten more and more abusive, and she made a mistake.

#11

Image source: ZebrasGonnaZeb, Asad Photo Maldives

On our honeymoon she didn’t want to do anything but fight, so I left 2 days early to be with my dog lol. Then she stopped wearing her ring and refused to tell people she was married, referring to me as her boyfriend instead. The final straw was when my grandpa was dying and she said “I wish he’d just hurry up and die already. I’m tired of this apartment being so depressing all the time”

Made it 4 months in all before filing for divorce

Edit: I want to thank you all for the support and the interest in my little story here. I’ve been getting a lot of repeat questions, so I’ll put a little FAQ here.

How long were we together?: We were together about a year, give or take a little.

Did I not notice the red flags?: The relationship seemed relatively normal until we got married. She had her share of issues (bad childhood, severe anxiety, bulemia) but I was dumb and thought I could fix them.

If there were red flags, why did I marry her?: I had just had a really bad breakup with my girlfriend of 4 years a few months before meeting my first wife. We had made plans for our future (marriage, kids, the works) and the breakup really messed me up. I was insecure and afraid of being alone, so I probably would have married anyone. Young, dumb, and unoccustomed to heartbreak.

Did I keep the dog?: of course. I may have gotten rid of the wife, but no chance in hell was I getting rid of the dog. We took her and moved her far away and now she’s got lots of people around all the time to spoil her and fatten her with treats. She recently got a little brother who tolerates haha.

Are things better now?: very much so. I took a few years being single and just learning who I was and wanted to me. I’m happily remarried, and this time it’s stuck. And I’m stuck. My wife won’t let me leave, send help /s

#12

Image source: Pundemic_crisis, Yan Krukau

The guy I married went instantly from being fun and adventurous to an absolute psycho. He stopped using my name and would just call me wife even after I asked him to stop. He started insisting that I didn’t need other friends and ” aren’t you done with that” when I would want to meet up with people. If I hung out with a guy then I was cheating in his mind. I caught him going through my phone to find “proof” there was none. There were two incidents that lead to the bitter end. And then at a concert he FREAKED OUT and had to be dragged off of me because I talked to an old male acquaintance for five minutes. That one left bruises, and I left him. F******d.

#13

Image source: PortalAmnesiac, cottonbro studio

To be honest I didn’t really want to be married to her; however she was determined to get married by age 24 regardless, and at the time I had significant difficulties saying “No”, I was working 60+ odd hours a week in a kitchen to help pay for everything and I was struggling with my mental health at the time and we grew further and further apart emotionally.

I found out less than 5 months into the marriage that she had been unfaithful to me for at least a year – so 6/7 months before the wedding, whilst she had been planning it she had been sleeping with other people. Whilst she had been putting serious pressure on me to provide £££ for her dream wedding she had also had an abortion because she didn’t know whether I would have been the father or not.

When I found this all out I basically had a breakdown and tried taking my own life, I also spent a few years after this blaming myself for the breakdown of my marriage and her behaviour.

#14

Image source: hangryvegan, Deesha Chandra

My male cousin went to a very conservative Church of Christ university where the women who attend there are infamous for trying to get their MRS degree. The girl he was dating was no different. They got married 6 months after they graduated with a HUGE southern wedding: 10 bridesmaids, 250 guests, at least 7 different wedding showers, a band and open bar AT THE REHEARSAL DINNER, etc. They get married and are divorced 4 months later because she was cheating on him the entirety of their relationship. They [made love] once on their honeymoon and less than 3 times after that.

Some people want a wedding and not a marriage. Of course that b***h kept ALL the wedding gifts they received, even the ones from his family.

#15

Image source: LaeliaCatt, Pixabay

I had some friends that got married and divorced within a year. It turns out she had major doubts but went through with it anyway, then cried for the whole honeymoon and told him she had made a huge mistake. They posted all these normal pictures of them looking happy in Hawaii, but it came out later what a miserable nightmare the trip was.

#16

We married legally when we found out I was pregnant(after trying for 3 years). The plan was to marry at the court house then get some tests done to see why I wasn’t getting pregnant. Well it happened backwards. By the time I gave birth we were already married legally but not in front of a priest and we planned to have our wedding and to baptize our son. So a 2 in 1 ceremony and when our son was 5 months old I went to our home country to prepare everything that needed to be prepared for the big event and my husband stayed in the country where we were living and working. This was roughly 3 weeks before the event.
The time I spent away from my husband felt like a breath of fresh air. Like I was spending my days underwater and I was finally free to just breathe. I reverted to my old happy self. Smiling and joking all day long with family and friends. I realized it but I decided to go on with the wedding as we already had a kid and I really thought after everything my husband will be les manipulative and less controlling and he would realize what truly matters.
But no. He came home 1 week before the wedding and we fought and I cried almost daily.
The wedding did happen and everything was somehow perfect and 2 days after the wedding we got into a huge fight about some missing money(in my country the bride and the groom receive money from everyone invited to the wedding), and he ended up leaving me and our son. We divorced 4 months later.
I realized a lot of stuff being away from him but I lied to myself that he would care about me and our son but he only ever cared about himself.

Image source: ArtemisAxV

#17

He casually invited his parents along on our honeymoon, and told them we’d pay for it. AND they not only accepted, they were SO EXCITED and immediately wanted to take over planning it.

Obviously that wasn’t the only s****y thing he did. Eventually found out he was cheating on me and I fast tracked divorce before there were any kids or assets involved.

Image source: Starboard_Pete

#18

Image source: StrongTurtles, Specna Arms

Mine lasted two years(I know over the year limit for the post). The last 6 months of the marriage I deployed to Iraq. I was a happier person while being deployed than I was living at home. That’s when I realized I had a toxic home life. I was sacrificing my own happiness to do everything I could to keep my ex happy and just thought thats how its supposed to be. I didn’t want to come home from deployment because I knew I would be miserable. I moved out a month after I got back and life has been much better since. Currently in Afghanistan and cannot wait to get home!

#19

Image source: amyors, Andrea Piacquadio

Wasn’t my marriage, but I am involved in the story.

Basically, my ex-girlfriend’s boss left his wife ON THEIR HONEYMOON, because she and him were having an affair.

They had the wedding and flew off to Bali, but he was sneaking off into the bathroom to send my then girlfriend d**k pics from his honeymoon. I saw one of the pictures and confronted her. She admitted to it and messaged him back to tell him that I had found out. My understanding is that he basically came out of the bathroom, told his wife “I think this was a mistake. We shouldn’t have gotten married’, got on a plane and flew home. Left her there on her own. On her f*****g honeymoon. With no explanation.

In the end, I had to be the one to go over to her place and tell her what had really happened because he wouldn’t own up to it.

So I think the marriage lasted all of about 3 days.

EDIT:

This all happend like 10 years ago. She was my first girlfriend from highschool and we had been together for 10 years (so I was 24 at the time). I’m actually fine about it now because we were unhappy and it really wasn’t meant to be, and I’m happily married.

The husband and my ex were having a full blown affair and had been sleeping together for several months before the wedding.

It wasn’t just d**k pics being sent. He was also sending her just generally sexual and lovey-dovey messages about how much he missed her and how much he wished it was her there with him instead of his wife. However, the message which I happened to see, which blew the whole thing wide open, did include a d**k pic, as well as a sexual picture she had sent him in return.

He walked out on his new wife because he knew he had been busted, but didn’t tell her why. So she was sat around thinking she had done something wrong.

A couple of weeks later my friend called me with a message. You see, I had told him what happened and he had told someone, who had told someone who actually ended up knowing her and had told her. This is how she learned the truth. Then, through that same chain of people she got the message back to me requesting that I call her so we could talk (along with her number). I had actually met her a couple of times before through my ex and her work but I barely knew her.

So, I called her. She invited me over and we had a long talk. I told her everything I knew from my side. She hadn’t learned any of this until she had heard it through that friend so it was pretty rough.

I moved on quickly, but they had a really rough and messy divorce (Australian law says you must first try a one year separation before you can divorce).

However, I did run into her a few years ago and she was remarried and seemed very happy.

As for the two offending parties. They did start dating publicly, which I think caused a lot of dramas and friction in their personal lives. Hugely so at their work with the other employees, as you can imagine. I heard they broke up after a few years together.

My ex was invited to the wedding, but I wasn’t (she said it was because they were trying to do it on a budget).

I found out later that at the wedding she got really drunk and upset (obviously because her new-found fella was marrying someone else) and sort of started causing a scene. It was apparently bad enough that the best man had to get her in the back of his car and leave the wedding early to take her home as it looked like she was about to spill the beans in front of everyone.

#20

Image source: anon, vjapratama

I had 2 good friends who were brothers. They were party animals. Out drinking at bars all the time, sleeping with different women every weekend, recreational [illegal substances]. Their idols were the whole “Jackass” crew back in the day. They just loved that whole bachelor lifestyle, and to be honest, I was a bit jealous of the fun they were having. I was in a longer term relationship for many years.
Eventually the younger brother settled down and got engaged to a really nice girl. Something broke in the older brothers mind and he suddenly was in some sort of “race” to get married before his younger brother. He kept living the bachelor life style, but then one day annouced to us all he was engaged to be married and with his fiancé they’d set a wedding date to be married 6 months before his younger brother.
None of us ever met this girl before we found out he was engaged. When we did meet her, it was clear he’d not been open with her about his lifestyle. She was a very prim and proper lady. Very shy, quiet. They worked together, so she only knew the professional side of him.
Over the months leading to the wedding, his partying kept going. He was cheating on her with one night stands but she was oblivious. Our group of friends told him he needed to tell her what he was doing, but he refused.

I was nominated to be the one to tell her before it was too late. I met her for coffee and told her how he was cheating on her and the drugs he was using. She was generally taken aback, but she told me to my face, she was still going to marry him and that she could change him. I left with a clear conscience after that.

Fast forward to their wedding day and it is an absolute mess. He is drunk before the reception even starts and passes out in a corner sometime after dinner. As I am leaving, I say goodbye to his bride, and I can see it in her eyes. The definition of regret.

They ended up being together for exactly one year. Her final straw was when she really wanted to go out for a special brunch for their one year anniversary. She made plans at a fancy place. He told her he was going out to party the night before but would be home in time to get some sleep before their anniversary started. He ended up hooking up with some chick he picked up at the bar, and when he finally made it home the next afternoon, his wife had packed her bags and left.

I felt bad for her at first, but then I remembered how I laid everything on the table with her and she still did it. I’ve never seen or spoken to her again. My friend ended up repeating his pattern. He is on his 4th marriage now, but does seem to have finally settled down this time.