Oct 07 2013
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FAQs

What’s Wrong With Divorcees?

Q: I have a friend who occasionally makes derogatory comments about “divorcees.” I’ve been divorced and it kind of offends me. Should I say something?

A: That depends. One possible explanation is that your friend has actually forgotten about your divorce, which means you’re doing a pretty good job of acting like a normal person. In this case, say nothing! You’re passing! DON’T BLOW IT.

Another explanation is that your friend is a jerk. If you suspect this is the case, go ahead and say something like, “Nice haircut, jerk.” (That will cut them right to the core.) And then get some new friends.

If you’re just looking to raise awareness about divorcees, consider starting a blog about divorce. That’s the best way to remind people that you’ve been divorced.

Oh, and one last thing. Don’t start a blog about divorce.

If you do start a blog, for the love of God, make it about baby animals.

If you do start a blog, for the love of God, make it about baby animals.

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Aug 30 2013
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Advice

Why Do People Get Married? Part 2

Why do people get married only to get divorced? How do you make that mistake?
This is by far the question we get asked most often, so we will keep answering it in new and different ways until everyone understands. It’s simple, really.
In the old days, there were several reasons that people got married:
  1. You wanted to get pregnant.
  2. You were already pregnant.
  3. You got that girl pregnant.

But nowadays, strangely enough, people often get married regardless of their fetal situations. Even in a state of absolute non-pregnancy, people vow to spend the rest of their lives with a person who they aren’t even particularly fond of. See? You’re not the only one.

Here’s the way it frequently goes down:

You go off to college and you think that you’re very wise and all grown up.  You demonstrate this by doing extremely wise things. Like wearing hemp jewelry. And getting your nose pierced. And joining the local chapter of the Green Party. And it’s at this point in your life, that you meet someone. You start dating and you’re basically soul mates! You like the same movies! He likes Indian food. And YOU like Indian Food! It’s shaping up to be the greatest love story of all time. And then all of a sudden you’re in your mid-20’s and you’ve been eating Indian food, and loving Edward Scissorhands for what seems like forever, and people just assume that you’re going to get married, and you’re one of those people! You don’t even think about it.

You don’t think about the possibility that there are any other options. You’ve known each other FOREVER. And you’re definitely old enough to make big life-changing decisions now.  You’re 23. Sure, he bugs you and he makes you angry but that’s normal. You can’t break up with a person just because they say the word “nuclear” incorrectly, right?  So you don’t even consider the possibility that you won’t end up married. You’ve seen television shows. Everybody Loves Raymond or whatever. They’re adults. They’re married. But they are constantly pissing each other off. That’s what love is, right? Thinking that your boyfriend or husband is a complete idiot. Way to go, Hollywood. Everyone’s been so worried about how the media promotes eating disorders and promiscuity, when the real problem is that it teaches young people that being married means that you’re eternally annoyed by your doofus of a mate.

Anyhow, let’s forget how Ray Romano ruined our lives. You’re 20-something. So old!  And everyone knows you’re going to get married to this person. So you just do it. And you might even know, deep down, that this isn’t the greatest idea. But you can rationalize that you’re doing the right thing. Let’s not forget the Indian food connection.

Of course this does not apply to everyone. There are people who get married at a very young age and stay married for the suggested duration. (Forever.)  And there are even some people who enter serious relationships with someone who isn’t quite right for them and they actually manage to break up with that person before marrying them.

Let’s go ahead and assume that you don’t think that getting divorced is a mortal sin.  Maybe you believe in God, but you don’t believe that you’re going to go to hell for getting divorced. What’s the big deal? Getting a divorce is just like any other break-up except it involves a lot of paperwork and it’s a colossal pain. But there’s no need to be embarrassed.  People break up all the time. People make mistakes.

And the secret is that an ill-advised marriage and the subsequent divorce can be quite amusing. It’s like any painful decision. It’s not so funny at the time. It’s sad. It’s stressful. But with time and distance, you’ll be able to laugh about it. Just like the hemp necklace. But, again, with more paperwork.

Not everybody loves you.

Not everybody loves you.

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Aug 24 2013
2 Comments
Math, Science

Divorce Math

Q: Now that I’m divorced, I feel like I am less desirable to future romantic partners…am I?

A: Oh my. We didn’t really want to answer this question, but I think we have to. To put it bluntly, yes. But it’s not because there is some terrible stigma with divorce these days. There isn’t. Too many divorced people exist to truly have a high quality stigma associated with it. Maybe a mini-stigma, more along the lines of having ADHD. (Note: Everyone has ADHD.) How much less desirable you are can be discovered through a simple desirability math equation. We know, we know. Math is the worst. But just suffer through this with us.

Let’s imagine that people of average desirability are 10’s

Start at 10

Subtract 1 point for being a divorced MAN.

Subtract 2 points for being a divorced WOMAN. (Sorry ladies. We’re just being real with you.)

Subtract 1 point for every child you had with your Ex-Spouse.

Subtract 1000 points if you whine and cry every day about being divorced.

Subtract 1,000,000 points if you ever use the following phrases:  “Ever since the betrayal”…”I’ve found it just impossible to breathe these days”…”Coping with the loss”…. “My divorce journey…”  

Fear not, you can get some points back:

Add 1 point if most people would describe you as “fun-loving”. 

Add 2 points if you have a perfectly symmetrical face, like Halle Berry.

Add 3 points if you can play an instrument other than the trombone.

Add 1,000 points if you can play the trombone.

Add 1,000,000 points for being rich.

Add 1,000,000,000 points if you’re Halle Berry. 

Image

Twice divorced, still desirable.

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Aug 16 2013
5 Comments
FAQs, Lists

How Do You Save Your Marriage?

More specifically:

Q: How do you save your marriage when your husband/wife doesn’t want to try?

A: You get a divorce.

That’s not meant to be funny.  And you probably aren’t laughing. This is a problem that many people face, and unfortunately, the real answer to the question is: you don’t. If the other person doesn’t want to try, there’s nothing more you can do.  You can’t just try twice as hard.  And why would you want to?  God, that’s so much trying.  And trying is just the worst.  If your marriage is in trouble, and the person you’re married to doesn’t seem to care, you should get out.  Get out now.  And save all that “trying” energy for something worthwhile.  Like, learning Chinese.  Or glassblowing.  Or starting a band.  Or doing Sudoku.  (Do people still do that?  Is that a thing you have to try at?  We don’t really know.)  The point is, your energy is better spent doing literally ANYTHING ELSE other than working on your marriage.  It sucks.  But you’ll be glad when you know Chinese and you’re not spending all your time and energy trying to save your marriage to a dummy.

FOR REFERENCE

A List of Other Things That Are NOT Worth Your Energy:

1) High school math — You’ll never use it.

2) Middle school math — You’ll only use it in high school.

3) Sometimes 5th grade math — You will literally NEVER use an improper fraction.

4) Making a cake “from scratch”— What is this “scratch” anyway? It sounds disgusting. Don’t bother mixing together your own sugars and sifting flour when you can buy cake mix for 97 cents that is perfect every time.

5) Trying to be a better person — YOU ARE FINE.

6) Trying to be more patient — Good idea. Have fun wasting your life, waiting around for stuff.

7) Working on forgiveness — Seems like a waste of time when you could channel that energy into despicable acts of revenge.

8) Having defined abs — Unless you star in informercials. Otherwise, dumb.
When you're on your death bed, you won't wish you had sifted more.

When you’re on your death bed, you won’t wish you had sifted more.

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Aug 10 2013
5 Comments
FAQs

Why Do People Get Married?

We like to answer questions here at EGD.  We enjoy a good challenge.  (So long as the challenge is not too challenging.)  And here’s a questions we get all the time:

If everyone gets divorced, why does anyone bother getting married?

Pessimists love this question. People mistake us for pessimists because of the name of this site.  But we’re actually not pessimists at all.  We’re just liars/bad at math. (We concluded that everyone gets divorced after knowing approximately 3 other people who got divorced.)  We know that not EVERYONE gets divorced.  It’s probably only, like, 97 percent of everyone.  But the website is named as such and there’s nothing we can do about it now.

So why do people bother?  Why does anyone get married these days? If it’s not going to last, what’s the point?  Well, there are a lot of reasons that people claim to get married.   Because your relationship is solid.  Because you won’t be part of the statistic.  Because you don’t BELIEVE in divorce.  Because you’re in LOVE and you’re happy and hopeful and optimistic and sure and blah blah blah shouting it from the rooftops.  It doesn’t matter.  You know why? Because you don’t HAVE to have a good reason to get married.  So what if it doesn’t last? Why do people bother getting married?  Let me answer your question with a bunch of questions:

Why does anyone make their bed? (You’re just going to unmake it again.)

Why does anyone get a manicure? (If you’re like me, you will ruin it before exiting the salon.)

Why does anyone have a live Christmas tree? (It’s just going to lose its needles and die.)

Why does anyone have a live PET? (It’s also going to die.)

WHY DO WE EVEN BOTHER LIVING? (WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE.)

Feel better?

The thing is — nothing lasts forever. Unless you’re a vampire who never chips a nail.  In which case, get out of here.  No one asked you.  What we’re saying is: people get married and people get manicures. We know they are not the same thing.  (Manicures are even dumber than marriage.)  But that doesn’t mean there’s no point to any of these things.  (Except for making your bed – that’s always pointless.)  Enjoy them while they last. Enjoy the hell out of them.  And you never know.  You might still be married 50 years from now, and maybe, just maybe, your stupid manicure will last more than 3 days.

Honeymoon's over, nails.

Honeymoon’s over, nails.

 

 

 

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Aug 02 2013
1 Comment
Counterpoints, Graphs, Right?

Divorce Predictors

You have probably seen numerous articles about the # 1 predictor of divorce. But all of these articles are wrong. Or to be more specific, they all give different examples of the # 1 predictor, and we know very well that there can only be ONE true #1. (Except in the case of EGD, where both Jessica and Jeanne are #1.) Some of the alleged #1 predictors are:

1) A habitual avoidance of conflict: These don’t even sound like real words to us.

2) Overuse of “You” language, plus directives: Here are two examples of what this means: You should pay attention. Or, “You are not good enough.” So I guess what we’re saying is, if you want to stay married forever, you should replace those phrases with: “Someone should pay attention…not naming names…but someone in this room…who is you.” And, ” Sometimes people are not good enough. This is one of those times. And it’s you”

3) Frequently invalidating each other’s feelings: Ok, ok. We can see how that might lead to divorce. But what are you supposed to do if your wife’s feelings are always stupid and dumb? What THEN?!

4) Differing values around money: Hm. It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around this one. Are there people out there who don’t think money is the most important thing in the entire world? Really? Shut up! That’s crazy.

5) Cold feet: Here they mean, if the bride or groom wasn’t that sold on having the  wedding in the first place. This seems obvious. If you can’t even get excited about a fun party night with alcohol, then it’s going to be pretty tough to stay excited about a lifetime of nights on the couch eating Fritos and flipping through the Netflix menu. Actually, that sounds pretty good. Nevermind.

Screen Shot 2013-08-01 at 9.55.47 PM

Seems legit.

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Jul 22 2013
3 Comments
Advice, Lists

7 Signs That You’re Ready to Start Dating After Divorce

1. You feel like wearing pants that are not of the “sweat” variety.

2.  You’re craving brunch.

3. You’ve watched everything on Netflix.

4. You’ve reached the limit on cats permitted in your apartment and you’re still lonely but you don’t really care for reptiles.

5. You purchased a ‘buy one get one’ Groupon for gelato.

6. You’re in the mood to play an awkward round of miniature golf with someone you hardly know.

7. You started dating before your divorce.

God, brunch is dumb.

God, brunch is dumb.

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Jul 09 2013
1 Comment
Cheating, Flow Charts

Is SHE Cheating?

As our male fans frequently like to point out, sometimes, women cheat too. Women! Right? So this one’s for you, fellas.  This handy flow chart will help you answer the question – Is SHE cheating?

Is SHE cheating - New Page-2

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Jun 26 2013
3 Comments
Lists, Politics

Defense of Other Things

Well, as you may have heard, the Supreme Court struck down DOMA.  To that we say, “Great! Now what are we supposed to do with our powers of defense??” Marriage is obviously a lost cause.  But we’ve come up with some other things that still need defending.

5 Things You Can Defend Instead of Marriage:

Endangered Species:

divorce humor

You’ve probably been so worried about the crumbling institution of marriage that you’ve forgotten all about the Leatherback Sea Turtles and the Western Lowland Gorillas.  The moral fabric of society is a lost cause!  You might as well save some whales instead.

The Ozone Layer:

divorce humor

Remember this thing?  There’s still a hole in it.

Baby Animals:

adorable teacup pig

So tiny.  So… DEFENSELESS.

Brussel Sprouts:

tasty brussel sprouts
Honestly, they’re not bad.

Your Castle:

divorce humor

What? You don’t HAVE a castle? Oh boy. Did the gays take it from you?!

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Jun 21 2013
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Advice, FAQs

FAQs: For the Parents

This might come as a shock to some of you, but occasionally, you aren’t the one getting divorced. Sometimes, it’s your CHILD that is getting divorced. And you suddenly have feelings about it. Maybe even sad feelings. And it’s pretty common that your child won’t understand your feelings. Maybe your child is actually quite happy to get divorced, and you’re sad about it. Or maybe your child is sad, and you’re happy about it. Either way, we want to help you get on the same page so then you can both focus on planning and paying for that second wedding. So we’ve decided to answer some FAQs. For the parents.

My daughter just told me she is getting divorced from her husband, and I had NO idea things were even going badly for them! Why didn’t she tell me?
Well, the answer to this question is pretty simple. If she told you, say, 6 months ago that her husband is kind of an asshole, then for the next 6 months until she told you they were getting divorced, you would basically hate him. But she would still be married to him. Do you see the problem here? She couldn’t tell you earlier, because then if SHE forgave him, you might NEVER forgive him. And what if they NEVER got divorced? From then on, all holidays would be awkward for her. And she was NOT going to ruin Christmas Eve dinner, she just was NOT going to do that. Trust us. And what about Flag Day? No one wants Flag Day to be awkward.
My son is getting divorced and I will miss his wife so much. We had become very close! How do I cope with these feelings?!
If YOU love her so much, why don’t YOU marry her!?
But seriously. Put on a brave face for your son, man. Lots of people we like in life come and go. But it’s time to be on your son’s team and support him. HE needs you now. She’s got her own parents to whine to.
I’m humiliated. No one else in our family has gotten divorced, my child will be the first. What do I TELL people?
You tell them that your (adult) child got divorced. Do you want to know why they won’t care? 1) No one cares as much about you and your life as you imagine they do. And, 2) Everyone gets divorced. If this is the only person in your family who has ever been divorced, then you have a bigger problem, and that is, you have a very weird family. Or you just have a family of people pretending to be happy. Which is also weird, when you think about it.
I don’t want to pay for another wedding.
That’s fair.
See? She understands.

See? She understands.

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