Honey, I Want A Divorce: When A Woman Decides to Leave By Jackie Pilossoph , Founder, Divorced Girl Smiling, the place to find trusted, vetted divorce professionals, a podcast, website and mobile app. Below is an email from a reader who explained that she is going through a divorce , and that the divorce was HER decision. She asked me if I could give her some advice for when a woman decides to leave. In other words, how does one deal with the immense guilt of leaving your husband, when he didn’t want the divorce? (or didn’t know it was coming.) “It would be so much easier if I could stamp him as a cheater, alcoholic , slacker, loser, abuser. But I can’t! He has been a good father to our children , a loyal husband as far as I know, and a good provider for our family. I am in therapy for all the feelings including guilt. The fact is, this has hurt him and ripped his heart out (those were his words).” I have a few thoughts for when a woman decides to leave: First, the fact that
When Your Spouse Doesn’t Want A Divorce By Karen Covy , Divorce and Decision Coach, Former Divorce Attorney and Mediator, Divorced Girl Smiling Trusted Professional My heart went out to this woman, whose spouse doesn’t want a divorce: “I want a divorce but my husband doesn’t. I have been unhappy for years. I’ve tried to talk to him. No response. I tried to get him to go to marriage counseling. He said okay, but never went. I told him I was going to a divorce lawyer. He was upset at first, but now acts like nothing has changed. I am beside myself! I know that getting a divorce is the right thing to do. But my husband is making this so hard! He got the divorce papers but won’t open them. He refuses to show up in court. My lawyer says I can get divorced without him, but I feel so guilty! I know he is going to blame me for everything. What do I do?” It’s bad enough to have to say, “I want a divorce but my husband doesn’t.” But, when your spouse refuses to acknowledge or participa