A Husband Decided To Divorce His Wife Once Their Youngest Child Headed To College

Imagine a marriage that once felt warm slowly icing over until the bedroom turned colder than a January night. That was the quiet reality of a 47-year-old man who spent the past decade raising kids beside a woman he no longer loved while secretly searching for the affection she withheld.

Thirteen years had passed without intimacy. In that void, he drifted into three affairs, each an attempt to feel wanted again. He tried therapy, pleaded for change, and finally accepted nothing would improve.

Now, as their 17-year-old son prepared to leave for college, he confessed everything, the betrayals, the emptiness, the desire for divorce. But instead of rage, his 50-year-old wife stunned him with sudden affection, promising she could love him again.

This story’s got more twists than a daytime drama – here’s the original Reddit post that started it all:

Was he heartless for wanting to leave, or was it simply too late?

A Marriage Gone Dry

Their story held more twists than a soap opera, but the truth was simple: for thirteen years, they hadn’t touched each other.

After their youngest was born, she seemed to drift away. The warmth vanished, replaced by routines and cold silence. He suggested therapy, and for three years they tried, but nothing changed. She never reached for him again.

Over time, the loneliness turned into quiet desperation. He started looking elsewhere, first a fling, then two more affairs that only proved the marriage was already over.

The Final Confession

Still, he stayed for the kids. But as their youngest prepared for college, he knew he couldn’t pretend anymore.

He confessed everything, his affairs, his emptiness, his wish for divorce. He expected anger. Instead, she surprised him with tearful affection, promising to change and begging him to stay.

But he felt nothing but a dull sadness.

According to the Journal of Sexual Research, nearly half of couples in long-term dead bedrooms feel emotionally hollow. His cheating was a betrayal, but in his eyes, it was the result of years of rejection.

Therapist Esther Perel once said, “Infidelity is often a symptom of deeper unmet needs.” He couldn’t deny he’d checked out long ago.

His wife’s sudden change felt like panic, not love. Maybe she hadn’t realized how close he was to leaving. But after so many years apart, he no longer believed they could fix what had broken.

Reddit’s serving up opinions hotter than a summer fling! Here’s what the community’s saying about this marital meltdown:

Some commenters cut straight to the heart of the matter, questioning deeper issues and whether this relationship should have ended long ago:

Other Redditors didn’t sugarcoat their verdict, urging the poster to face reality and walk away without dragging things out any longer:

Other commenters drilled into the bigger picture, calling out the long affair, questioning the timing of the divorce, and asking for more context about the marriage behind closed doors:

Are these takes a roadmap to clarity or just Reddit’s gossip mill spinning? You be the judge!

His confession, years in the making, had cracked their brittle marriage wide open. Now he stood at the edge of something final, wondering if there was any point in trying to piece it back together.

Was he heartless for walking away when she finally reached out, or was he simply facing the truth she refused to see?

If you were in his shoes, would you accept her sudden change of heart, or would you close the door on a decade of emptiness?

In the end, who really bears the blame when love slips quietly out of a marriage?