I’m a 27 years old woman who got married six months ago in India through an arranged marriage. The day after our wedding, my husband confessed something shocking, he never wanted to marry me. He admitted he only went through with it because his parents pressured him. We soon moved to Canada, and just two months in, he told me he wasn’t happy with how I looked and demanded I change.
He said it in the most disrespectful way possible. I stayed quiet, though I did tell him it wasn’t okay. We had a few arguments, but we pushed them under the rug. Then, after four months of marriage, he dropped another bombshell. He explained why he started disliking me. Apparently, he had to “force” himself to marry me. When I asked why he’d do that, he claimed his family had invested a lot in the wedding, so he felt he had no choice but to compromise. This crushed me.
My self-confidence and self-worth were shattered. I told him how hurtful his words were. His response? He said this marriage meant a lot to him, and he would “compromise” for the rest of his life if needed. But I didn’t want to be anyone’s compromise. Then came the breaking point. By chance, I stumbled upon his chats, only to find out he was involved with another girl just three days before our wedding.
When I confronted him, he brushed it off, tried to normalize it like it was nothing. I decided to bring this to both our families. And what did they say? They told me to “compromise” because it was still too early to truly know him. They convinced me to go back to him, urging me to just make it work. Now, every single day is a struggle to find a reason to stay in this marriage. Is this really what arranged marriage is supposed to be a lifetime of compromises.