Escaping an Abusive Marriage: Your Steps Moving Forward

Marriage is one of those life-changing events that people build up and dream of as a happy experience. Knowing that it ties you with a person you love, signaling a relationship that lasts your entire life, can make you feel excited to grow up. The wedding, the family plans, and the future can be within reach, especially when you found the person you want to be with at an early age. However, not every marriage fulfills the fantasy.

There are people trapped in an abusive relationship, far from the dream that they believed as a child. Even if the first years paint an attractive picture, your partner’s true colors might surface after a bad day. Suddenly, escape becomes the closest thing you want out of your abusive marriage. It might be a challenging situation to find yourself in, but you should know your next steps.

Letting Go

It can be challenging for anyone to accept that they are in a bad marriage. People tell their friends, families, and the entire world that they want to marry the partner they love, only to find that they chose the wrong person. Unfortunately, this scenario is regular in today’s world. In America, there is a myth stating that 50 percent of all marriages end up in divorce. Despite being a normal occurrence, there remains a negative connotation to being tagged as a divorcee.

Despite getting involved in an abusive marriage, some people choose not to separate from their partners to save face. They would rather suffer than get humiliated. The first step to escaping an abusive marriage is accepting that you are in one. Letting go of the dream marriage or life needs to happen, even if it ends in heartbreak. Only then will you manage to escape a terrible situation.

Did Your Spouse Commit a Crime?

Divorces can be challenging, especially when your partner is abusive. However, it is critical to know what you experience to finalize your next steps. There are different forms of abuse. Some attack your confidence and emotions, while others put you in an unfair situation financially. However, there are also a few cases that display domestic violence. Those kinds of abuses are acts of crime, making it necessary to inform your divorce lawyer about them.

When you suffer from physical abuse and torture from your spouse, you can get the court to side with you. The penalty for domestic violence could lead to life imprisonment and full custody of children. Once you gather the evidence and create a strong legal defense, you can escape from your partner’s grasp. When the court finds your spouse guilty of physical abuse, the divorce process no longer requires mutual consent.

couple fighting

What about the Kids and House?

There might be some people who manage to escape imprisonment or fines despite being abusive in a marriage. Unfortunately, that leaves you with dealing with them through a long and exhausting divorce process. Your partner might not even agree with your decision. People in abusive marriages tend to give up a lot of things for a shot at making their respective lives happy. Unfortunately, it could turn into a risky situation. The abused person might end up losing child custody and valuable assets. It can be a challenging situation, especially when you cannot give up the things that matter.

Hiring divorce lawyers to help with negotiation terms should be your top priority, especially for your non-negotiable requests. You might have to go to court if a settlement is challenging to reach, making legal assistance more vital to your case.

The New Chapter

The problem with an abusive marriage is the experience can be scarring. Your bad marriage will become a traumatic situation that will never leave your life, impacting your present and future decisions. Your career, dating life, lifestyle, and health might end up suffering, making it challenging for you to move forward. The first few years away from an abusive marriage might not be pleasant. If your issues continue to affect you in negative ways, you can consult with a therapist. However, time can also heal your wounds, allowing you to recover enough confidence to move on with your life and leave your bad marriage behind.

It might take a while before you trust another person enough to give marriage another shot, but you do not have to rush into anything. Should you decide to give it another go, you already have the lessons from your previous relationships to protect yourself. The scars will go away, especially when you end up in the loving arms of the right person.

 

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