I’m a 37-year-old divorcee in Delhi, a single mom, and a senior lawyer. A few years ago, I made a choice that reshaped my life: I walked out of my marriage with my dignity and my son. No alimony, no bitter fights over property. My ex-husband was a well-off corporate investor, living in a 5BHK apartment with multiple properties and luxury cars. Soon after our divorce, he remarried — another divorcee who, I heard, had secured a significant sum in alimony from her previous marriage,
For two years, I poured my energy into my son and my thriving legal career. Then, his world came crashing down. His new wife, an educated MBA and engineer who had worked in corporate finance, kicked him and his mother out of their own home. She moved her parents in and then demanded a staggering settlement: five crores in alimony, an apartment, and a BMW car. It struck me then how she seemed to view marriage as purely transactional. Her previous marriage had lasted only nine months; this one, barely a year and a half, with no children involved.
He came to me, broken and desperate. My immediate thought wasn’t of him, but of our children – their future, their stability. I couldn’t stand by and let his poor choices hurt them, jeopardizing what they might one day inherit.
So, I did something I never, ever imagined: I agreed to fight his case. For months, I delved into the intricacies, meticulously gathering evidence, building solid arguments, and ultimately exposing her pattern of short marriages followed by excessive demands. It was grueling, but I was driven by a purpose larger than personal history.
In the end, we secured a fair settlement – far, far lower than her exorbitant demands. For me, it wasn’t about “winning” for him in a vindictive sense; it was about protecting the legacy and future stability that our children deserved.
My confession? Even though he was my ex-husband, I couldn’t stand by and watch him be exploited. Sometimes, the person you once loved still deserves your help… not necessarily for their sake alone, but for the sake of the family you built together, and the future you still share, however indirectly.
