Why Wives and Husbands Leave Marriage – MM #79

Leave marriage - AdobeStock emotionally distant spouse Unlovable Conflict between man and womanOriginally, this message was titled, Why Women Leave Men. But in re-thinking this message it seems sensible to address why spouses leave marriage on both the wives and the husband’s parts. Of course this message can’t be all inclusive. But hopefully it will shed light for some who are in the dark and promote good discussion —particularly in the comment section below this message.

Why do husbands and wives leave marriages they promised to be in for the rest of their lives? It’s simple —it’s because they can. Sometimes leaving seems easier than staying committed and working things out. And lets face it, it appears easier to divorce in today’s world.

So, as we look at this subject, please understand we are going to address this in “general” terms. It will apply to MOST husbands and wives. We understand there are exceptions. And as you read this, first pray and ask God to show you what YOU should get from this and APPLY to your own life and marriage.

Why Wives Leave Marriage

If you ask a woman why a wife would leave her marriage she’ll give answers like:

  • “She feels lonely and abandoned.”
  • “The only time he pays attention to her is when he wants something.” (And we all know what the “something” is.)
  • “He’s having an affair either emotionally—viewing pornography or physically having an affair.
  • “She feels disconnected. She feels that he doesn’t include her in important matters, or even unimportant matters.”
  • “He seems to care more about other things like TV than he does about her.”

And the list goes on and on and on. But most of the reasons had to do with feelings and emotions.

Why Husbands Leave Marriage

Now, when you ask a man why a husband would leave his marriage, our first response is usually a blank stare. This is followed by the words, “I dunno.” At least that was my first response. But I (Steve) was curious. I wanted to see what the “experts” had to say about the reasons men give for leaving their wives.

As I did an Internet search on this topic I discovered two things. First, there’s not much that addresses this side of the problem. And second, what I could find pretty much summed it all up in three categories:

  1. Boredom. This is often expressed when he says, “I simply fell out of love” or something along that line.
  2. Cheating. The husband discovers his wife is having an affair or he’s having an affair.
  3. Other. This category is a “catch-all” for a number of different reasons men have given. These would include feeling disrespected or emasculated, mental problems, physical or sexual problems. It can include child-bearing issues, personal habits, financial problems, etc.

Why Spouses Leave Marriage

We hear from so many husbands whose wives have left (and they don’t understand, “why”). And we hear from so many wives who say they’re “fed up” and are ready to walk out or have already left. That is we want to give you some insight from Dr. Willard Harley. He wrote a helpful article titled, “Why Women Leave Men.” And while this focuses on the issue from a wife’s angle, you can see a husband’s perspective as well. Our prayer is that God will help us ALL learn from what Dr. Harley shares. So pray, glean, and see what speaks to you about your situation (whether you are the husband or the wife).

Here is a portion of what Dr Harley writes:

“Each day I’m confronted by women who are extremely frustrated with their marriages. Usually, they express no hope that their husbands will ever understand what it is that frustrates them —let alone change enough to solve the problem. From their perspective, marital problems are created by their husbands who do little or nothing to solve them. Wives tend to see themselves as the major force for resolving conflicts. And when they give up their effort, the marriage is usually over.

“When I talk to their husbands, they usually have a different explanation as to why their wives feel the way they do. They often feel that the expectations of women in general and their wives in particular, have grown completely out of reach. These men, who feel that they’ve made a gigantic effort to be caring and sensitive to their wives, get no credit whatsoever for their sizable contribution to the family. They feel under enormous pressure to improve their financial support, improve the way they raise their children, and improve the way they treat their wives. Many men I see are emotionally exhausted. They feel that for all their effort, they get nothing but criticism.

Feeling Neglected

“Men’s perceived failure to satisfy their wives is punctuated by the fact that women file for divorce twice as much as men. In other words, their unhappiness with marriage often results in divorce. The most common reason women give for leaving their husband’s is ‘mental cruelty.’ When legal grounds for divorce are stated, about half report they’ve been emotionally abused. But the mental cruelty they describe is rarely the result of their husbands efforts to drive them crazy. It’s usually husbands being indifferent, failing to communicate and demonstrating forms of neglect.

“When all forms of spousal neglect are grouped together, we find it’s far ahead of all other reasons combined that women leave men. Surprisingly few women divorce because of physical abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, criminal behavior, or other serious grounds. In fact, I find myself bewildered by women in serious physical danger refusing to leave the men that threaten their safety. Simply stated, women leave men when they’re neglected. Neglect accounts for almost all reasons women leave and divorce men.”

Dr Harley continues:

“…Some of the most common complaints I hear from women is, ‘He ignores me except when he wants sex. He sits and watches television when he could be talking to me. Plus, he rarely calls to see how I’m doing. He hurts my feelings and never apologizes. Instead, he tells me I’m too sensitive.’ Most husbands are mystified by these complaints. They feel their wives demand too much, and that most other women would be ecstatic to be married to them. Their wives have become spoiled, take their efforts for granted and have unrealistic expectations.

“Do women expect too much from their husbands or are men doing less for their wives than they should?” (To learn more solutions Dr Harley gives, please read “Why Women Leave Men.”)

Cindy and I answer Harley’s question with a “Yes and Yes!” We have found that both husbands and wives come into marriage with without really realizing the effort it will take to make their marriage into a good one. Plus, their expectations are too high. This sets them up later for big problems as illustrated above.

Trashing and Cleaning Up Marriage

It’s not difficult to “trash” your marriage—to get it to the place where it is messed up, needing a clean up. But when the marriage appears to be too much of a “mess” to clean up, that’s when spouses are tempted to just leave marriage. It appears to be too overwhelming.

In our 45+ years of marriage we’ve both been guilty of much of what Dr. Harley and Sue Boulin described. Cindy would readily admit that she expected too much from me. And sadly, I was neglectful of many of her needs. I did not realize how important they were to her.

To us, the bigger question relating to this subject is, How can we change this pattern so we don’t look at divorce as an option? I think we found an answer simply stated in this quote from Walt Henrichsen. It’s written in his devotional titled, Thoughts From The Diary Of A Desperate Man:

“You can do two things that most people cannot resist. You can love and serve them. Loving and serving is a ministry and you do not need special gifts to do it.”

Think and pray about this. We have a lot of articles posted on this web site that can build upon this concept. Plus, we have articles that can help you to “clean up” the trashy attitudes and actions that spouses can fall into. Here are two of them:

The Practice of Self Sacrifice

Good Marriages Don’t Just Happen

The effort it will take to clean up a trashy marriage goes with the scriptures:

You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15)

And how much closer of a neighbor can you get than a spouse? So, how can you love and serve each other? If you need help, make improving your marriage your mission. Look around our web site to see what you can find that will help you. Be intentional in working to make your marriage the best it can be.

We encourage you to go into the Romantic Ideas topic. Please read the articles, “100 Ways to Show Love to Your Wife HER Way,” and “100 Ways to Show Love to Your Husband HIS Way.” Applying some of these tips could help you to love and serve your spouse as God intends.

Steve and Cindy Wright

Print Post

Filed under: Marriage Messages

Leave a Reply to Helen from United States Cancel reply

Please observe the following guidelines:

  • Try to be as positive as possible when you make a comment.
  • If there is name-calling, or profane language, it will be deleted.
  • The same goes with hurtful comments targeted at belittling others; we won't post them.
  • Recommendations for people to divorce will be edited out–that's a decision between them and God, not us.
  • If you have a criticism, please make it constructive.
  • Be mindful that this is an international ministry where cultural differences need to be considered.
  • Please honor the fact this is a Christ-centered web site.

We review all comments before posting them to reduce spam and offensive content.

Comments

181 responses to “Why Wives and Husbands Leave Marriage – MM #79

  1. I was married for 6 years to my wife. She was never honest about who she was. She said she liked to camp… that wasn’t true… she kept saying there was no time… guess what? She made no time. She wanted things her way. Compromising was not even an option. She interfered with how I wanted to raise our 5 year old daughter. My X’s father passed away and her mother dug her claws into our marriage and our family. Now my x and my daughter are spoiled. My x’s mother does everything for them. She would chew my daughter’s food if she could. My x did the budget and managed to spend every penny.

    Note to others out there… DO NOT SHARE A BANK ACCOUNT. YOUR MONEY IS YOURS… PUT IT AWAY AND PAY YOUR SHARE BUT DO NOT PUT ALL OF IT INTO YOUR FAMILY AND HOME! KEEP ACCOUNTS SEPARATE. WOMEN FEEL THE MONEY THEY EARN IS THEIRS WHEREAS THE MONEY MEN EARN WE FEEL IS FOR OUR FAMILY. One way to lose respect from your spouse is to hand over money automatically. Don’t do this! I got burned with the Illinois law system. I have no home, no savings.

    A divorce will leave you financially drained. Keep an account your wife does NOT know about… she will take everything, should you divorce. Women become very vindictive in a divorce and DO use your children to hurt you. At least in my case our daughter is told all kids of things about me. For those who are not married yet… if you are happy now… don’t change it! Marriage will NOT make things happier for you… it WILL MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT AND MISERABLE.

    Lastly, for those who do not know the hidden agenda… the hidden agenda is this… YOU ARE A SPERM DONOR AND A PAYCHECK. THAT’S HOW MOST WOMEN SEE US. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t look at your finances. They want to know if you can pay the bills… for who?… her and her children. Once your children are born and take stake in your family, your wife will abandon you and say things like, “I put the children first” …what this really means is YOU NO LONGER MATTER. Think about it… your kids and family are ALREADY GETTING THIER NEEDS MET, food, home, school, whatever… so what does that statement mean… “I put our kids first… you don’t?” This means your kids are percieved to be more important than you in the views of your wife. A family cannot exist without the love and respect between the man and wife… YOUR MARRIAGE SHOULD COME FIRST… THAT WILL PROVIDE YOUR KIDS WITH EVERYTHING THEY REALLY WANT AND NEED FROM THIER PARENTS.

    1. Jim, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. I can also see the pain and frustration that you feel through your words. My only comment to you is your interesting advice to ‘have a secret account.’ Men and women should have joint accounts. You don’t get married for the purpose of going through a divorce later. Not all women ‘just want your money’.

      I, in fact, am still with my husband because I don’t want to hurt him financially. Before I married him I had a career in the health care field, my own home, a new paid for car, excellent credit and my son was graduating. Now… I have never seen the (his) bank account, have to ask him for a couple dollars to go to the store and live with a man that if he has any reason to be mad at me…has every right to shove me around, break my stuff and call me names. But God says do not repay evil for evil.

      I think the real issue that you hit the nail on the head with is your opening statements. “She said she liked to camp…” You just gave yourself and the world its answer. Know the person before you marry them and make sure what they say matches what they do and how they live!

      I told my husband that I couldn’t marry a man that doesn’t want to serve (or believe) in Jesus. He said yes, yes and amen to that. Now, I haven’t gone to church for years, can’t read my Bible or watch videos in front of him and he hates God and curses Him daily in front of me because he knows how much I hate that.

      But you know… not all men are like him. And I’m sure that not all women are like your ex. Why should we in our own pain and or loneliness place character judgment on others because of how we were treated by one individual? Would it be fair for me to say that men are controlling abusers that don’t want a relationship with you …only sex …when ‘they’ want it?

      May God bring peace to your situation and may you feel more than just know the words He speaks to us… ‘be at peace and know that I am your God that goes before you to fight for you’ Trust Him… He is our ultimate supreme court.

      1. Wow Pam! that was powerful! Your words has helped me. I’ve been married for 20 years, and have two children in college. With only one income, mine, it has been a struggle. I try to make everyone happy but what is happening is that I am unhappy. My wife puts her hobby before me and now the kids (it appears this way). I’ve made attempts to discuss this with her but to no avail; it doesn’t work. I continue to try to make this marriage work and will after hearing your story and inspirational words. Thanks again as I been thinking of the most easy way out, if you know what I mean.

    2. Hi Jim, I’m so sorry for your pain. Upon reading your comment, there’s no doubt that you have had a rough ride with your wife. And for that I grieve with you. But please be careful about the advice that you dole out to others. Yes, there are some women that see a man as a “sperm donor and a paycheck.” And yes, there are some women who hold the children hostage, away from their dad, when things get rough, but not all. You mention about separate banking accounts and secret accounts. I agree with Pam that this is a serious precedent to put forth when you marry. It spells mistrust right from the beginning. If you mistrust before you even marry, then why marry? Isn’t the relationship already doomed because you don’t feel you can trust her?

      I can tell you of quite a few situations where it is the wife who is holding the bank account and house and financial well-being together in their marriage. In the case of my own parents, my dad was a spend-thrift. He couldn’t hang onto a dime. It was only because my mom eventually saw this and took over their bank account (my dad recognized the wisdom in this) that they had ANYTHING. She saved our home more than once because of my dad’s spending habits. She stuck with him through infidelity, and on and on and faithfully got us through our growing up years. If it was up to him alone, we would have been out on the streets more than once. Eventually (as long as he wasn’t solely responsible for bank account) he straightened up and gave my mom several good years before she died.

      So Jim, even though your wife treated you in ways that led you to grab onto bitterness, please realize that there are many good women out there, trust-worthy types who don’t take men for all they can get and don’t “put the children first” to the detriment of the marriage. I’m one of those women. And I have quite a few friends who are like me also. I absolutely love my husband and want to do good for him and not bad. And I know many other women who are the same way. Just as there are some rotten women out there, there are rotten men. But there are good women and good men, also. We can’t throw them all into a pile and say they’re all alike. They aren’t… we aren’t.

      I realize that your bitterness is coming through BIG time in your comment. I get that. I sure don’t condemn you. I wish you could release it, however, because it’s poisoning the good man that I have no doubt that you are. But again, please be careful of the venomous advice you’re giving those who are marrying or are married. Warning people of possible danger can be good, but projecting your hurtful experiences unto them as if it’s that way it is for everyone, might sew seeds of mistrust into them so that even though they didn’t have reason to mistrust, they will. And by doing so, it could cause their marriage to go in a horrible direction. Just a friendly warning. I can’t imagine that you would want to hurt even good relationships because yours went so badly. I pray that you will find peace in the future and better experiences with the women you are around –there are many, many of us who don’t deserve to be condemned because your wife treated you horrible. Again, I’m sorry for your pain.

  2. I’m 65 years old and was married 31 yrs before I divorced my first husband in 2001. We’re very good friends now and he’s since remarried. I met my second husband in 2006. He’d been married 2 times before with a failed third relationship. So many red flags… So many… So we dated on/off as I’d always catch him trolling for women online. By 2011 I decided that I’d either marry him or cut him loose forever, giving myself 6 months to think about it.

    He stopped his cheating -but he didn’t stop his drinking/smoking/wild “Peter Pan” ways. I thought if I kept my finances separate from his, he could spend all the money he wanted. He’d already filed a debt consolidation years before and a bankruptcy two yrs before we married. I THOUGHT I had my bases covered. Well, guess what? He’s the MOST selfish, self centered, immature, insensitive, “man/boy” I’ve ever known, and he’s 62 yrs old! I’ve tried talking, counseling, discussing, leaving. I even kept my HOUSE so I’d have a place to go to to protect myself in case things didn’t work.

    He spends every penny on himself -a very expensive hobby and ignores me for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries. We’re almost married 3 yrs now and I’m sick to death of empty promises, lies, etc. When he reverts back to being selfish. He cannot control his impulses and makes NO effort to try. I always thought that cheating would be the deal breaker… How about… costing me my self respect? The other day he demanded to know why the sheets weren’t washed and WHY I couldn’t pull weeds or cut the grass! I’m due for a hip replacement and not only does he expect me to pick up after him, clean his house, wash his dishes, buy his groceries, rub his feet, put cream on his sunburned head, scrub his toilets… NOW he wants me to do LAWN WORK? The only thing he provides for me is a cellphone (the top dollar one HE wanted) and health insurance. I’ve sold my soul to the devil for some freaking health insurance. My children refuse to acknowledge him –they absolutely hate him –and he turned his entire family against me with his lies. I’ve never cheated on him and only treated him like a King. What was my reward? Becoming his doormat… by trying to make HIM happy before me.

    Ladies, don’t ever make your husband/boyfriend a priority when he only makes YOU an OPTION. Lose him. I’m leaving but I’m not sure when. Most of the furniture in his house is mine –and I’ll get it back before I pull the plug. AND I WILL get that surgery! Sorry this was so long.

  3. I have a brother in law that is not a very nice person and I don’t want him to be a part of my life. My husband likes to talk and hang out with him. I’ve asked my husband to stop talking with him or I want to separate because they use drugs and stuff. My husband said he’d rather get a divorce than give him up as a friend. Is it wrong of me to ask him to stop talking to him?

  4. I do not agree with the biased gender stereotyping in this article. I would expect “If you ask a man why he would leave his marriage that he would give answers like:

    “He feels lonely and abandoned” maybe even gaslighted … “The only time she pays attention to him is when she wants something.” Does not initiate hugs, kisses or cuddles. Sees “strength” as showing she could not care less.

    She tries to take away his confidence by making cutting comments and avoiding meaningful conversation. Answers questions with questions and is too “superior” to go for counseling. “She may be having an affair either with a woman or a man…“ He feels disconnected —not included or welcomed into her activities or meeting friends. She cannot share her friends…She does not express affection verbally or physically. “She seems to care more about activities and hobbies than she does about the home relationship with him.”

    1. Sounds like the “degradation phase” of a relationship with a narcissistic or BPD woman. It is during this time that she has already begun squiring a new man or men as sources of narcissistic supply. When the time is right for her to make one of them her main focus, she will initiate the “discard phase” where she dumps you. That’s when you discover all the lies she’s told you, and that all of her “activities” with “friends” you never see were actually just fronts to cover her sexual escapades with other men. If she doesn’t work, you’ll find you’ve been financing her romances, since the guys NPD/BPD women fall madly in love with usually don’t have much money to spend at all.

      During divorce she will stretch the truth and out and out lie to make you out to be a real villain and take you for everything she can. She will sleep like a baby at night.

      My ex wife did exactly everything you mentioned for four years while she waited for her affair partner to leave his wife so she could dump me. His wife had to file for divorce on him. He is an old lover of hers from many years ago. He is broke. Unattractive. Unintelligent. Three bankruptcy filings since 2003. An IRS Tax Lein in excess of $30,000.00. She’s engaged to him and overjoyed at having him. This is the narcissistic “Idealization phase” After a couple of years she’ll get bored and start a new “degradation phase” on him. I will never be able to love again and I hope I get to watch their world implode.

  5. After 15 years of marriage (our second), I’ve realized that the red flags were all there during our courtship all those many years ago. I discounted or failed to recognize them because “it wasn’t a big thing” or “we’ll work it out” or “you’re expecting perfection when there’s no such thing in another human being.” The thing is that we’re two different people with two greatly different sets of likes, dislikes, habits, ways of thinking, viewpoints, etc.

    This is critical. She has an absolute, fundamental right to be who she is. I fundamentally respect that. Regardless of our differences, she’s no better or more “right” than I am and vice versa. Sadly, however, we’re two very different people and, relationship-wise, we’re just trying to force a square peg in a round hole. That doesn’t work. Simply put, we’re not a match. What’s the song? “There ain’t no good guy. There ain’t no bad guy. There’s just you and me and we just disagree”?

    At 60 years of age I’ve learned a few things. I know that adjustments can be made, compromises agreed upon and even put in place, that relationships need tending and attention, that priorities need to be realigned and one’s ego needs to take a back seat. But you can’t FORCE a relationship. Trying to do is exhausting, isn’t it? Change? Yes, of course, but other than anecdotal cases that are the subject of magazine articles, internet fodder and perhaps even personal experience, 99% of human beings can really only change about 10% of who they fundamentally are. Please forgive the poor analogies, but Prince Charles can’t turn into a Andy Warhol and Roseanne Barr can’t change into a Mother Theresa. You get the idea.

    Think about that. Psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and relationship professionals look at that 10% figure and say, “Yeah, there are exceptions, but that’s pretty close to what it is.” It’s a sobering statistic. Now, think about how it applies to relationships and the two people involved in one.

    That’s why (get ready) I think people should ask their families and friends what they think of a person one is seriously considering marriage with. Who else other than your family and friends know you better? Who else are they thinking and caring about in their answer other than you? Yeah, exceptions abound to that, but you get the idea.

  6. I’ve been married 22 years. My husband is extremely selfish. I have let this slide for many years but have grown tired. I make more money than my husband and tend to pay for more things for our 2 kids. Recently I have come to a conclusion that he’s not going to change and want to call it quits.

    I had my wake up call when he asked a friend of ours to cook a dish for his football party after I told him not to ask… I am in grad school & need to study so I didn’t want to have the football party. He has gone behind my back and solicited items from others to pull his party together… he is a user and doesn’t mind asking others to get things he wants. I’m tired and want a divorce… I was so hurt when my friend dropped the dish off… especially when I had no clue she was cooking for his party.

  7. My wife divorced me five years ago. Five years later I find out by accident she remarried a year ago. I do not understand my hurt at her choice.

    Any words of knowledge? Thank you.

    To self, It takes a lifetime to forget someone.

  8. Hello, I’m in a real mess. I would need 100 pages or more to describe everything that has happened in our lives, so I’ll try to sum it up initially, and I can expand later, if anyone asks. My wife and I will be married for 34 years this July 17th 2015. If everything proceeds in the courts, it will be the last anniversary. First I’ll tell you what my wife would say about why we are getting a divorce. I’ve been verbally, and emotionally abusive for our entire marriage. I’ve also looked at porn, and she said that that was enough to break our marriage vows, and end the marriage. She said that if she would have had the money, she’d have left long ago.

    2 years ago my wife made a statement that we are divorced and that we would never be together again. We’ve been together for 40 years, since we were in our early 20’s. We have 4 kids, 1 daughter 22, and 3 sons, 13, 17, and 19. We built and ran a business together for 30 years, and there were lots of problems with that, along with other stresses, and pressures with kids, and life. I was harsh with her, and we did argue a lot. Mostly about silly things, and things that didn’t matter. I always wanted to win, and so did she.

    For 2 years, I’ve been doing everything I could to learn how to fix our marriage, and myself. My wife has been on all of the blogs, and reading nothing but books about how to get out of an abusive marriage. She now feels that she knows me, and is convinced that I have every psychotic ailment, and disease known to man. She hates me, and is so full of fear, and her heart is so hardened to me, and we don’t even talk, and there is no trust at all. The thing that really bothers me is that most, and I say most, of what she thinks, or has learned about me, isn’t true. The blogs and books that she reads basically support her leaving me, and being free.

    We’re both Christian, but she has always been a very strong Christian, and I’ve been so, so. It wasn’t until this all started that my faith in God, and reading and learning the bible and having a personal relationship with God, has increased. In any case, after her telling me that we were divorce, I went ahead and filed for divorce. I wish I had never done that, but I did. The divorce will be final on September 7th, 2015.

    I love my wife, and my family, and I have asked for forgiveness, so many times, but she just says that she forgives me, but that this has gone on for so long, that she can’t take a chance that I’ll hurt her again. She wants the house sold, the family split, and us to have separate places to live, and has told others that she wishes that she would never have to see me again. She doesn’t admit to ever doing anything wrong in our marriage. I am the one that did everything, and she tells me that I now need to pay restitution, which can be something that I’ll have to do for the rest of my life.

    Emotionally I’m so depressed, and this, or my reaction to is, is destroying the business, and making us go broke, and very soon I’ll have to close the business, and file for business, and personal bankruptcy. I’ve repented, and have learned all of the things that I did to her, that caused her to want to leave, but I truly have changed, and understand where I went wrong, with my interpretation of wives submit to your husbands, and husbands love your wives like God loved his church. I did not do that, but given another chance, I would. That’s it for now. I’m open to any questions or comments. I want to save my marriage and my family.

  9. Hi, I need advice for a friend. One of my really good friends husband is a pathological liar. He has managed to dupe countless people. He claims to be a saved, Christian, born again, the whole nine yards. However, he tells white lies, lie, upon lie. He drinks at work and views porn at work. He has been in trouble over 3x for sexually harassing/groping women. He’ll bother widowed women, single naive gals, married women, desperate women; he doesn’t care. He has managed to mess up a lot of people financially, tries to destroy other peoples self-esteem, marriages, businesses, finances. Yet claims to have found God, I just don’t get it?

    Well, he has since been having yet ANOTHER affair with a woman younger than 2x his age. Now, he’s trying to blame my good friend that she had become boring and nagged him way too much about financial situations and business issues. On top of that he tried to drop kick the gal and then started up yet another relationship with another gal. It never ends with him. One tangled web of lies and deceit. My friend’s self-esteem is shot and she is living in complete denial of the facts and reality. Should I get her to go talk to a preacher? Get counseling? Ignore it? Sit back and watch someone destroy their own lives? Or step up and try to help. This guy gets to look like man of the year, but is a complete farce of reality. Why does he go around telling all these women he loves them and then finds ways to destroy them? Thanks! LJ

  10. Hi I’m a Christian man. Also God needs to be allowed into marriage once I stopped praying regularly and blaming him for my financial situation and no work; I suffer chronic back pain. I went back to work once we were married. She helped raise my daughter. I worked long hours to provide. I could be mobile at work and not be in pain. Now oil is low and no work. Before I went to work I focused on being home with my daughter. Because of my health I couldn’t work, cook and clean. Being a single parent is hard and when there is kids involved I feel no reason for divorce. Once god gives of gift of child they need 2 parents that’s how it’s supposed to be.

    I take full responsibility for not relying on God and once my wife. I begged to to ask God to restore my marriage. I was loyal but she said I was emotionally disconnected.

    Please pray for Angie And Michael’s Marriage. I may even get Into Ministry myself I fear being around people. Fellowship had always been hard for me; I’m quiet, reserved and like to listen. Ministering would make sure I’m around people other Christians or showing unsaved what Jesus can do for anybody if you asked and are willing to labour for.

  11. For me, you came close but you left out the most important word for men, condemnation and mistrust. After 18 years, she condemns, judges and lives with a posture of self protection after refusing to walk with me. I’ve come to understand, no matter, I cannot bless this person, I can only give her up to the one who made her.

    1. The ones that are the biggest CHEATERS in a marriage are the ones that will cause divorce, and the ones that have children, which makes it very sad since they’re the ones that suffer the most, for which it is a real shame.

  12. But what does one do when the husband does nothing? Does not work, does not help clean, does not show affection, does not speak kind words, and when we are intimate, he mocks them. The issues have been brought up, expectations have been laid out explicitly (ex: Please pull down all the old dishes and put new dishes in the cabinet. The old dishes put them in boxes and we can donate them. Here are the boxes). That’s just one of hundreds of examples. Daily asking him to do something, anything. How long do I keep working and fighting when all he does is sleep, watch TV, and play on Facebook?

    1. Is he an invalid? Does he have severe health issues? Is he a stay-at-home dad? …Why isn’t he working? Also, does he claim to be a Christian? I just need clarity to answer your question.

  13. We have been married for 31 years, 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren. My husband is a manager and I work in a casual job. In the past he had almost a year of weekly travel and coming home on weekends, which I felt very dumped and unwanted during this period. Both children have now left home and we recently bought a new property in local country which he adores. But he has suddenly started up a reasonable amount of traveling again and I feel like once again dumped and like he has a zero care factor for me! His comments are always it’s his job and this is what he has to do, I yell a lot and I know I don’t treat him well at times. It is like I’m craving his attention and he is pulling further away from me! Yes I have several times talked about divorce because I don’t want to be unhappy for the rest of our working life which is still another 15 years. Don’t know what to feel or do any more.

  14. Be some fun to be with instead of coming home everyday and complaining about your day for the first hour. I don’t mind listening to my husband but it gets tiring. Sex: don’t make it about yourself all the time try and be Mr. grey once in awhile. We like having sex too but not to the point you feel like a hired hooker, boom boom and you’re done and you’ve fulfilled his needs and he turns over and goes to sleep. Your job doesn’t stop when you walk in the house. Hello! We both live here and make messes. Let’s go out on a date once in awhile that’s what you did when you were trying get to impress me. Do you have to eat, sleep, and breathe sports all the time. Stop complaining about your job over and over. Stop belittling me when you’re tired. Stop getting drunk all the time. Stop being lazy.I could go on but men get very lazy in a marriage and I’m pretty tired.

  15. Well, many women these days are going for other women, which is very horrible, come to think of it.