TL;DR: I tanked my case because I was caught on her recording grabbing her phone in an attempt to stop recording. In her divorce complaint, she states that I'm a maniac because I canceled, among other things, Netflix, Disney+, Nest, other cloud-based services, etc., because it was *she* that abandoned the house and stated she did not want to return.

Yesterday I had my hearing for the preliminary protective order (Virginia, USA). The judge made us leave the courtroom and have our attorneys engage in negotiations. Because the wife couldn't get a full order to evict me out of the house, they instead dropped pre-prepared (redundant, I know) divorce papers that essentially lay out what she wanted (but could not get) in a permanent protective order.

We're Catholic, and this is coming from someone who was adament they were "against divorce." STBXW completely skipped the whole counseling part and instead went nuclear. Because of an apparent crime (guys, don't grab phones from wives who are recording you), my case was sank faster than the Titanic.

Otherwise, whatever she presented was BS, and you could tell because during my time on the stand, the wife's counsel made objections, but could not articulate to the judge what they were objecting about 🤦‍♂️.

Anyway, right now, I'm in the boat that *I* do not want a divorce, for the sake of kids and to make a some sort of attempt at couples counseling. But, she's apparently deadset that everything is a lost cause at this point.

When she was on the stand, the judge asked, "what exactly do you want". She replied, "All I want it Drew to get his mental health in order." SHE DID NOT SAY SHE WANTED A PROTECTIVE ORDER. That's when the judge made us leave to "negotiate."

In the last five weeks, the wife has displayed a cunning that I *never* would have expected out of her. I'm guilty of telling lies in our relationship, but they lies she told me; the gaslighting; and the leading-on...someone drew that out of her. Maybe props that she's found her voice?...Doubtful

Lastly, I found it somewhat comical in her deposition, she concluded that I was in a "mania," essentially because I had abruptly transitioned to normal family business, and then I also asked for makeup sex after that argument.