Your spouse wants a divorce — but you don’t. Is there really anything you can do to stop it?
Honestly, no. Florida allows anyone in a marriage that is “irretrievably broken” to get a divorce if they want it. This “no-fault” option means that your spouse doesn’t need a specific reason to end the marriage. It doesn’t particularly matter if you were a faithful spouse, a supportive partner or a good provider. You may be able to delay the divorce by dragging your heels during the process, but you can’t stop it.
You might be able to talk your spouse in to trying to make things work. Before you do that, however, ask yourself some honest questions:
- Are you holding on to an ideal that doesn’t exist? If you and your spouse no longer spend time together, rely on each other for emotional support and enjoy each other’s company, your relationship may have already fizzled out. It can be very difficult to reignite the spark if one person’s heart isn’t in it.
- Are you more worried about the social or economic fallout of divorce more than being without your spouse? If you can picture a future without your spouse but just deeply dread the idea of moving, switching up your routine, making the announcement to friends and family members and the other mechanics of divorce, you’re hanging in there for all the wrong reasons.
- Have you and your spouse become two vastly different people? Maybe you changed. Maybe your spouse changed. Maybe you both evolved in different ways. If your ideals, goals and dreams no longer click, it’s probably better that you don’t try to force them.
If divorce seems inevitable, do yourself a favor: Talk to an attorney about your options. If your spouse wants out of the marriage, it’s time to decide how you can both move forward with a minimum of stress.