Till Death or Tuna Casserole Do Us Part

Unlike in the United States with our no-fault divorces, in England, divorces are granted only under a few categories, including adultery, abandonment, and unreasonable behavior.

So what's a married couple seeking divorce to do?

In England, few divorce cases go to trial, so the parties have to work out — either amicably or unamicably — who is at fault and why. The reasons, which appear in the papers filed by the person seeking the divorce, have no bearing on eventual financial or custody arrangements, except in extreme cases, lawyers say. But they still have to be approved by a judge, which is where some chicanery may come in, lawyers here say.

Here are some of the divorce petitions that have been filed:

The woman who sued for divorce because her husband insisted she dress in a Klingon costume and speak to him in Klingon. The man who declared that his wife had maliciously and repeatedly served him his least favorite dish, tuna casserole.

In one recent case, the husband accused his wife of spitefully tampering with the TV antenna and throwing away his cold cuts. She said he usurped her control of the washing machine and failed to appreciate her revulsion for “intensely farmed meat.”

... there was a woman who said her husband had not spoken to her for 15 years, communicating only by Post-it note. And there was the man whose wife “would without justification flirt with any builder or tradesman, inappropriately touching them and declaring that she could not stop herself.”

One petition read: “The respondent insisted that his pet tarantula, Timmy, slept in a glass case next to the matrimonial bed,” even though his wife requested “that Timmy sleep elsewhere.”

Ah, there's a thin line between love and hate, indeed: Link


The woman who sued for divorce because her husband insisted she dress in a Klingon costume and speak to him in Klingon.

That's an unreasonable justification for divorce. Unless, of course, she refused. Then he should sue for divorce.
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It's a billion dollar industry in the States. Read "Taken into Custody" by Stephen Baskerville. Lawyers, judges, court ordered psychologists, psychiatrists, court ordered mediators, transcribers, therapists, and some of the biggest bottom feeders of all, Friend of the court employees. No fault divorce usually means a man has to spend all of his money if he wants to see his children more than once every two weeks, and only half of it if he is willing to let mom's new boyfriend spend more time with his kids than he does.
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These laws really need to be changed, having to cite specific reasons beyond "we don't even like each other anymore" creates all these futile sounding justifications. The reality is that no divorce is ever refused so why go the hoopla of having to legally cite petty arguments? The amusement and financial gain of solicitors?
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