People Are Sharing Most Surprising Reasons for Divorce They’ve Ever Heard

Divorce is never easy, but sometimes the reasons behind it can be downright baffling.

A viral Reddit post has prompted users to share the most unconventional reasons for breakups or divorce they’ve ever heard—and they’re definitely delivering.

Since the post, titled “What is the craziest reason you have heard for a breakup/divorce?” was posted, it has received 3,500 upvotes and nearly 2,000 comments from users weighing in.

While the reasons proved diverse, some common themes cropped up. According to the Reddit post, external influences, material concerns and unique value crashes have led to the demise of a surprising number of couples.

One story came from someone who learned of a marriage-ending lighting dispute.

“Wife was sensitive to fluorescent light bulbs, but the husband kept insisting on having them to save the environment,” the commenter wrote. “He would change out the incandescent bulbs when she was asleep multiple times. She got sick of it and filed for divorce.”

Not all breakups are caused by incompatibilities in the home. One Reddit user witnessed a shocking conversation at a restaurant: “A couple of years ago, I was at a restaurant, and the couple next to us were arguing. The lady was upset with the man because he wouldn’t buy her the newest BMW that had come out that year,” they wrote.

“The man started listing all the luxurious things he had recently bought her, including the ring on her finger and proceeded to call her an ungrateful brat. She got up, slapped him and stormed out crying.”

Money and materialism also played a role in another marriage’s breakdown, this time involving a compulsive collector.

“An acquaintance back in my Army days divorced her husband because he could not stop buying collectible G.I. action figures. Full on addiction that he was hiding from her,” the user explained. “Bankrupted them and had amassed a collection of $150k that he tried to hide from her.”

In perhaps one of the most striking comments, a Redditor shared their experience with an unexpected breakup due to a minor difference in interests.

“I got dumped for not liking Disney enough,” they wrote. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Disney movies, and Marvel…But an example of ‘not enough’ apparently is the time I fell asleep at 3:00 AM while she was showing me a silent documentary about the history of Disney Land rides.”

To make matters worse, the user learned that their ex had already moved on to dating others through a niche dating site before the breakup.

Why Do Most Couples Split?

While the Redditors’ reasons for breakups may seem the stuff of imagination, research has focused on some of the more common causes of divorce.

Within a sample of divorcing parents, a study published in the Journal of Divorce & Remarriage found that many reasons for splitting are, unsurprisingly, not so dramatic.

The most selected reasons for divorce from a list of possible choices were growing apart (55 percent), not being able to talk together (53 percent) and how one’s spouse handled money (40 percent).

The stories shared on Reddit may not be the norm, but they are a reminder of how different people handle conflict, expectations and love. Whether growing apart or navigating niche incompatibilities, the reasons couples split are more varied than we think.

Newsweek reached out to u/nigel247 for comment via Reddit.