top of page
Writer's pictureReston

What Happened to that Magical Kiss?

Remember when that fairy tale kiss was so magical? You just could not wait to declare your love in front of family and friends on your special day. So, special in fact, that it cost you and your princess or prince charming anywhere from $35,000-$45,000 dollars, according to Business Insider. A few weeks later reality sets in and normal life begins to ebb away at your dreams of your perfect castle and prince charming or even princess. You do what everyone else does and try to “keep up with the Jones.” This leads you into more debt which leads to more stress. Then you both decide to have children because all your friends are doing it. I mean, who does not want to be a part of the club. Oh, that baby shower and the gender reveal party look like so much fun. Again, the party is over and slowly things change. If you are the woman or man who is the designated caregiver, you begin to lose yourself. No longer does that carefree or free-spirited girl or guy emerge. Instead, you are trying to keep your head above water, keeping a house clean, taxiing little humans everywhere, and running errands that never stop. The list keeps getting longer and longer and the nights keep getting shorter and shorter. You may even have to work on top of this to help offset all the debt that you have gotten yourself into. Then one day, you look in the mirror and you see this figure staring back at you. You wonder what happened to your life? Why am I so miserable?

Your spouse is thinking the same thing. He gets up, takes a shower, drinks a cup or two of coffee, and heads off to work without the slightest interruption. He may even get a great workout in before going to his office. He gets to attend meetings and be productive because most of the time he is the breadwinner of his family. All day long he is surrounded by others who are well dressed and smell good. He even gets to complete tasks, achieve goals, and have real conversations about adult topics.

He comes home and wonders why the kids are screaming, why his spouse has not fixed her hair or even applied make-up. The house is not picked up and dinner is not waiting for him. He just wants to relax because his brain has been stimulated way too much. So, he goes into your bedroom to change and to escape from reality. When he emerges, the house is still in chaos and now every family member comes at him with, “can you play”, “can you help me with homework”, “can you take out the trash?” He hears his phone beep, looks down and thanks God that it is work and they need him to answer a question right now. He takes a glass of wine that his wife poured out for him and gives her a peck on the check as a conciliatory prize, like ‘”keep up the good work, but my job is more important because I am the bread winner and well…you just run the house and raise the kids.” He gracefully exits, and his spouse is reminded again that there will be no break, yet again.

This scene plays day in and day out for several years. Now when his wife looks over at him, there is this hate and underlying current of anger. Sex becomes less frequent and he jokes at the office that it is just like they said it would be. He got married, had children and now sex goes out the door. He begins to look around at all the women who are keeping themselves up and wonder why his wife does not do the same. He begins to confide in a coworker over lunch or happy hour. He may also begin to dabble in watching porn to take off the edge. He becomes desensitized and ignores those who are a part of his family unit.

Finally, he comes home one day and find his wife, angry as usual, and she says she wants a divorce. She says she is tired of him treating her like a slave, nanny, personal shopper, house keeper, and sex slave. These statements make him angry because he has been working day and night to give her and the children all the nice things they ask for. Then he remembers that it does not really matter because this fairy tale was more of a nightmare. The woman he is having an affair with will be a better mother and wife than the one he married who is now just bitter and haggard looking. His answer….fine let’s divorce.


ctherearviewmirror2 on Instagram


11 views0 comments

Did you know that not all life insurance policies are the same? When you have children you should get insured to cover any expenses that may arise until that child reaches the age of a college graduate. Knowing what type of insurance policy you and your spouse has is equally important during a divorce.

Please read below to learn more about each of these policies.


The Value of Insurance Policies


Different Types of Life Insurance


There are basically two types of life insurance policies, Term Life and Permanent Life.

Term Life insurance is insurance for a set time period. After the set ‘period of time,’ the insurance disappears, and you have nothing. These can sometimes be renewed, but the insurance premiums will also increase with the insured person's age as well as any health-related issues that may crop up. Basically, you are paying a monthly fee, but you will not be able to recollect any cash that you put into this type of insurance. The Term Life policies have no cash value, but they will give you peace of mind knowing the person is covered if they die before the insurance expires. Please check and see who the beneficiary is. The beneficiary receives the insurance payout if the insured becomes deceased. If you are not listed, you do not receive the payout.


Permanent Life insurance has names like whole life, universal life, indexed universal life, or even variable universal life. These policies accrue a cash value, which can be taken out even if the covered person does not die. This is something to look at when negotiating or splitting assets. If you need or want to learn more, search the internet for: “What are the different types of life insurance policies.”

Search for life insurance policies. If you find that your spouse has taken out any insurance policies on you, your children or even themselves, fill the Value of Insurance Policy out to determine if this would be another negotiating tool that could be used.


Use the Value of Insurance Policy spreadsheet to determine what policies you have, for how much, who they insure, and when they will expire at. Email me if you have any questions or would like to learn how Divorce Games can help you analyze your marital assets at lisa.a.reston@gmail.com. Or Follow me here:



ctherearviewmirror2 on Instagram

2 views0 comments
bottom of page