Divorce is rarely a decision people make lightly. Some people see it as a good thing, a bright start, while many others are broken and have to pick up the pieces. The thing is, behind a harsh divorce there are reasons so strange, petty, or downright ridiculous that they sound more like the plot of a TV show than the end of a relationship. And apparently, attorneys have heard plenty of them.
When people were asked about the silliest reasons couples sought a divorce, thousands of commenters joined the conversation. From bizarre dealbreakers to arguments that somehow became the final straw, these stories prove that love can unravel over the most unexpected things.
More info: Reddit
#1
Obligatory not a lawyer, but a lawyer I know got a case because the husband didn’t change his Facebook status to married quickly enough after the wedding. (It was like 2 weeks.) The judge laughed at the lady and made them get marriage counseling. Lawyer pocketed north of $1000 for that.
Image source: Booty_Gobbler69, Austin Distel
#2
A guy I used to work with said his wife divorced him because she claimed God spoke to her and told her He wanted her to move the French Riviera to be wined and dined by wealthy men. Because apparently God encourages casual hookups and wealthy men in the Riviera are lining up to sleep with forty-something mothers of four.
Image source: paulcosmith, Nick Page
#3
My client and his wife were into a role-playing game, I think Second Life’? Everyone had an avatar (I suspect that his and his wife’s were much more spritely than they were in real life).
Anyway he suspected that she was being unfaithful to him in the game, so he created a fake avatar and stalked her in the game. Sure enough, she was running around on him, having virtual s*x with another bloke (or bloke avatar anyway). That was it.
Image source: adamandtheangst, MMOHuts
When asked what the most ridiculous reason 2 people wanted a divorce was, online attorneys and netizens rushed to share a crazy number of answers. The conversation sparked 7.5K upvotes and more than 2K comments, showing just how much interest there is online in the strange, unexpected, and sometimes downright silly reasons marriages fall apart.
Divorce is hardly a new thing, and it has never stopped being a source of public fascination. Celebrity marriages have repeatedly turned into headline-making stories, from Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s highly publicized split to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s infamous “Brangelina” divorce. Both cases attracted enormous media attention and kept audiences following every development.
#4
NAL but my dad stated in court that he was divorcing my mom because she was always asking him to take out the trash or mow the lawn or calling him at work to ask him to pick up milk – you know, adult stuff like maintaining a home and family.
Her lawyer turned to her and just said, “You’re dodging a bullet here. Someday you’ll be glad he left”
Turned out he was cheating on her.
My mom made a very good life for herself.
At 71 years old she can afford a housecleaning service and pays someone to maintain her lawn.
Karma’s a b***h.
Image source: anon, Getty Images
#5
The couple had a 7 year old child and the mom was some crazy antivax/crazy vegan. The dad gave the child a 6 piece McDonald’s chicken nugget for his birthday and the mom went insane. She wanted full custody over the kid but didn’t get it thankfully.
Image source: sentient_spaghetti, Getty Images
#6
I have a friend who used to be a security guard at a courthouse. He said one time he had to watch over a divorce proceeding between a 80 year old man and his 40 year old Vietnam wife. She said, in broken english, she wanted to divorce him because he couldnt “satisfy” her anymore.
During the beginning of the case she would yell mean things about this guy and the judge had to constantly tell her to be quiet. The old man never said a word. Evenually the judge said we will have to continue on a future date. She immediately said “then forget it” got up and walked out of the courtroom.
Image source: Tbeck_91, yerling villalobos
And the numbers show that divorce is not at all an unusual occurrence in the United States. According to this site, around 40% to 50% of first marriages eventually end in divorce, while second marriages have an even higher likelihood of breaking down. The firm also notes that nevertheless the U.S. divorce rate has been declining over the past few decades.
Of course, divorce is not just an American phenomenon. Data compiled by experts shows that divorce rates vary significantly around the globe, with countries recording very different numbers of divorces per 1,000 people. From Liechtenstein and Belarus to Costa Rica and Denmark, the statistics make one thing clear: ending marriages is a worldwide reality.
#7
Not a divorce or a lawyer… But my ex years ago left me because I “wanted chickens in the front yard.” The conversation was something along the lines of how our futures just didn’t line up. Turns out he was cheating, but you know: blame it on the free range hens. It became a cherished phrase almost immediately.
Image source: ckjm, Alexandra Lawrence
#8
I was cohabitating with and engaged to a guy and we broke up after a week long beach house vacation with my family. Because I beat him in front of everyone else playing Scrabble.
He was a doctor with a huge ego, and said that I was supposed to let him win to make him look good. After a week of the silent treatment when we got home, he moved out.
That’s ok, he was a gambling a****t as well and that was bothering me, so I was sort of pushing his buttons, I think. He wasn’t as angry when I confronted him about his gambling problem, so it’s funny to me that the last straw was Scrabble.
Image source: beautifulsouth00, Freysteinn G. Jonsson
#9
I’m not a divorce attorney, but my former subordinate got divorced over Pokémon cards. At one point during the separation she came to work to accuse him of stealing some of her rares… It got near physical and we had to have security forces remove the spouse so we could get back to work. They were a hot mess.
Image source: Charger525, Thimo Pedersen
Interestingly, there are still places where divorce is not legally possible. As you can see in this note, there are still two countries where divorce is completely illegal: the Philippines and Vatican City. While annulment may be available under certain circumstances, the legal systems in both places do not provide a conventional divorce process for their citizens.
Elsewhere, divorce laws can be surprisingly specific. Japan, for example, once required divorced women to wait six months before remarrying. A 2016 change reduced that restriction to 100 days, but only for women who were pregnant when the marriage ended. Women who were not pregnant no longer face that waiting period.
#10
She saw a picture of him contra dancing he’d posted on Facebook. She knew he went contra dancing. That part wasn’t the surprise. In fact I’m still confused about this one.
Image source: Poot33w33t, Bingqian Li
#11
Kid got one elephant ride too many. Mom and dad agreed before dad took daughter to circus that one elephant ride should be plenty. Mom later finds out that dad let daughter have two – not one, as agreed, but two – elephant rides. As mom would describe it ‘he’s doubling down again, trying to get her to hate me. I know it. Why the hell else is someone letting their kid ride an elephant halfway around the whole town. Everybody knows now.’.
Image source: acacia-club-road, Sneha Chandrashekar
#12
I knew a couple who married super early and divorced so he could join the Naval academy (apparently you cant enter if you’re married). They stayed together and remarried after he graduated.
Image source: 0b0011, Arda Kaykısız
At the same time, divorce isn’t something especially new at all. Throughout history, societies have developed their own ways of ending marriages, with rules often shaped by religion, culture, politics, and social expectations. A process that seems totally familiar today is actually the result of centuries of changing views about marriage and individual freedom.
Over time, those changes gradually made divorce more accessible in many parts of the world. Some countries were surprisingly late to recognize it legally. Ireland, for instance, only legalized divorce in 1997, while Chile followed in 2004. These examples show how differently societies have approached the idea of ending a marriage, even in recent history.
#13
An elderly friend of mine divorced his wife so she would qualify for Medicaid and could afford her treatment for a terminal illness. They’d been married 40 years and he had strong religious values about the sanctity of marriage. The state case worker even visited the house to make sure he wasn’t living there. In her last difficult days, our stupid greedy medical system was forcing them apart. He left the world broken hearted and penniless not long after she was gone….every dime he had worked his lifetime to save either went to her medical bills or the unnecessary expense of keeping two households to get health insurance.
Image source: Lybychick, Laura James
#14
In Italy apparently you can save on taxes when buying first house for your own living. If you married it counts as one for the couple. Some people are getting divorced when buying another house to save on taxes again.
Image source: troglo1987, Kindel Media
#15
Not a divorce attorney or anything but when I was kid, a 15 year old girl wanted to get married to a 20 year old guy , because of her age she needed her parents, so she begged and pleaded with her parents who eventually allowed it for when she turned 16. But the guy divorced her after 4 years because she refused to have s*x or even kiss, like it never occurred to her s*x was involved. I suppose this is more of a reflection of the s*x education she recieved.
Image source: anon, Johann Van der Linde
Still, not every divorce story has to end on a bleak note. India stands out for having one of the world’s lowest divorce rates. According to professionals, only about 1% of marriages end in divorce there, with the source stating that 13 out of every 1,000 marriages result in divorce. Whatever the reasons, some marriages clearly manage to go the distance.
Do you think any of these reasons would be enough to end a marriage? Which one was the most ridiculous? Share your thoughts in the comments!
#16
Not a divorce attony but still know this
Husband f***ing to a germen p*rn she wanted the divorce not becuase he watched p*rn but becuase the person he was f***ing to did not have nice t**s.
Image source: rakichu21, wd toro🇲🇨
#17
Lawyer: Mickey, you can’t divorce Minny for being extremely silly
Mickey: I didn’t say she was extremely silly, I said she was f*****g Goofy.
Image source: TheFalcor, John (Giannis) Tekeridis
#18
Not a divorce attorney but there was a case in Kuwait where a woman wanted to divorce her husband because he eats hummus with a fork.
Image source: jayzeem, Nadin Sh
#19
My friends parents divorced because His mother wanted a horse. His father argued that they can’t keep a horse in a 6th floor apartment and dont have enough resources or money to rent a stable. Then she f****d her sons math teacher and became a c*******d. I feel sorry for everyone involved.
Image source: Tj4y, Helena Lopes
#20
Not an attorney, but my mom is a paralegal. There was one case that kept dragging along because they were fighting over the luggage. Once that was settled they started arguing over a $25 plastic palm tree. That palm tree prompted the case to go into mediation; costing both of them around $1000 each just for the mediation.
Image source: Xtrema88, rawpixel.com
#21
A couple in Australia “threatened” to divorce if gay marriage became legal. But surprise surprise when it eventually became legal they didn’t go through with it.
#22
Well she had a dream she was going to hell, so she blamed that on him. She now teaches catholicism just in case.
Image source: valeriabassicor, magnific
#23
The husband wants to vaccinate the child while the mother is against it.
Image source: Complex-Repair, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#24
I know a couple that wanted a divorce after 35 years because one of them were not happy with who their son was dating. People man, proof that even time can’t heal stupidity.
Image source: SeSSioN117, magnific
#25
My ex-wife, I was repairing a pipe in the bathroom sink, I tell her, please give me a glass, I need to drink water (from the sink tap), she screams “are you crazy”? Go to the kitchen fountain, the water in the bathroom fountain you never have to drink it!
She believed that all over the world we had two types of water and double pipes that carry two types of water in each house, one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom.
Image source: yudoit, jannoon028
#26
Not a lawyer…. and indirectly the cause….. my friend and I were competitive and always tried to mess with each other while competing. One time, while we were drinking, I don’t remember what we were doing, but I said to him “I f****d your sister.” His sister’s husband heard me say that and confronted her about it. This led to a huge argument and eventually their divorce. The guy was an a*****e and she is significantly happier now without him.
Image source: ashton8177, drobotdean
#27
They both couldn’t decide which school to send their son to.
Image source: masabd, patty-photo
#28
Not a lawyer, but my uncle once got a marriage annulled because she got mad at him for getting a sunburn on the honeymoon. dudes probably 98% Irish with the pastiest skin you’ve ever seen and she expected him to not get a sunburn?
Image source: swearbear91, magnific
#29
They decided to live together. But she didn’t want yo pay the rent, the gas, water, anything. She said she just brought the s*x to the relationship. Aldo, she thought he was a cheapsteaker. Samatha You ***ch.
Image source: bugsinyourfood, benzoix
#30
So back in the pre-iphone era, there was a newly married couple in my apartment building , maybe 3-4 months in. I come home and hear them fighting about what the exact time is. (Like one was saying it’s 8:15 and the other was like no it’s 8:13). So the next day the guy just walked out and I never saw him again. Later I found out they got divorced “over some silly fight”.
Image source: AlphaDevirginator, senivpetro
#31
She didnt want to pay for part of the health insurance bill.
Image source: greyyhydrangea
#32
My divorce. I left him because he was boring.
Image source: thechickfromcalgary
#33
Not a lawyer here, but the stories I’ve seen of people being forced to consider divorce to afford medical bills even though they still love each other are pretty d**n stupid- in a very different way than you were thinking when you wrote this question, I think.
Image source: Dragoness42
#34
I know this isn’t the reason for the divorce, sorry. But it made me wonder what precipitated the divorce since it was so paranoid.
My sister worked for a divorce attorney, and she had to field a couple of phone calls from a guy in the midst of a messy divorce. He insisted that his ex was putting rocks on his lawn to mess with the lawnmower, and he was trying to somehow add that to the divorce proceedings.
Image source: midlifecrackers
#35
Im going through a divorce right now. I just didn’t want to be married anymore/don’t love him anymore.
Image source: KharisGrace
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