Divorce, once rare and stigmatised, has become mainstream – 42 per cent of marriages now end this way, meaning nearly half of us who get married can expect to experience it in our lifetime. Just as every marriage is different, so is every divorce. In this column, divorcees reflect on their life-changing experience. Helped by the benefit of hindsight, they share advice and reflections.
46-year-old Sophie* spent 20 years married to her husband Rob*. But problems arose when they struggled with fertility. Interview by Lucy CavendishI fell in love with Pumpkin, my golden Labrador, the moment I met him. He was an eight-week-old bundle of joy. I will never forget how happy I was when Rob – my then-husband – and I drove to the breeder and brought him home. We had a little crate for him, and a bed with lots of toys. The first night he was at home, he was crying non-stop. I remember sitting with him in the kitchen. I couldn’t help but take him out of his crate and cuddle him. He looked at me with his beautiful, brown chocolate eyes. I knew then that I loved him.
Pumpkin became my fur baby. He was everything I wanted and everything I needed.
Shorts
Rob and I had spent so long trying to have children. It had been gruelling and depressing. But as I held little Pumpkin on my lap and cuddled him and smelled his beautiful puppy breath, I just fell in love. If you had told me back then that this little puppy would end up as the subject of a painful custody battle, I wouldn’t have believed you.
