Unfortunately, some love stories fail to stand the test of time, whether a couple years or a couple decades into the relationship.

This redditor’s love story lasted 17 years, before her beloved husband started to change. Soon enough, he told her that he fell in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. Once the divorce was finalized, his now ex-wife made one heart-piercing comment, which was enough to bring him to tears and make his new partner blame her for being the reason the man didn’t propose on Christmas. Scroll down to find the full story below.

Many relationships don’t have the fairy tale ending one usually hopes for

Image credits: prostock-studio / Freepik (not the actual photo)

After going through a divorce, this woman was blamed for being the reason her ex-husband didn’t propose to his new partner

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Image credits: anon

Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Many relationships end in divorce, sooner or later

When entering a relationship, not to mention a marriage, most people hope for it to last. But unfortunately, not all love stories end in a happily ever after; research suggests that as much as 41% of first marriages end in divorce.

According to Census Bureau’s data from 2021, among ever-married adults aged 20 years and older, roughly a third of them (34% of women and 33% of men) had ever been divorced. The percentage of adults (of both sexes) that have undergone a divorce was the highest among those 55 to 64 years of age, 43% of whom have seen their fairytale come to a halt.

While some still find it surprising, many couples decide to go their separate ways later in life, after having spent entire decades together. Research on late-life divorce suggests that while the main motivations for divorce later in life remain the same as those of younger individuals (growing apart, infidelity, spouses’ mental health problems, financial problems, and abuse), one motivating force—growing apart—seems to stand out as a reason for divorce at a later age.

“We found that the primary divorce motivation in late life is growing apart, which could lead to marital dissatisfaction including gradual loss of emotional attachment, decline in caring about the spouse, and an increased sense of apathy and indifference toward each other,” the research read in part.

Image credits: Hrant Khachatryan / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

But a large share of divorced people find love again

The OP and her husband, too, seemingly started to grow apart; but not without a reason. The woman saw a change in her husband’s behavior, and soon enough, he told her he fell in love with someone else. A third party coming into the picture is not an unheard of reason for ending a marriage, though. Studies on causes for divorce found that lack of commitment was the most commonly cited reason for couples ending their marriage.

No matter the reason for divorce, many people end up finding love—and even marrying—again. According to Pew Research Center’s data, remarriage is on the rise for those 55 years of age and older. Their survey found that in said age group, as much as 67% of respondents remarried, according to 2013 data. So did 63% of those between the ages of 45 and 54, 57% of 35-44-year-olds, 43% of people between the ages 25 and 34, and even as much as 29% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

It’s unclear whether or not either the OP or her husband will remarry again. But the woman believed—and told her now ex-husband—that “he now lost the last woman who he would know for sure ever loved and saw him for him and not for his money or assets”, which seemingly struck a cord with him, judging by his reaction. Netizens in the comments assured the OP that she did nothing wrong and ruined no relationship by saying that.

Fellow netizens shared their thoughts on the situation in the comments section

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