{"id":170876,"date":"2021-09-15T17:03:10","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T17:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=170876"},"modified":"2021-09-22T14:37:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T14:37:07","slug":"a-question-that-baffles-me-when-a-spouse-leaves-the-marital-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/a-question-that-baffles-me-when-a-spouse-leaves-the-marital-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A Question That Baffles Me When A Spouse Leaves The Marital Home"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Every divorce situation<\/a> is unique. From growing apart to cheating to addiction to finances<\/a> to falling in love with someone else to when a spouse leaves the marital home, there are countless reasons couples split up. What is usually the same in every divorce, however, is anger, bitterness, resentment and other negative feelings on one or both partner\u2019s end, especially at the beginning.<\/p>\n

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These feelings are understandable, and stem from:<\/p>\n

Fear<\/h2>\n

Anxiety<\/h2>\n

Hurt<\/h2>\n

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\"Going<\/a><\/p>\n

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But I have a question that I truly have never been able to fully understand. It\u2019s baffling to me:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Why is it that sometimes when a spouse leaves the marital home, he or she is angry, bitter and mean to their soon-to-be-ex?<\/em><\/h2>\n

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I hear stories so often about someone whose spouse meets someone else, decides to leave, and then turns into an angry, mean jerk, who wants to battle it out in court and hold an angry grudge forever<\/a>. The person turns it around on the spouse they just left, and blames their entire affair on that person, like it’s their fault! It is truly amazing to me how people can do this.<\/p>\n

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\"Katz<\/a><\/p>\n

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Here is the email I received that spawned this article:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m 32 and my mother (age 50) has been recently separated from my father. He left her, and he is definitely not making this easy on her AT ALL, as a matter of fact he\u2019s being a real douche to her\/ I truly mean this. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I absolutely love my father, but all of this has made me legitimately not like this man. I\u2019m about 85% sure this is going to lead to divorce.<\/a> She\u2019s taking this very hard, which she has every right to, but I want to help her, AND I have realized I\u2019m not taking this well\/easy either. Do you have some advice?<\/em><\/p>\n

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I find this so interesting…the dad was the one who decided to leave and now he’s being a jerk to the mom. To me, the dad sounds very confused and is probably angry at himself so he is putting his anger onto the mom. He might also feel some resentment that has been festering for many years. I’m not saying the mom did anything terrible, it’s just that every couple harbors resentment–even happy couples.<\/p>\n

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\"Vestor\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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My advice to this mom and daughter is that they both need to separate themselves from the dad’s hopefully temporary toxicity. They should try to accept that they can’t control his behavior, his words, or his actions, but that they can control their own.<\/p>\n

Both the mom and the daughter need to live their lives and do things that make them happy–with family and friends and hobbies they enjoy. The moms need to remove herself from the dad until he figures out his shit (for lack of a better word.)<\/p>\n

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Here is the reason I think that sometimes when a spouse leaves the marital home and decides to turn things around and become angry and mean to the spouse they are leaving. I think two things are going on:<\/p>\n

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Guilt and resentment<\/h2>\n

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Let\u2019s start with guilt.<\/a> I think the person feels guilty for leaving and\/or cheating or falling in love with someone, and so to self-protect, they convince themselves (and others) that it is the spouse\u2019s fault that they cheated in the first place. They didn\u2019t feel loved, they weren\u2019t respected, they weren\u2019t treated well, etc. etc. They justify the cheating to make themselves feel better.<\/p>\n

Now, it is possible they weren\u2019t treated well by the spouse? Of course! But that doesn\u2019t justify cheating and then blaming the other person. The person could have left before getting involved with someone else.<\/p>\n

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Then there is resentment.<\/a> The person who left has probably been harboring resentment that\u2019s been building up for years. So, since they have all this resentment that they no longer have to hide, they decide to let it out. And once it starts coming out, it feels like such a relief. So, the meanness is almost coming out uncontrollably. The person can\u2019t help it.<\/p>\n

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Instead of being angry and mean to a spouse, wouldn’t it make sense if the the person took accountability of the cheating, of getting into another relationship and leaving? Wouldn’t it be so much better if the person acknowledged his or her guilt?<\/p>\n

Maybe the divorce isn\u2019t their fault. Maybe they were treated like crap for years. But, the bottom line is the person cheated and should acknowledge that it was wrong to cheat. Maybe even apologize, and I mean apologize just for the cheating. Maybe the spouse who was cheated on needs to apologize for certain things, too.<\/p>\n

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\"Leslie<\/a><\/p>\n

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In closing, I want to offer advice to the person who was left<\/a>, whose spouse left and is being mean and angry. Like I told my reader and her mom, you should disengage and realize that your spouse is most likely doing two things: one, feeling guilty for cheating, and two, letting his or her resentment flow after years of holding it in.<\/p>\n

Your spouse probably doesn\u2019t like him or herself right now because after all, what cheater feels good about what they did? Try to let mean statements such as \u201cYou\u2019re the reason I cheated,\u201d roll off of you. Your spouse is most likely very confused and conflicted.<\/p>\n

Also, he or she might someday regret the cheating and leaving, and might regret being mean and angry towards you. But the thing is, you will never know because most cheaters<\/a> who leave are too proud to ever apologize or admit they made a mistake. Or, they convince themselves that no matter what happens in the future, they are \u201cway better off.\u201d Understand that you have no control over what your ex things, feels or acts. So, it\u2019s better to let it go and start moving on with your life. It\u2019s not easy. I get it. But it\u2019s healthier to detach yourself than to listen and react to the meanness and anger.<\/p>\n

In closing, I also have another question, but this one doesn\u2019t baffle me:<\/p>\n

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Why do some people whose spouses left them end up happier than they ever could have imagined? <\/em><\/h2>\n

Because they stopped trying to control the feelings and behaviors of their ex, and they started focusing on themselves, what they want out of life, and what it will take to get to happiness, independence, and self-love.<\/p>\n

Instead of being bitter, they let things go. This doesn’t happen overnight, by the way, and it’s not easy to do. They accepted that their ex left. They accepted that they would be scared and unsure of things for awhile. They accepted that God has a plan for them. They let it go. They let him (or her) go, and they embraced the uncertainty of a huge life change, and viewed it as an adventure that includes gratitude along the way. And when they least expected it, they looked in the mirror and felt proud and fulfilled.<\/p>\n

I hope that happens for you.<\/p>\n

Like this article? Check out: “Divorce Advice: Keep Hating”<\/a><\/h2>\n

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\"Buy<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"10<\/a><\/p>\n

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