Divorce quite different during pandemic
“We both had been married once and divorced once. They were abusive relationships and traumatizing experiences. So exiting that, it was kind of like, I don’t know if I’ll ever get married again.
“When he and I got together, from the very beginning, we had open conversations. Divorce was never the goal. But because of what we had experienced in our first marriages and the divorce process, we said, God forbid that if we ever do separate, instead of being a harm to each other, let’s be a help to each other. If it does have to end, let’s make sure that we both come out of this relationship with some positives and support from each other. Let’s not be like, oh, my ex-husband, I hate him, he’s such a jerk. We always had that agreement and mutual respect for each other.
“We really tried to work it out. But after about two years, we arrived at the decision that we needed to file for divorce. That’s what we did last January.
“We did not have children together; we both had children prior to finding each other. We were in complete agreement of division of assets. We were not fighting about anything. But because of delays related to the pandemic, it was the end of August before everything was finalized. We didn’t ever see the judge. We just signed paperwork with the lawyer, and the lawyer had a virtual hearing with the judge. Even my divorce paperwork was signed with a digital stamp. It was kind of a weird, unique experience.
“Mainly for financial reasons, we continued living in the same house while waiting for the divorce to be final. I have a four-bedroom home, so it wasn’t like we didn’t have space for him. We were really like very good roommates.
“He didn’t move out until a few months after the divorce. I told him, ‘Dude, it’s time. I can’t start dating and tell the guy, by the way, my ex-husband still lives in my house.’ But I do say to people now that he’s actually my best friend.”
— Jessica Ortiz
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