Hi Folks,

I'm in my mid 30s Male, no kids, was married for 5 years before filing for divorce. It's been 2 years since I filed and the divorce is dragging on, common in my country.

There was never any cheating or physical violence in my marriage. Three years into marriage i realised there was a lot of gaslighting and narcissism in my wife. Her parents were a constant source of meddling and driving here entitled behaviour.

There was a lot of disrespect as well from their end. For example:

- We (in laws) spend more lavishly, so we are richer. (They were not)

- We earn more, so everyone else sucks (was true in the beginning, until I started earning more than them)

- Daughter is a princess, say yes and you will be happy (her dad would constantly remind me this).

- My family was terrible, so I was being isolated from them (They were not terrible).

- My wife felt my friends were average, so no point knowing them and I slowly lost many of them. (They were exactly like me, same school, similar job, same city, same upbringing)

Basically, I was a doormat, but was always the bad guy if I stood up for myself.

My country does not allow No Fault Divorce, and I can't prove everything above. So, my only way out of this mess is to buy my way out of my shitty marriage, where I was treated like shit.

Lately, I fear a sort of resignation creeping in where my bad marriage wasn't as bad or terrible compared to my current limbo life. I feel I should have accepted the fact that this was normal for men these days and I should accept it.

Is it right to feel this way? Shouldn't I hope to meet a better girl and hope for better life in the future? Is it always about money, looks, say yes to everything, she is always right blah blah blah!