Why Indian Women Are Choosing Divorce Over Miserable Marriages

Indian women are waking up to the fact that marriage without love and respect is nothing more than a co-living arrangement. Divorce isn’t the failure society makes it out to be—it’s the courage to walk away from something that no longer serves you. It’s a statement that says, “I deserve better,” and it’s sparking a quiet revolution.
Because at the end of the day, marriage should be about one thing: choosing each other, every day, with love and intention. Anything less? It’s simply not worth staying for.


Let’s start with the kind of suffering no one likes to talk about at family dinners. Abuse isn’t always physical (though far too often, it is). It’s the constant emotional manipulation, the belittling, the gaslighting that wears a woman down until she starts doubting her own reality. It’s the cheating husband who somehow makes her feel inadequate, as if his wandering eye is a reflection of her failure. It’s the addict whose irresponsibility becomes her burden, or the man who shows no interest in his wife but expects her to fulfill every role flawlessly—caregiver, homemaker, mother, and therapist. And when she finally cracks under the weight of it all, the advice she receives is nothing short of infuriating: “Try dressing up more,” “Cook his favorite dishes,” “Be more polite.” The implication is clear—her happiness doesn’t matter; her worth is tied solely to keeping her marriage intact. But why should a woman stay in a marriage where she’s the only one trying? Why should she settle for a partner who doesn’t see her value, let alone cherish it?


In many Indian households, the toxic behavior doesn’t end with the husband. Enter the in-laws—specifically, the kind who thrive on creating chaos. They pit the couple against each other, fueling misunderstandings and widening the emotional distance. What often happens is this: the husband’s mother, who likely endured years of neglect in her own marriage, unconsciously (or sometimes very consciously) perpetuates the same cycle of suffering. Her husband, the father-in-law, failed her emotionally and practically, leaving her to bear the brunt of her life’s burdens alone. So, instead of healing or breaking the chain, she redirects her need for care and attention to her son, turning him into the emotional crutch she never had. Instead of working toward a life where the two of them stand together as equals, he ends up burdening his wife with the same pain his mother endured, perpetuating the cycle of neglect. A husband who neglects his wife’s needs often justifies it as fulfilling his “duty” to his mother, conveniently ignoring the fact that his primary responsibility—according to the very vows he took—is toward his wife. The irony? The same man who will move mountains for his mother will throw tantrums if his wife so much as mentions visiting her parents. The double standard is glaring, and women are no longer tolerating it.


Here’s another unspoken truth: many Indian marriages lack basic emotional and physical intimacy. A woman is married off to a man who doesn’t know her, doesn’t care to know her, and certainly doesn’t put in the effort to make her feel special. Instead, he views her as a means to an end—a provider of children, a caretaker of his home, a convenient presence. Many Indian men don’t understand the emotional depth their wives crave or the complexity of female pleasure, brushing it off as unimportant. Many Indian men have little understanding of female pleasure, let alone the patience or curiosity to learn. For them, intimacy begins and ends with their own satisfaction, leaving their wives unfulfilled and disconnected. The saddest part? Many women don’t even realize what they’re missing, because no one has ever told them that their pleasure matters, too.. The romance? Non-existent. The effort? Laughably one-sided. The honeymoon phase? What honeymoon phase? Many Indian men seem to believe that the wedding day is the finish line of effort, not the starting point. The very concept of dating after marriage—taking her out, surprising her with little gestures, or even just talking to her like she’s a person and not a responsibility—feels foreign to them. He doesn’t bother planning dates or even asking her how her day was, but he’ll spend hours on his phone scrolling through Instagram reels. For the woman, this emotional vacuum is suffocating. She longs for passion, for a partner who looks at her like she’s the most important person in the room. Instead, she’s left to wonder why her husband treats her like background noise while expecting her to revolve her entire existence around him.


Why is it that families can spend lakhs on a lavish wedding but balk at the idea of hiring household help? The same woman who is expected to look like a dream on her wedding day is handed a lifetime of thankless chores the moment she steps into her new home. Cooking, cleaning, managing the household, raising children—all of it falls on her shoulders, often without any acknowledgment, let alone support. The result? She loses herself. Her health suffers, her dreams fade, and the glow that once defined her vanishes under the weight of endless responsibilities. Marriage isn’t supposed to be a one-person job. If you want a woman to feel like an angel in your home, you need to create a heaven for her—not hand her a mop and expect her to make one out of thin air. When a husband fails to step up, his wife is forced to step in, taking on a masculine energy that leaves her drained. She becomes the nagging wife, the overworked mother, the exhausted homemaker, not because she wants to, but because she has no choice. Over time, this imbalance takes a visible toll—stress, hormonal issues like PCOS, and even premature aging. Marriage isn’t meant to turn a woman into a shadow of herself. It’s supposed to lift her up, fuel her purpose, and give her a partner who matches her energy. Sometimes, she spends hours preparing meals for everyone, only to end up eating alone because a “good wife” is expected to cook and serve, not sit at the table with her family. How about cutting through the exhaustion and simply hiring help? That way, your wife doesn’t just play the role of the caretaker—she can truly live like a queen alongside you, enjoying the life you’ve built together, not just running the show behind the scenes.