Man Divorces Wife for Refusing to Resume Work After Maternity, Choosing to Be Stay-at-Home Mum
- Two college sweethearts who've been married for five years recently broke up over a disagreement regarding house chores
- The bone of contention was the wife's refusal to resume work after completing her maternity leave, insisting he take on more jobs to support them
- Struggling to balance work and parenting due to the increased workload, the husband decided to let his wife go
- Relationship expert Kelley Nele spoke to Briefly News and shared how couples can navigate life-changing events and decisions
A once-happy marriage has ended in divorce due to a disagreement over childcare.
Source: UGC
This is after a 30-year-old man chose to end the union over his wife's decision to become a stay-at-home mother.
Couple was married for 5 years
In a post on Reddit, the disgruntled man disclosed that he and his wife were high school sweethearts who shared a love for academics and ambition.
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The couple, who had been married for five years, welcomed their first child three years into their marriage.
They initially agreed to send their child to daycare after six months. However, tensions arose when the man's wife decided against returning to work.
"Her argument was that if I picked up more work, we could afford a single-income household, and she would save us money as a stay-at-home parent," he shared
Wife demands husband does house chores
Concerned about the financial strain and his limited time with their child, the man suggested alternative arrangements. One of them was working different shifts to share childcare responsibilities.
Despite his efforts to find a compromise, his wife insisted on her position, leading to a breakdown in communication and mounting resentment.
He says:
"She quit her job. She took care of the baby during my work hours and wanted me to cook dinner on weekdays and take care of the baby on weekends because 'stay-at-home mums deserve breaks too'."
Wife struggling with bills after divorce
The load of bills and insane work hours, along with the inability to enjoy time with the baby, upset the man.
Feeling unsupported and overwhelmed by the demands of work and home life, the husband made the difficult decision to file for divorce.
"The court gave 50:50 custody, no alimony or child support since I proved she decided to stay home, something I never agreed upon," he continued.
According to the man, his estranged wife is broke and struggling to live paycheck to paycheck.
Expert shares how couples can navigate their relationship after a life-changing event
Relationship Educator, Kelley Nele shared the common cause of a couple's inability to balance life, work and family:
"A common challenge when it comes to balancing work, household chores and parenting is a lack of time. There are only so many hours in a day which can make checking each item off the list difficult. People will either fall short in one or more areas, or end up completely neglecting the relationship or themselves."
She further shared how big decisions such as one partner leaving a job can be strenuous:
"Naturally, when a partner decides to leave their job the financial responsibility shifts to the other partner. This can be especially stressful when there’s a baby involved. The newfound pressure the employed partner feels can contribute to higher levels of stress which can cause resentment and withdrawal from the relationship. Studies have also proven that employed partners lose their attraction to their now unemployed partner. All of this can contribute to disconnection, frequent conflict and in some cases divorce."
People in relationships sometimes make unilateral decisions without involving their partners. Nele highlighted the consequences of making unilateral decisions, like letting a partner go, without discussing and considering the impact on the relationship:
"Making unilateral decisions in a relationship can cause the partner who’s left out of the decision-making to feel unimportant and even betrayed. Unilateral decision-making can have severe consequences and lead to the dissolution of the relationship."
Prenup allegedly saves Lebo M's riches amid messy divorce
In other stories, Briefly News shared that Lebo M is said to have saved the riches that he's been fighting over with his estranged wife, Pretty Angeline Samuels. The couple signed a prenup after officiating their marriage and Lebo came out on top.
Mzansi is convinced that Lebo M should retire from dating and focus on himself and his career as he is always involved in some relationship drama.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
Rebone Lesejane (Editor) Rebone has experience in news bulletin reading, writing, content writing and editing. She did news bulletin reading and writing during her volunteering days at Pukfm and worked as a journalist intern and then as a freelance journalist for Newskoop. She wrote and edited entertainment, arts, culture and leisure content for What’s On In Joburg. Rebone passed the Google News Initiative training. You can contact her at rebone.lesejane@briefly.co.za
Kelley Nele (Relationship and Sex Educator) Kelley Nele is a Relationship and Sex Educator and writer. She has been coaching individuals for 5 years and edifying people on foundational and advanced topics within the realm of dating, relationships, sex and sexuality via her writing for 2 years. She has successfully written engaging and insightful content for the following publications: Reader’s Digest UK, LGBTQ+ Nation, TransLash and Metro UK.
