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Help! My husband is leaving

Saddened

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I don't even know where to begin. My husband told me a day before our 10 month anniversary that he was going to file for divorce. He told me to leave and move back in with my parents. I'm completely devestated, crushed, and humiliated. We have been having a lot of fights recently that have not gone well but it was my understanding that a divorce was NOT something either of us wanted. I love my husband so very much and want to be reconciled with him but he keeps saying that he has nothing to give me anymore, that this is too difficult and he sees it as the only way to fix the situation. He has texted me that he still loves me and he is sorry for doing this and hopes ill be ok. This has just hurt me even more. I've been trying to plead with him not to go this route since I've have been married once before and know the lasting effects of a divorce. I keep telling him we can make it if we work at it and get help but he keeps saying no or just ignores me all together. It's been 3 days since he was supposed to file, and I've gotten only one text from him saying he does love me and he's sorry but things will never be the same and he won't ever get over the hurt of our arguments.
I'm in complete panic mode right now because divorce is NOT what I want. I'm homesick and I miss my husband, but I feel completely hopeless/helpless in this. I can't stop the divorce from happening if he files (has filed).
I am so confused and heart broken. He says there is no one else he wants, his heart has just changed about us after all the fighting and he doesnt feel we are meant to be together like he thought he did. I don't know how my husband can tell me he loves me as his wife, and wants me to be 'ok', and is sorry but is relentless in pursuing a divorce instead of working it out! And he just ignores me every time I try to talk to him. What in the world can I do??
 

iolair

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I'm sorry to read about your situation; it sounds really painful and after just ten months must be very hard to make sense of.

If he won't talk, maybe you could put your feelings and questions down in a letter?

Would he be prepared to attend counselling sessions together?

Remember you are a person in your own right, independent of any earthly relationship. Invest time in your own growth, your relationship with God, and your happiness in other aspects of your life - don't wait.

((HUG))
 
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Saddened

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I've asked him to do counciling but he refuses. Things really blew up in my face today with the situation. I went to talk with my husband earlier this morning before he went to work. He informed me that the papers had been filled. He was very distant with me for the first half of the conversation and full of anger. Come to find out my parents pretty much verbally attacked him on Sunday when this all happened (not to my knowledge at all but i had suspected something happened). My dad stormed over to our home and demanded all my stuff back and started chewing him out. My husband had called my parents to make sure I was ok and my mom attacked him over the phone. (I think I may have heard a bit of that conversation, but I was really out of it at the time)
Now, my husband already struggles with his faith in God, and my parents are super religious. He had been telling me recently how mad he was at God for allowing all this pain and strife in our marriage and had been slowly falling away. Well Sunday night pretty much closed the book on him with dealing with Christians after how my parents treated him. He said he ended up loosing all the respect he had for them that night. He said the guilt was starting to set in on him for the divorce but he also went out Sunday after the fight with my parents and found Pot to smoke he said that he was really upset with himself for doing that as well.
I was very surprised how open he was with me this morning since our communication had been so awful all these months. He talked about how he didn't think he was himself anymore, that after everything that had happened he told God to just stay away from him for awhile. He said he still didn't think that this was ever going to work with us, especially with how my parents and him are now, but that he did still love me and he again is just too tapped out to fight for it anymore. He said that he had 56 days to decide whether to go through with the divorce or not and that he had purposely not filed a piece of paper with the rest, saying that if that certain paper isn't with the rest of the paperwork at the end of the 60 days the divorce won't go through. He called it his 'fail safe'.
He has changed a lot since I saw him (only 4 days ago!). There is a hardness/edge to him that I saw him fighting with during our talk. Eventually he started to loosen up and we even joked slightly at times. By the end he was hugging me and saying he would promise to always be there for me. It was then that I had to harden up a bit and I just told him, if the divorce goes through, as much as I appreciate the thought, I wouldn't be able to handle having him in my life, knowing that ill always want more. I said instead of making a new promise he needs to keep the ones he made to me in our marriage vows.
I'm still so very confused as to what is going on. He said that if we do decide to work this out I've got to be out of my parents house (which is so true) and I need to go get a place of my own. He did say he will be thinking on if he can handle trying again because in reality he doesn't want to go this route, but he didn't want me to get my hopes up. We left on good terms, but still so many unknowns and not really any peace. There is SO much prayer that's needed for this. I'm just at a loss and feel so out of control with this. I admit, I'm struggling with my relationship with God in all this too. I'm trying to keep my head on straight but its getting harder and harder as each day goes by.
 
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iolair

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I'm not surprised you're confused; it must be very hard to work out where his change in attitude/behaviour have come from, and you must feel like you're going mad trying to make sense of it. I can't guess what's behind it, but have learnt in the past that trying to understand someone's behaviour in a situation like this - instead of just dealing with it - is not always helpful. I'm glad you could share your feelings here.

I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of advice, but please look after yourself, and spending some time alone, some time with friends and some time with your family may help you stay sane.

(((HUGS)))

Neil.
 
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akmom

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It takes two to argue. If you have been arguing with each other relentlessly for months, to the point that he is worn out and can't handle it anymore, it's time to examine what you've been saying.

You weren't specific about the arguments. Are there specific problems that you can't agree on, or does general conversation just tend to devolve into arguments? If there are specific problems that lead to arguments, then maybe it's time to just give up your position and embrace peace. Don't nag, don't complain, don't argue... just be silent and find something supportive and loving to say instead. If general conversation just devolves into arguments, maybe it's time to think about how you communicate. What are your goals? To get through the day? To get errands done? To achieve a budget? To acquire certain things? To spend time in certain ways? Instead of fighting for those goals, try to just be supportive and loving. In everything you say, think about how to make him feel loved, appreciated and validated. Anything else you need, try to accomplish on your own.

Don't ask him about the divorce papers, don't nag him about commitment, don't wear him down with your words. Just be present, and focus on being a positive influence in his life, instead of a stressful one. Being argumentative is a hard trait to work through, but it sounds like what he needs you to do. I get the impression when you say "we can make it if we work at it" that you want to keep trying to hash out the same old arguments, which is likely to go the exact same way it has been going. That's probably why he doesn't want to do that any more. If you feel that you can benefit from counseling, then get it. You do not need him to be present to get advice on how to work through your problems. But you do need to change the way you communicate, and that does not just mean expecting him to change.

Lastly, it sounds like you need to have a private conversation with your parents, asking them not to talk to you or your husband for awhile. They will interrogate you for details, shower you with negative opinions, and try to get you to talk to them. But they clearly cannot be mentors to either of you (as they have demonstrated) and so you should keep them out of your efforts - regardless of how it's going. Don't move back in with them, don't store your stuff with them, don't update them. They will influence your attitude about things if you do. Be polite to your parents, but be firm. Don't mention the blow-out they had with your husband, and don't let the conversation drag on. You know basically what happened, so you don't need to get into a debate about who said what and why. You just need to handle this independently as a couple.
 
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SkyeMist

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I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with your marriage. It is sad that your husband is giving up just after 10 months of marriage and you must feel hurt and confused during this time. Pour out your cares to God, He will comfort you and give you the wisdom to know how to deal with your husband and what to do in this situation.

If your husband doesn't want to go for counselling sessions, is there a person he respects like a family member or close family friend or your pastor that can talk sense into him? The most important thing you can do is to pray and fast that God will touch his heart, stop him taking drugs, reconcile the both of you and save your marriage.
 
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dj1skywalker

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AKMOM, Your words helped my situation perfectly. I have printed your response in order to highlight "Don't nag, don't complain, don't argue...just be silent and find something supportive and loving to say instead"
My husband of 24 years is leaving. From October thru April, I had neglected my husband's needs by tending to other family needs and an exchange student we were hosting. Since April, he has been telling me that I have hurt him so much that he will not be able to continue with the marriage. I have only made things worse with my flip flop moods and words. I feel a huge hole has been ripped from me and I feel I won't make it alone as I go through my later years. At times, I refuse to be an ex-wife. Not sure how to be positive and hold my tongue. Every day, I pray God will hold my tongue, but I fail every day.
 
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Yahu

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Have you honored him as your husband? Do you submit to your husband? Why do you fight with him? Is it because you try to impose your will over his?

If you let him be the husband, and let him make the decisions as head of the household, what is there to fight about?

Grant him the right to make those decisions and ask him to make them based on his love for you.

Do that and it will bring peace into your relationship. Without the conflict, he will only grow in love for you and go out of his way to please you.

He doesn't want your statements of love when you don't honor him. Men don't crave love like women do. They much prefer being the leader that is honored for their role instead of having a wife that brings constant conflict while claiming her love.

No, men are not perfect but with making the decisions he also bares the responsibility for making a wrong decision. He is protecting you from carrying that burden.

By all means discuss an issue but allow him the choice on how to proceed. He has that right as the husband.

A wife is the emotional seat of the relationship while the husband is the leadership. Decisions should NOT be based solely on emotions which is why IMO the wives don't have that role.

An example I give in marriage counseling is a couple needs another car. The wife looks at it emotionally. She may want a new car for reliability for herself and carrying the kids. A husband may be looking at it from a financial position of affording a house for the family so wants a used car. By understanding the emotional position of the wife and taking that into consideration, he can look for a reliable used car with perhaps a roadside service to ease his wife's concerns.
 
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Whereismyhope

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Hey, I am in the same situation. We have been married for 10 months also and he walked out on me. Didn't explain why, said he would come back then never did and kept playing with my emotions saying he loves me. I begged for marriage counseling but he didn't even want to try.

I know your pain, they just don't care about us (our husbands). Something happened to them to make them feel as though they don't need you. And you know what? We don't need them. The pain hurts so bad, I never want anyone to experience it. I can't sleep or eat but I must go on.... Somehow..
 
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findmydream

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Yahu - My husband and I are the total opposite of your view of a stereotypical marriage. He is the emotional one and I am the practical one. I have still given him room to be a leader, but on things, especially financial, I've had to be much more insistant, but still given him the final say. That has led to me having to bankrupt. He went and got a car, without my knowledge and without a full-time job to pay for it. He bought a puppy from a pet store (they are very expensive), then moved out and left me to take care of it. I had to sell it for a fraction of the original price. Right now he is working for minimum wage for much less than full time and thinks that he can still keep up with the house we bought (major maintenance required, major bills that are way behind etc). He just doesn't see the reality of things.

I'm not trying to attack your opinions. Most marriages are like you said, but just wanted to make it known that not everyone is in that situation.
 
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Yahu

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Well that sounds like a total lack of wisdom on his part. I would suggest praying that he gains it.
 
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mrscruz

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Dear Lord, please guide this special sister during the trouble in her marriage. And her ears shall hear a word behind her saying, this is the way, walk here, when she turns to her right and when she turns to her left.
Please reassure her when she sees a thousand fall on her right side and ten thousand at her left; help her to know that if she follows You, it will not happen to her. Hide her under your protective wings.
Help her to find the narrow path that iwll lead her to life, the abundant life you have for her and for her family. Lord, I pray for a testimony that you can use for Your glory when this troubled or broken marriage is healed and restored! We will give You all the honor and the glory. Amen
Please visit HopeAtLast.com for encouragement
 
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