My Son Spent Years Searching for the Right Woman to Marry, and I Never Questioned His Choices—When He Turned 30, He Finally Met Emma, Who Seemed Perfect for Him Almost every day, I’d hear about how kind and beautiful she was—it was clear my son had truly fallen in love. I liked Emma as well, and he would speak passionately about her to me and his friends, convinced she was the ideal woman for him, so it was no surprise when he didn’t hesitate to tie the knot. As a loving mother, I fully supported his decision. Planning the wedding was no easy feat, but my friends were a tremendous help. The bride’s parents were wonderful and we got on splendidly from the start. At first, everything was blissful, but things shifted over time. Their marriage started to unravel, arguments became more frequent, and I reminded myself it was just their first year—surely things would settle down. Still, I worried because I wanted their marriage to be strong and happy. One evening truly shook me—late at night, my son showed up at my door with his belongings, telling me he had nowhere to go because his wife had thrown him out. He stayed with me for a few days, and Emma never once came round to try to reconcile. This became a recurring pattern. When my daughter-in-law told me she was pregnant, I decided to sit down with them to offer some advice that might help avoid further misunderstandings. Unfortunately, it made things worse—tensions only increased, and my son spent the night at my house even more often. I could see he was struggling; gone was the happy young man I knew, replaced by someone clearly disappointed with life. I couldn’t bear to see my son so miserable in a toxic relationship, so I suggested he think carefully about whether it was worth staying married. I told him he could be a wonderful father even if he lived separately. He soon filed for divorce. Not long afterwards, Emma came to me, asking for my help to persuade my son to call off the divorce, insisting she didn’t want to break up their family. I’d often advised her to look after her marriage, but now she was blaming me for interfering when my son filed for divorce. Now I wonder if I should have encouraged my son to end his marriage. His wife resents me, and my son himself seems to be drifting further away from me. Perhaps they still love each other? Living apart feels wrong, but living together wasn’t working either.

You know, my son spent years searching for the right woman to marry, but I never interfered with his choices. Finally, once he turned 30, he met Charlottewho honestly seemed just perfect for him.

Id hear almost daily about how wonderful and beautiful she was. My son was smitten, properly head over heels. I liked Charlotte as well, to be fair. He talked about her to me and all of his mates with so much pride; to him, she ticked every box, so it wasn’t a surprise when he didnt waste any time and decided to marry her. Being a loving mum, of course I supported him.

Sorting the wedding arrangements was no walk in the park, but my friends really helped pull things together. The brides parents were absolutely lovely, and we all got along splendidly right from the start. In the beginning, things were absolutely lovely between my son and Charlotte. But, as time went on, things started to shift. Their marriage hit a rough patch and the arguments started cropping up more and more. I knew it was only the first year, and I told myself things would settle down, but as a mum you never stop worrying. I just wanted them both to have a happy marriage.

One evening really rattled me. Late at night, my son turned up at my door with his bags in tow. He said he had nowhere to stay because Charlotte had asked him to leave. He stayed with me for a few days, and not once did Charlotte come round or even ring to try and patch things up. This started happening over and over.

When Charlotte eventually told me she was pregnant, I decided to have a chat with them about it. I just wanted to give them a bit of advice, hoping it might help them avoid more fallouts. Honestly, that probably made things worse. The arguments got more frequent, and my son was round at mine even more. I could see it was weighing on him heavily. The joy he used to have was just gonehe looked utterly defeated.

I just couldnt bear seeing him so unhappy, so I gently told him to really think about whether it was worth carrying on like this. I told him he could still be a brilliant dad, even if they lived apart. In the end, thats exactly what he didhe filed for divorce not long after that.

Soon after, Charlotte came round and asked for my help. She wanted me to speak to my son to get him to withdraw the divorce papers; she didnt want to break up their home. I did tell her more than once to focus on her family and try to make things right, but she turned it back on me and made me out to be the villain for getting involved.

I still wonder if I did the right thing by advising him to leave. Now, Charlotte doesnt want anything to do with me, and my sons grown a bit distant too. Maybe they do still love each other, I dont know. Living apart isnt how you imagine things to be, but, then again, staying together wasnt working either… Its hard to know which is worse.