Couples who break up and divorce amicably are, for sure, blessed human beings. For the rest, custody, alimony, accusations, affairs, and toxic mind games are just the tip of the iceberg.

Recently, when divorce lawyers were asked online to share the worst things they’ve seen during proceedings, their responses showed that bitter exes will stop at nothing to drag each other down.

One lawyer recalled a case where a man literally cleared out his ex’s home — stealing all the food and furniture right out from under her and his own kids. Another described a couple where neither parent wanted custody, so they both tried to pass the buck.

We’ve collected the most shocking stories from the thread right here. Prepare to be swept off your feet — but not in a romantic way.

#1

My mom was a divorce attorney when I was younger and one time I told her I didn’t know how she did it, that I couldn’t handle watching people fight over their kids. She told me those weren’t the hard cases. The hard cases are when they’re fighting because neither one wants the kids.

That alway stuck with me

ETA: typo + my most awarded comment is something insanely depressing. Sorry that resonated with y’all.

#2

Coaching young children to make false allegations against the other parent just to win custody. Absolutely ruthless.

#3

Not a lawyer, but I used to be the contact person for our county court’s protection orders, and yes, I have heard some horrible things about how depraved people can be, but one of the funniest (and illegal) things a ex-fiancé did, was set their gasoline soaked wedding dress on fire, in the bed of their ex’s brand new pick up, in the parking lot of the restaurant he was at … on a date with the new fling. Masterful.
(he cheated on her and left her a week before their wedding, but he forgot his calendar was still shared to hers)

She absolutely went to jail, and has a record, but she was smiling in her mugshot.

In most cultures, marriages begin with promises about forever. But a staggering number also end in legal battles. Around 700,000 divorces occur annually in the United States alone, with the national rate sitting at 2.4 per 1,000 people. England and Wales recorded over 105,000 divorces in 2025.

Even though divorce rates have hit historic lows for younger generations in the US, among people over 65, they are skyrocketing. Since 1990, the divorce rate for elderly Americans has almost tripled, and people over 50 now make up about 40% of all divorces in the US.

With numbers that high, it’s no wonder we can’t look away when these courtroom dramas spill into the public eye.

#4

NAL, but watched firsthand how my mother completely manipulated the justice system to deceive my little brother's dad (different dad). Also made my little brother grow up hating his dad. It's a touchy subject for him, but if we try to tell him the truth about his dad, he gets defensive of my mom and shuts down completely to the point we just can't talk to him or he goes berserk. Now as adults, we can't even touch the subject or else he would just cut contact with whoever tried to bring up the subject. It's really sad how my mother ruined his relationship with his father who truly cared for him and just wanted to be in his life.

My mother taught me just how manipulative and disgusting some women can be, just by observing her and her circle of friends. Also taught me how unfair the justice system treats men and puts all burden on them for proof but takes the word of the woman as gospel. I thank God I steered clear of women like her and my wife is the polar opposite.

#5

A famous HC in the NFL once “reconciled” with his wife to get her to move to a community property state before restarting divorce proceedings to lower his settlement cost. I’m not a lawyer but I did speak with a member of the firm he was working with.

#6

Oooh I do divorces, this one happened In 2021 and I’ll never Forget this couple had been together for 30 years, she stayed at home and raised their four children, and they lived in a state with fault divorces. So infidelity and other reasons of fault could be factored into the divorce. He had been trying to sell her on retiring to Colorado coincidentally a no fault divorce state. So he packs her up and moves her out to Colorado and the rule to file for divorce is you need to live somewhere for 92 days in Colorado to file for divorce. He served her with divorce papers on the 93rd day and during the divorce process It turns out he’d been bankrolling a 27 year-old girlfriend and he was easily 65-70 yrs old. They were a pretty affluent couple and understandably the wife had been with husband for 30 years and trusted him, and needless to say she was completely blindsided by the divorce filing. The four adult children no longer speak to their father, and they sat on mom‘s side during the divorce hearings.

When couples who have spent decades together decide to call it quits, the legal battle often turns into a tangled mess. Unraveling a life built over thirty or forty years is rarely simple. Late-stage divorces also carry unique challenges.

A long-term “marriage usually means a shared home, pensions and children. When couples separate later in life, there is simply more to sort out,” says Jess Knauf, director of client strategy at the mediation service Mediate UK.

#7

Not a lawyer but my mom said that back in her country someone she went to school with went to jail for giving her small child medication to make her sick. She always gave it to her before she visited with her dad and she would come back extremely sick or dad would take her to be seen. Social services got involved and dad lost custody because the little girl was groomed to say “daddy puts candy in my drink”

She admitted it like 2 years later. She just wanted full custody and was mad he left her for someone else.

#8

Not a lawyer but I know of a guy who stole the food and furniture of his ex and his own kids, knowing she could not afford to buy more. He also took the car and forged her signature to put the car under his mother’s name. His ex mother in law had asked for a loan to help them start a business, he convinced his ex to just put the business to his name for tax purposes (not in the US) and he kept the business. Cherry on top? She still wanted to have a good co-parenting relationship for the kids sake nd knowing how petty he is, she offered 50/50 custody, no child support, they are to split the kids school and necessities evenly… he makes sure to wait 2 weeks after payment is due, not for lack of money, just because he knows she will have to foot the bill and won’t have money for anything, food, etc. if you ask her why she let him have his way, her answer is that not having him in her life (he would have fought her in court for everything) is worth everything. Also, she called police, she asked for a protective order, she took him to court for it and it was dismissed. They live in the same town and his parents call her names when they cross paths… why? Because she wanted to break up with him because he is a miserable man who makes everyone around him miserable too. It infuriates me.

#9

A family dog been given back to the spouse awarded custody with one of its legs amputated. .

One of the biggest issues in divorces is finances and assets. Over time, couples collect pensions, real estate, joint investment portfolios, and shared debt. Sometimes, hidden accounts or disputed property values can drag out proceedings.

Many marriages also involve an income gap when one partner stays home or works part-time to care for their children. That leaves one spouse facing low social security payouts or scrambling to enter a job market they haven’t been in for decades. Complex legal systems, manipulation, corruption, and prejudice can all turn a simple divorce into an expensive courtroom drama.

#10

NAL - but ex-husband of a friend - framed his wife and said she was dealing in substances. Both are NPs.

He was friend with local cops - gave them the keys to the house, told them where the substances were, and got her arrested at work and served divorce papers. She’s still trying to fight the charges. Corrupt cops and ex.

#11

Not a lawyer, and this happened post divorce, but still, it was just unnecessarily mean.
A client of mine worked really hard and saved up for over a year to take her two kids to Disney World (they were 6 and 8.) It was a decent trip too. She put as much into it as reasonable and was working a ton of extra hours to cover it. She described it as something she was working towards for them to have together after such a hard few years after the divorce. She mentioned several times how she was waiting til the last possible moment to inform her ex, bc she did need his permission, as the school break they were going during would fall during a few of his days. She told him two weeks before.

The week before, during his shifted week with them, he pulled them out of school and took them on a huge trip to Disneyland in California. He pulled out all the stops for it too. His intention was for them to tell her his trip was better.

#12

Usually the most evil thing in a divorce are the lawyers. They weaponize peoples emotions and promise clients the world, which keeps matters before the courts longer and drains bank accounts.

When a marriage reaches its breaking point, women are far more likely to take the decisive step to end it. Social demographer Michael Rosenfeld’s study of 2,538 heterosexual adults in the US revealed that women initiate 69% of divorces — a number that rises to nearly 90% among college-educated women.

This statistic does not point to a lack of commitment. Studies consistently show that women invest heavily in making marriages work, often carrying the bulk of emotional and domestic labor. Instead, high initiation rates usually stem from deep marital imbalances, safety concerns, or chronic neglect.

#13

While the divorce was pending, my client would pray with their young children that Mom would change her mind and that they could be a family again, thereby putting the blame on her. (I saw another guy do something very similar with the kids.) This might seem vanilla, but it happened alongside his broader efforts to weaponize the court system to deceive his wife. I had only been practicing family law for a year. I think he was the first client I ever fired.

#14

My ex destroyed one of every pair of socks I had. 40 pair. Not a single match.

#15

When I was a law student, I witnessed a discussion where it was evident the husband was blackmailing the wife to get a disproportionate share of their money in exchange to not tell their 18 year old kid that she was in fact not his biological child since he'd been with the wife since the child was little and they'd stuck to that story. He had an evil vibe, I'd probably be relieved if I was that poor girl.

According to relationship experts, one of the primary catalysts for women to break up is a partner who completely checks out. “Sometimes the passivity results in long periods of unemployment or underemployment in which the husband neither looks for work nor does any extra parenting or housework. Other times, the passive partner is employed but does almost no parenting or caring for the home,” says Oona Metz, a Boston-based psychotherapist.

Beyond weaponized incompetence and domestic neglect, severe systemic issues drive women to file for divorce. High on the list are infidelity, domestic violence, and financial control.

On one side, years of passive neglect, betrayal, or abuse finally boil over. On the other, a desperate struggle for control and financial revenge takes over.

#16

I will tell you a story of the opposite pov, a (horrible) case which prevented a divorce!

I was with my (then) gf, which I thought was the woman or my life, for 4 years.
Never argued, I always trusted her (I shouldn't, but I would be "insecure" and "controlling" if i was monitoring her moves).

We used to spend the whole day together (except when we were at work), and (it seemed that) we were enjoying eachother's company.
We didn't sleep together for only ONE single night all these years because I was hospitalised with a severe allergy; (Keep it in mind).

I had already proposed and 7 months before the ceremony, she told me she's pregnant!
We were both joyful and started to plan this as either a name-giving/wedding (it's usual in my country), and thus a little later, or as an expecting-couple-marriage, and thus a little earlier.

Weeks went by, we chose the wedding dress etc (you know, invitations bla bla) and I jokingly said: "you know, I am the first from my friend group to have a baby, and we gave a promise to eachother when we were younger (we are all guys) that we will all do DNA tests to our children!"

Her attitude changed immediately, she said she felt pressured etc and she didn't want the child. Stupid me, never connected the dots.
We proceeded with the abortion (it's legal in my country), I PAID FULLY FOR IT, and I thought we would continue our lives as we did before. After a while she decided to leave (as I mentioned we were living together all these 4 years), because she "didn't love me anymore".

I was devastated, helped her move on, while I still had feelings for her.

Many months later a random bartender ,which I didn't know, approached me and apologised to me for sleeping with my GF in a one-night-stand.
I told him he's mistaken, but he described the inside of my house perfectly, and the date he was estimating this happened was spot on the night I spent in the hospital.
(Note, it's a small town, we all "know" eachother by appearance, despite never spoken)

Long story short : I was in the hospital for ONE NIGHT during all our years, she went out, slept RAW by a random dude, got pregnant, and she kept sleeping by my side, eating at my place, and i would have raised another man's kid, if it wasn't for what started as a joke, (I never intended to do a test, i was trusting her blindly).

She never told me...
At least there was no divorce...

#17

Spouses were arguing over who got to keep the family dog. My client had the dog put to sleep so Wife wouldn’t get him. He was no longer a client after that.

#18

Im not a lawyer so I dont have juicy stories. Though I do know of some among my friends divorces that arent mine to share.

But I will say this - if you are, have, or will be divorcing - get a therapist. prioritize that right up there with a lawyer. the smartest thing I did. and if the first one isnt working out, try another.

I went to a therapist who was gold. an older woman, no that wise gramma type. she asked what I wanted to get out of this? "I want to get through this divorce without becoming the bitter divorcing guy stereotype. and I wont do that on my own. so I want a place to drop all that stuff and leave it" and she was great. didnt let me get away with anything. however many times my ex did bad things seemingly to try to get a rise out of me - my therapist gently helped me find my way back on track.

Get a therapist.

Gents, that goes double for us.

Research shows that traditional marriage yields significantly higher perks for men than for women across health, wealth, and emotional well-being. Because the institution generally works more in their favor, heterosexual men are far less inclined to file for divorce in the first place.

On average, married men enjoy better physical health, longer life expectancies, higher career earnings, and strong emotional support systems built by their spouses. When a marriage dissolves, that supportive floor drops out.

Instead of processing the loss, men are statistically more prone to post-divorce isolation — pulling away from friends, burying their grief, or rushing immediately into a new relationship to fill the void. Women, by contrast, tend to lean on existing social networks and take the time they need to heal.

#19

When my parents went through their divorce I was 9, my dad was a bad guy, alcoholic, misogynist, narcissistic sociopath. He cut my mom's break lines twice, once it was when she had my brother with her for his eye appointment, thankfully she had only taken off in the parking lot and noticed, the second time she discovered it when she was trying to leave for work and rear ended a tree. He also came to our house, broke in, and tried taking my mom's life when myself, one sister and brother were at school, and my 2 oldest siblings were home sick. He ran out when they called the cops. He also threatened my mom that he would make her suffer by taking lives of all 5 of us kids and dump us in a ditch on one of his court ordered unsupervised visits so she would never find us or know what happened to us. Thankfully once the divorce was final, he disappeared for 4 years before coming back into our lives with a new wife, and supposedly had gone through substance and alcohol programs.

#20

My client got his life taken on the eve of trial...by her boyfriend.

#21

(Australian as FYI). Two notable examples: one cretin who viewed his children as a prize to be won. On separation his ex kept their nice car registered in his sole name but also the only car roadworthy to drive their 3 kids around in he wanted to have her charged with everything and anything to get the car back. His attitude to "but she has the kids????" "She can figure it out" sacked me immediately after i gave him my advice

Second was a cretin who wanted the kids after his own severe offending ruined his and his ex' relationship and he lost shock horror. Kids are sadly not doing well sadly.

While they can be messy, toxic, and filled with heavy grief and loss, a divorce is also a sign of a new beginning. Staying in an unhappy or dysfunctional relationship often takes a far heavier toll on mental health than a bitter legal battle ever could.

Even so, seeing people go to such extreme lengths to hurt someone they once promised to love forever is a sobering reminder of how fragile human connections can be. Perhaps these stories also remind us how important it is to remain a decent human being.

#22

Not a lawyer but my coworker just told me when his ex wife left, she encouraged their son to file paperwork to get his last name changed to her maiden name so they could "match" after the divorce. The son is like, in his late 20s. And yes he actually did it.

#23

I’m not a divorce lawyer but a buddy of mine’s now ex wife flushed both of his car keyfobs down the toilet before she left.

#24

An American friend (male) marry a Russian(female). They separated for a divorce and she moved out. She managed to get back for "one last night together", and of course became pregnant. After a paternity test he let her move back in. He came home one night from work, the 4 bed, 3 bath house was completely empty. All furniture, everything, down to the shower curtains and canned goods in the pantry were gone. She was 8 months pregnant. She flew back to Russia and asked for $20k to not have his name on the birth certificate. Oh, they divorced.

Edit- he paid because fighting for custody would have cost more and split parenting would have been rough.

#25

Represented the wife. Husband asked to see both dogs one last time. He had them put to sleep so she could not have them.

#26

Not lawyer, handyman. The house that I am currently working on renovating, when the couple bought the house there were no remotes for the air-conditionings, because the husband wouldn't let the rest of the family turn on the AC "to save on electricity"

So she took all the remotes when she moved out.

#27

In the process of withdrawing from a client's case right now. We were working on custody and he decides to beat his daughter. Admits everything to the police, says even worse about it over text to his ex, facing prison time.

This man, with his creative grip on reality, is still insisting we fight for split custody of the daughter he beat and full custody of the younger. He truly, deeply, does not believe he did anything wrong and it was his ex wife and daughter that forced him to do it.

#28

Can I answer even though I'm not a lawyer? A female friend of mine intentionally dragged out the divorce so she could continue living in the marital home while her husband paid half the mortgage as well as 100% of the rent for his apartment. (Once the divorce was finalized, the home had to be sold, so she moved into a rental for awhile.) I judge her for what she did but have never told her how I really feel.

#29

Represented the wife. Soon-to-be ex husband went back into the house after the split and tore out the last 50 pages of every novel she had.

Then he went into her closet and ejaculated all over her clothes.

#30

I was representing the husband. The wife had cheated on him with three of his nephews, one of his nieces and two of his wifes friends. We're from a no-cause state though and she enforced visitation rights with each of the nephews. Because there were three of them though she had them on a rotation every three weeks. The fourth week was when he was meant to have visitation with his kid but she ALWAYS had the two friends over so he could hear them all laughing about him and having intimacy. Poor guy.

#31

When I was an intern I was doing my ER rotation and a woman in her late 30s or so came in complaining of nausea and lower abdominal discomfort for the last few days. I did the dilligent history taking and of course, asked her about the possibility of her being pregnant.

She lost it and went off on me...said she was a lesbian woman and had not been with a man for 10 plus years. Yelled at me to get my boss and let an "adult" treat her.

I reported back to my attending and delineated the tests I wanted done. He was like..."I didn't hear a plan for a pregnancy test." and I was like: "I don't think that's needed...she's a lesbian and hasn't been with a man in 10 years.". My attending smiled and said: "Humor me."

She was actually pregnant. Went back to her room and there were two dudes mean mugging one another about to fight. She couldn't even look me in the eye.

#32

I haven’t handled any family case in over a decade. One of the cases that sticks with me that I handled involved the husband who refused to settle bc he was under the belief the wife stole the remote when she left. He would send emails a mile long about how horrible she was and the theft of the remote was the last straw. He’d call constantly about it. I even told him it was cheaper to just call his cable company for a replacement remote than to blow money from his retainer for me to take his calls and review his emails. Glad when that one was over.

#33

I was handling a worker’s comp case when I saw this related divorce pan out:

Husband was a miner and made good money. Wife didn’t work.

Husband is injured in a crushing accident on the job and rendered quadriplegic. Lots of insurance money is paid to outfit his home for accessibility and care.

Wife demands that she be compensated directly as his caregiver for life. When the answer from the insurance is “no,” she files for divorce and takes the kids.

The poor guy went from being the provider of a full house to an invalid in an empty building.

#34

False allegations of child neglect in order to support custody claims. I wish it were rare. It is not. One of the absolute worst things about practicing family law is the environment in which perjury is considered completely normal.

#35

Child support enforcement. Mother was the payor. We were set to take her to default hearing for lack of payment. She hired someone to take the father's life. Luckily the RCMP were informed so she got arrested instead. .

#36

A dad finding out that his 4-year-old son wasn't his.

#37

Despite the horrible tension between the parents, when a kid has to go to court and basically pick between two pieces of bad.

#38

Husband had terminal cancer and wife was verbally insulting him and taunting him while he was bed bound. I believe she physically attacked him too, but I’ll never forget her voice on the recordings. Just bone chilling.

#39

Where the wife was awarded the wallpaper and lightbulbs. (… wallpaper was on the walls).

#40

NAL, buddy going through one with his ex wife. He is Veteran with full disability and retired. She deceived on child support where she was told to pay him, as she makes way more than him by gaming the system so it be like 50 bucks or something. She refuses to pay it.

#41

We had lived in one state since our daughter was 2. She was almost 13 when I finally told him I was done. He never liked living there which is ironic since we moved for HIS career that he quit. He quit everything and told me he wanted to move back to our home state in the weeks leading up to our marriage ending. Well when we told our daughter we were moving she was obviously very upset and he goes “you see your mother just doesn’t want to be in this state anymore”. I was so close to punching him in the face I had to leave the house for 45 mins to calm down. .

#42

Not a lawyer, but my mother was awarded sole care and control over me when my biological father couldn't be bothered to show up to any court proceedings and just signed his rights away without a fight. That really hurts, man.

These 42 Real-Life Divorce Stories Show How Cruel People Can Be When Love Turns To Hate

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