UAE woman explains why she divorced her husband

After 12 years of marriage Umm Mohamed discovered her husband had secretly wed another woman.

ABU DHABI // After 12 years of marriage, Umm Mohammed discovered her husband had secretly wed another woman, so she turned to counsellors at the Family Guidance Division for help.

Her husband, a 29-year-old Emirati, had been unfaithful during their marriage.

“He always said it was the last time and I believed him every time,” said Umm Mohammed who had two children while they were married.

“When I found out that he married another woman, my life fell apart.”

After opening a case, the couple were called in for counselling.

“He refused to come at first and showed up only after they called him a third time,” said Umm Mohammed.

During the sessions, counsellors ordered her husband to give Umm Mohammed and their children a monthly allowance and to pay for necessities.

“Thankfully, I had a well-paying job because when he remarried, he left the house and didn’t pay a dime.

“My job covered my children’s tuition fees and I was paying for everything – food, clothes, the household help.”

“This wasn’t an arranged marriage so I don’t understand how and why we got to this point. I still love him and don’t want to share him.”

Counselling did not work for her, as she could not agree with the counsellor’s recommendations.

“The counsellors told me to accept his other marriage and they would force my husband to do everything I wanted, but all I wanted was that he only be married to me,” Umm Mohammed said.

Her case was referred to court because they could not reach an agreement.

Umm Mohammed’s husband refused to divorce his second wife.

“The only way for me to remain with him was for him to divorce the other woman,” she said.