“The Great Divorce” isn’t the Threat Some Women Think It is

Women are unhappy with men, at least according to a variety of TikTok channels that definitely aren’t pandering for clout. A favorite topic among them is “the Great Divorce.” What’s interesting is that these social media mavens think this will come as a rude awakening to men.

Yeah, not so much. Honestly, an increasing number of married men are coming to the realization that their unhappiness in life is more about their wives than anything else. For a lot of us, the Great Divorce will be as welcome as beers with the buddies on a Friday evening. No girls allowed.

What is the Great Divorce?

There is an idea floating in large chunks of the internet that women are unhappy being married to men, which is certainly true in a lot of cases. It’s based on the idea that women work full time jobs then come home to take care of the house and the kids. Fair enough. That would be aggravating.

Rolled into that is the idea that all men are lazy children who are incapable and unwilling to do any work around the house at all. Again, there are likely a significant number of men who fall into that category. I know more than a few, to be completely honest.

As such, women predominantly over the age of 50 are moving towards divorce and theoretically much happier lives. This trend is called the Great Divorce. Keeping in mind that overall divorce rates are actually declining, there is some merit to this theory.

Again, this supposed trend is largely driven by middle aged women who are tired of lop-sided marriages that benefit husbands more than wives. And, again, I have no doubt these relationships exist more frequently than they should. But there’s another side to this not being factored in.

Men are Unhappy in Marriage, Too

I know my experience in marriage and out of it. In my marriage, I had a job, did a lot of housework, did the lion’s share of the child raising, and more. My ex-wife only did laundry a handful of times, and when she did you can bet there was just a pile of clean-ish clothes left on the couch.

My extra work allowed her to spend 70% of our nearly 20 year relationship in school. She did work, too. I went with this arrangement because I thought we were building towards a future together. Instead, she was cheating on me and planning to move on once she was in a good place.

I was used, mistreated, and thrown away as soon as I wasn’t needed. And the stories that are being told online do not account for those surprisingly common situations. I have several male friends who are in bad marriages where the wife puts herself ahead of not only him but also their children.

The worst part of it is none of these women see the problem. My ex-wife still doesn’t believe that she did anything wrong by lying to me, manipulating me, and cheating on me. She genuinely believes she was doing what she had to do to survive a “bad marriage.”

In reality, she was emotionally terrorizing me and our children for years. She was the architect of her own unhappiness which she then used to rationalize her decisions. Now, I’m emotionally supporting several male friends as they go through similar situations and happy to do it.

Bring It On

For the sake of men’s mental health, my response to the so-called “Great Divorce” threat is bring it on. Let’s go. Where do we sign? I am now taking care of a home by myself as a single father with one income. I’m happier, more fulfilled, and have more time for myself than ever before. More importantly, I’m a better father and friend.

When our marriage ended, I was miserable and depressed. I spent months trying to fix things. Then I realized there was nothing worth fixing, which was tough to deal with. Being married to her was the root cause of my sadness and my depression. She was making me a worse person.

For a lot of men, including many of my friends, getting divorced would be the best thing for their mental health. Surprisingly, having a someone in your house constantly judging you and making you feel worthless is painful. In those cases, divorce is truly salvation for men.

There’s this societal perception among women that men can’t survive without them. In many relationships, the truth is that we can’t survive with them. If you ladies are unhappy and want out, get on it. Stop talking about it and go. We’ll be just fine without you. I know I am.