01/27/2026
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
I never cared about being labeled as a divorced woman or called “poj nrauj.” What I didn’t know was how much other people cared.
I didn’t know how closely they watched, how quickly they judged, or how surprised they were that I have the life I have today. The comments: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.” “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺.”
They weren’t compliments. They were disbelief.
When my aunt asked what happened, I said we grew apart and I chose to leave. She said, “𝘖𝘩, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” That was the moment I understood how people rewrite your story to protect their own fears.
Every auntie, every relative I’d run into would ask where my husband is. I say I don’t have one. They sigh, offer pity, and tell me to hurry and get married before it’s too late, so someone can “take care” of me. As if I’m waiting to be rescued.
I say okay, but I don’t see myself getting married again. Marriage, as I knew it, was endless labor disguised as love. The laundry, the dishes, the cooking, the planning, the cleaning. On repeat. Working all day, then coming home to another full-time job. Carrying the mental load. Remembering everything. Managing everyone. Being expected to hold it all together without complaint or asking for help.
Only one auntie ever said this: “You’re already successful. You can take care of yourself and your daughter. You don’t need a man. Your heart may yearn for one, but if your life is good already, that’s all that matters.” Finally, someone who understands that sometimes life is better alone.
She’s right. I’m happy. I’m happy I left a marriage that made me unhappy. I’m happy the relationships I once believed had to lead to marriage didn’t. I had to unlearn the idea that a good life meant being chosen by a man, that love alone was enough.
It isn’t.
Being divorced never diminished me. It taught me that freedom isn’t given. It’s taken. No one builds your life for you. Not a husband. Not a partner. Not a promise.
I married young, without the proper guidance to prepare me for the weight a marriage can carry. That younger version of me should not have to suffer for what she didn’t yet understand. I’m glad she listened to her inner voice and chose herself instead of following women who were taught to stay quiet, stay small, stay married at any cost.
𝘜𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘣 𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘷.
Women told their value disappears the moment they leave. Women who wished they could leave but stayed, and looked down on those who did.