My wife has filed for divorce

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aphineday

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New friends that I have yet to meet, thank you for your time and prayers.
Today I am very much in need of prayer, and intervention.
First, the facts:
My wife and I married in August of 2015. She was the sister of a very close friend, and we had in turn been friends for quite some time. There is a huge age difference between us (I’m 35, she’s 22), but when you fall in love, you fall in love. She had a child in high school, and the father is not around. When I married her, I also married our daughter. She is five now, but I have known her since birth. I very much believe God brought us together to help guide them in faith and life. Neither of them had much experience with any church prior to meeting me, but my wife does love going to Mass. She very much connects with the Catholic faith, and we have made a promise (one that I need to follow through with) to get her started with RCIA. Once we married, we immediately got pregnant with our now son. He is now 16 months old, and the greatest joy of my life.
The problems:
My wife is young, and can be very hard headed. Sometimes, she has different views than my mother, and they have clashed on many occasions. About a year ago, my wife and I were going through some difficult stuff, and it was one of many times she threw out that she wanted a divorce. This made my mother very angry, and she kind of went off a bit in some text messages to me, which my wife found later. They had a huge blow up, and my wife has hated her every day since, despite my mothers true apologies. My wife begrudgingly lets her see the kids, but only when it helps my wife out, or lets us do something.
Every time we have problems, my wife packs the kids up, and moves to her parents house, where they invite her in with open arms. She has been very spoiled with possessions, and loves to shop and travel. My wife makes a very modest salary, and mine is quite more substantial. I pay all of the bills in our house, with the exception of her car payment. When she goes to her parents, they pay for the food, they help watch the kids, they make her life very easy. My wife can simply not afford to support herself on her own.
Regardless of all of our differences, and issues, my wife has always refused to go to couples counseling. I want this so badly that I could scream. Listen, I know that I am not perfect, and I am very much open to addressing and changing the things about me, and my life that are bothering her. I have tried to reflect on this situation with as much mindfulness as possible, and really not allow the anger response to direct me.
My job is such that I work a week on, then a week off. When I was coming home from my last week on, we were still having issues, but we were talking, and everything was headed back to resolution. On the Tuesday that I came home, she talked to me in the morning about our son’s daycare, and I asked if she would be coming to our house that night. She told me she was going to continue to stay with her parents for the time being, and I needed to just be patient. I texted her throughout the day, and called her. No responses. That night as I was driving home from the airport, I received a call from her telling me she had filed for divorce, and that her attorney recommends that we not discuss it, and that I not see our son for the time being.
I am still completely floored. During my week home, I have been almost inconsolable, and as close to a shell of a human being as I can imagine. I have good friends who continue to talk me through the situation, but they (like me) are so incredibly shocked. This was a woman posting photos and videos to Facebook about how amazing our family is, and saying that I am the love of her life. I do feel that is all true, but how could she just turn and file divorce and not speak to me?
It’s important to know that most of her family is complete dysfunction. Her father is gay, and has lived this way, married to her mother for their entire life. He is also a diagnosed bi-polar who refuses to take medicine. Throughout her life, she witnessed a lot of physical and verbal abuse. She is a triplet, and both of her brothers have diagnosed mental disorders. Her mother continues to live with an openly gay man having affairs outside of the bonds of their marriage, but chooses to not participate in that herself. They have lots of money, and are very concerned with image. They simply do not stop if they feel that they have been wronged. They will pursue any legal opportunity to defame the opposing party. As an example, my brother in law has a fiancé that is also very young, and juvenile in her thought and actions. One night, she started receiving prank phone calls (just some acquaintances messing with her, nothing threatening or violent), and my Father In Law’s answer was to call the police, and continue chasing this down until they all got arrested, or at least talked to by the police department… there was absolutely no letting it go.
My wife, my family, my everything is gone. I need as many prayers to unite this family again through grace and our Heavenly Father as possible. I understand I was wrong in many ways, but nothing that I can’t change, and nothing abusive by any stretch of the imagination.
Please, please offer any suggestions on how I can turn this around. I cannot lose my entire life to a divorce. She needs love, and needs to be shown love.
Thank you all, be blessed.
 
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I will pray for you also.

In addition to the priest, I would strongly suggest that even if your wife will not join you, you get some counseling yourself in order to help you cope with this situation, view it in a realistic way (you seem to be engaging in a lot of self-blame and very emotional thinking right now), and stay strong for your children (whom you will likely be seeing again regardless of whether the marriage can be saved or not).
Perhaps the priest can refer you to a Catholic counselor. God bless.
 
There is a clear sense of the devastation you are feeling, and a multitude of challenges and difficulties.
I don’t feel qualified to give any advice. I just can pray
for your children and for their wholesome and balanced upbringing even with all the challenges involved in these complicated family relationships.
May the Lord keep your children safe,
and may He guide and help you through this quite awful time in your life.
May God bless and enlighten your wife and you.
 
My wife, my family, my everything is gone. I need as many prayers to unite this family again through grace and our Heavenly Father as possible. I understand I was wrong in many ways, but nothing that I can’t change, and nothing abusive by any stretch of the imagination.

Please, please offer any suggestions on how I can turn this around. I cannot lose my entire life to a divorce. She needs love, and needs to be shown love.

Thank you all, be blessed.
You are a good man, maybe too good. I could well be wrong, but it sounds to me like you have been trying to save her throughout your relationship based on your final comment. While this is a noble thought, it rarely tends to work out. It leads to improper boundaries. The one being “saved” is either not challenged to grow or will begin to resent this. The saver can end up being used or be stuck in the role. I’ve been the savior in the past, so I’ve been there. Fortunately this relationship never ended in marriage, though I got my heart dragged around.

You married a woman (girl?) who already had a child. She had near certainly not figured much out about herself when you were married, I’m sure a dysfunctional family as you described didn’t help. Maybe the attraction of a caring man made her feel like she knew what her future was? My brother married in a somewhat similar situation. He was about 2 years older than a girl he had a baby with they married and had another. They lasted for about 12 years, but it eventually ended up in divorce in part because I believe she never really found her footing before getting married.

My advice, go to a councilor yourself even if she won’t. Reassess the roots of this relationship and figure out where it leads to. Fighting through a relationship that isn’t going to work will hurt all involved, including this child you love. Maybe God really put you in this child’s life for a reason.
 
There are a lot of signs that your wife is not an adult yet, the worst being a retreat to her parents whenever things get tense. Also, you need to absolutely support her if she clashes with your mother. That’s part of being a fully grown man, recognizing that wife always comes first. So for instance, your mother feels she can vent to you about your wife, which should never be the case. If she has any issue with your wife, she must deal with it directly with your wife. No texts to her son.

I think you should work on some things that contribute to stability. First of all, you need a regular job, not one week on, one week off. Those jobs are for people who have very stable wives, which is not you. Even shift work is not for you. You need to be there every evening to keep things smooth.

I also think you should move away with your wife as soon as things get better and she’s back with you, which I deeply pray will happen. She mustn’t be able to retreat to her family home. Her family is chatting her ear off and in all likelihood, behind this horrible decision to divorce you.

When you speak to her, explain that things don’t have to be this way. They can be so much better.
 
I would suggest this is a cautionary tale for us men looking from the outside in. The nice younger lady who turns out to have issues to add to the OP’s own. But now the OP finds himself in this situation; the bridge has been well and truly crossed. I strongly suggest in addition to the priest that the OP find himself a competent attorney. Among other things, he will need the attorney’s help with the custody of his son as this issue is likely to become a huge fight. In the meantime, I pray for the OP’s son and step-daughter, for they are the real and innocent victims of their parents’ inability to make a marriage.

By the way, doesn’t this thread properly belong in the Family Life subforum?
 
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aphineday,

What is your pastoral situation? I’m a little surprised that we haven’t “covered the basics” yet.

Are you a baptized Christian? Batpized Catholic? (cannon law stuff) Is she a baptized Christian or Catholic? Did you get married in a Catholic Church? Did you go through pre-cana (marriage) classes?

Please don’t feel the need to go through this with me as I’m only a forum-poster-guy.

Though, those questions will come up in the event that the civil divorce leads to a spiritual “divorce” … as there is no such thing as divorce in the Catholic Church.

Yeah, marriage is an agreement between a man and a woman. In the civil world, if one decides he or she doesn’t want to be married anymore, let’s just do what the hollywood stars do and just get a divorce, easy, marriage over, done, time for the next wife/husband. How many of us know or have heard of folks on their 7th marriage?

aphineday, you are in a pickle, a tough one. There is a way out though. And, as with almost every difficult situation in our lives, it includes sacrifice and love. Many folks say that “Marriage is 50/50” and in a perspective, that is so wrong, I say “marriage is 100/100”. From the description of your post, it seems like your marriage might be 90/10.

Running, hiding, avoiding types of behaviors indicate a hurt, a wrong, or misconceived ideas of punishment. Being loved and loving (doing what is good for yourself and others even if you don’t want to or like to) is the only way, in my opinion, that these kinds of pains and sorrows can be healed. And, they can be healed, any and all, trust in the Mercy and Kindness of God to provide, maybe not this very second, but He does provide.

I will include you in my prayers this evening. I strongly suggest that you put the effort in for daily prayer, rosaries, and Masses all with the pure intent of having the Holy Spirit move within her soul to realize that she is loved, by God and by you. When you pray to God about your situation with your wife, my suggestion would not to pray over anything specific, pray that her soul can be filled with love of the Spirit, that will do wonders and miracles, that’s what you really want, her soul to be filled with the love and goodness that can only come from God, that will provide a true fulfilled joy that will exude peace and loving. Until then, pray daily, offer rosaries, go to Mass every chance you can get, with each and every minute of those intentions to have the Love of the Spirit dwell within your wife’s Soul.

Best of luck to you. To finish with a cliche, Jesus will help you with your cross, he’s good at carrying crosses! Just ask him to help you with it because it’s really, really heavy.
 
The above posters have pretty much covered everything I would have said. The only think I might add is get a damn good lawyer, a junkyard dog type, but one who believes in negotiating between the parties to attempt a reconciliation. Your wife seems quite immature and seems to believe her family will protect her and win out over you. I deduce that your wife is about 25 years old. I don’t think she realizes the situation she faces if she divorces you. She will have one child of her own, she will have a second child she must share custody with (that’s where the good lawyer comes in). She will receive support from your for your son together; legally you will not be responsible for her child by another. Her salary will be part of the division of marital property, your house (assuming you own) will be divided equally, depending whether you sell or settle, and her prospects for another marriage aren’t really very good. Living with mommy and daddy, having two kids (legally one and a half), and a meager income. She will be a burden on her parents and any sane man will realize that in the future. She is really in a bind if she divorces you. I don’t think she realizes that as mommy and daddy are going to have to support her for the rest of their lives.

Good luck and prayers said for you and the successful resolution of this situation. And if you do reconcile, she has to receive some counseling. Otherwise, this is going to come up again. Bet on it.
 
I am so sorry to hear things are not going well at all with you and your wife. I shall pray for you at my daily adoration. And you ought definitely to talk to a therapist about the whole thing. She is most likely waaaay less mature than you are and obviously she’s not going to handle things in the best way as you are already very well aware. Try to give it to God as best you are able. There is only so much you can control in this situation. I’ll pray for you both.
 
I’m in no way in a position to give advice, however, my long time boyfriend and I recently broke up as well. I was devastated, but my faith grew tremendously! I pray that your wife’s does as well and this leads you two back to one another. It’s heartbreaking to hear she is so immature. I will pray and pray that reconciliation is in God’s plan for you!
 
Is this serious? Gee, what a great, loving response. Also, maybe consider throwing a spell check on this thing before you start handing out penance.
 
Wow, this was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for such a thoughtful and prayerful response. Very much agree with you.
 
Have just read the thread and want to say that you are very much in my prayers. God Bless you.
 
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