A while back, we asked people of the BuzzFeed Community who have been divorced and then got back together with their ex to tell us what happened. In the comments, even more people shared their stories. Here are some of the most unexpected ones:
Note: Some responses were pulled from this Reddit thread by u/Doobadoobadumplin.
1. "My aunt married her first husband when she was young. They wanted different things, they got divorced, and they went their separate ways. They both moved on and remarried. Then, both of their spouses passed away within a year or so of each other. They reconnected and got remarried about 40 or so years after their initial divorce. Life works in mysterious ways."
2. "My one set of patients has been divorced and remarried and divorced again four times!!!!!! I can't keep up with them; every time they come in, they either say we are back together or we can't stand each other."
3. "My husband and I were childhood friends. At age 13, we felt a spark and started dating. At 18, I got pregnant with our son. We eloped, and we started our life over. Little did I know, he had a mistress. When I found out, I gave him a second chance until I found out she was my sister."
"We took a 20-year-long break and got back together. We remarried and were happy until he got with my sister again and had kids together. I broke up and married someone else."
—45, Texas
4. "My husband and I met in the ninth grade and got together shortly after high school. We were friends and ended up having sex and then immediately falling in love. We were very on-again-off-again for seven years, and treated each other terribly, basically (although he was way worse!). Just so much immature drama. We got married at 25 just because we’d lived together for a long time, and it seemed like a fun thing to do. The wedding rolled around, and I had the worst panic attack of my life. I knew I was making a huge mistake, but I also knew I loved him, so it was really confusing. It just came down to being afraid that there was something better out there — I had never dated! I tried to get over it, but we were fighting all the time and ended up separating and divorcing less than six months after the wedding. During our time apart, we tried dating other people; we didn’t find anyone we liked half as much as each other."
"We tried not to see each other, but we shared custody of our cat and, in very 'us' fashion, we never made it more than six months without having sex with each other. We tried not to need each other, but we still always called each other first in times of crisis. And he was there for me, every time. He showed me he had grown and changed by being so consistently ready to step in. After four years of this nonsense, we realized that we couldn’t be apart. We dated for a year before we decided to have a baby and get married again. That was almost six years ago. He is my soulmate. We are completely changed people, and my relationship with him is at the very core of who I am. We needed the time apart, so I’m very grateful for our divorce. There was so much pain, but it was worth it to be where we are now (and forever)."
—Anonymous, California
5. "My parents split up after three years. Because he was always so involved in my life, he and my mom were always close, even when he was living with another woman. They eventually got back together and stayed together until my dad died of cancer."
6. "My parents got divorced when I was a kid, after my dad went to jail. Then, they remarried a couple of years later — I think mainly for financial/health insurance reasons — then spent another couple of decades making each other miserable, with occasional short separations. Now, they're getting legally separated or possibly divorced again, and my dad just moved out."
"It's fairly amicable this time, and they get along so much better when they don't live together, so I'm happy with this last development."
7. "My mom did this! Twice! She married my father and got pregnant with me immediately. She was just 20 years old. I was born; he was a turd. She divorced him and found out a few weeks later that she was pregnant with my brother. They both decided to do 'the right thing' and get married and try to make things work so that my brother and I could be raised by their parents. Surprise! Dad is still a turd. He kept my brother, my mom kept me. I didn’t see my brother for two or three full years. Literally forgot about the guy because we were so young."
"My mom met my stepdad when I was 4. They got married. My mom cheated on him when I was 9 or so? Then, she found out he was cheating on her, too. Weird times. He wanted to work things out. She wanted to be with her boyfriend (he made more money). What followed was a three-year stint of my mom hooking up with rich guys, then hating them and moving us into weird trailer parks overnight.
Eventually, she got back around to my stepdad. They remarried and have been together ever since. I think they’ve been married a solid 15 years now. They really do seem to love each other. I think they just had too much baggage to make it work the first time. They split up, slept around, and realized they just wanted to be with each other. They’re really both happy together now!
I don’t like either one of them, but I think they did the right thing by getting remarried. Moral of the story: If you’re getting remarried to the same person for the right reasons, it just might work out."
8. "My sister got married at 17. He was in the Navy, and she got lonely and cheated. Within two years, they were divorced. She went on to marry and divorce two other people, both of whom were womanizing losers. When she was 52, she bumped into her first husband at the grocery store. They had been living in the same town for 20 years and didn't know it. They have been together for eight years and are engaged. He is a fabulous guy, and they are more in love now than ever."
—Anonymous, Maryland
9. "Married for over 10 years, together for 15. He cheated, I wanted to work it out, he filed for divorce. Not even a month after the divorce was finalized, he came back saying he made a terrible mistake, etc. We tried again. He cheated AGAIN a little over a year later. It’s definitely over now, and I’m much happier and content with my life. He’s still miserable."
—44, USA
10. "My parents first got married in the early '70s, and it lasted a whole 11 months (my mom says they were young and dumb and didn’t know how to handle arguments), and they divorced. My mom remarried (in what she admits was a total rebound — similar first names, similar physical appearance, etc.), had my sister in 1977, and when she was 3 months old, he walked out."
"At some point in the next couple of years, my mom and dad reconnected and remarried in 1980. They were together for 18 years until he died of lung cancer in 1998."
11. "We got married in 2009. I was his second marriage; he had married his high school sweetheart and had two kids. We separated and divorced right before our second anniversary because we were young and trying to navigate coparenting (they hadn't been divorced even two years yet, and their kids were very young). Plus, I wasn't prepared to be a stepmom to such little kids. Wild that separation lasted only six weeks. We got back together (but didn't remarry) and had a great three years. We had our first son, who was born with some major health issues, and he lost his job at the same time. This put so much pressure on things that we spent the next two years back and forth — multiple separations and dating other people. It was a horrible, ugly time full of cruel name-calling and nasty fights. When our son was 2, I wanted to take him to a pumpkin patch, and I was sick of toxic coparenting and knew he would enjoy going so I invited him."
"He actually canceled plans with his new girlfriend (a former friend of mine) to come, and she was livid (I had no idea). That night felt so right that I invited him to come have dinner and paint the pumpkins the next night, which he did. We have been together ever since! We officially remarried about seven months later, have had two more kids (and planning one more), and always talk about how things are better than ever. All the toxic jealousy is gone, and the fighting and mistrust have been worked through. Even our oldest son talks about how we don't fight like other married couples he sees. I have no doubt he is my person, he is my best friend and soulmate. Trusting this and deciding to get back together — even though it was scary — was by far the best leap of faith I've ever taken. If I could do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would in a heartbeat."
—40, USA
12. "We got married in 2007. We were pretty young at the time and had kids soon after. We had four kids and got divorced in October 2020. We both dated other people and coparented well. We started doing more things as a ‘family’ because our kids were fairly young. We slowly hung out more and realized we are meant to be together. It was still during the pandemic, so we bought a motor home and traveled the States. We grew together again while traveling the US. We got married again in August 2021 and haven’t looked back."
"We started a new marriage, and we’re doing a lot better in this new one. We communicate better and just have a better understanding of what it takes to be married."
—39, Arizona
13. "Married at 18. Two kids. Divorced after almost 30 years. After we had separated and were with new partners, we met on divorce day. Immediately leaving the courthouse, he walked me to my car. He asked me out, and after we got unentangled from other relationships, we went out. After counseling, we made it official and got remarried. Been married for nine years. It’s been so enlightening. Love my marriage the second time around."
—50s, USA
14. "This is actually a story about my younger brother. He has a big heart and is a wild romantic. The first time he and his wife were married, it was right out of high school. They moved to Seattle, and after about a year, they were divorced. I remember telling him, 'Whatever you do, don't marry her again!' Five years later, my husband and I were living in Massachusetts. My brother runs into his ex in their hometown, and one thing leads to another. Eventually, she claims to be pregnant."
"He marries her a second time, and eventually, they have a child. Flash-forward several years later, he had a private investigator follow her, and she was having numerous affairs with men she met online. They are now divorced a second time. I didn't tell him what I told him the last time they were divorced in fear that they would marry a THIRD time!"
—55, Minnesota
15. "My parents were married for 12 years back in the early '80s to early '90s. They divorced because he cheated on her for YEARS. They remained friends and decided a few years ago to give marriage another try. The first few months were OK, but it has been a mess since then. He gets jealous and pouts over anything and everything; he will spend DAYS not talking to her but won't even explain why. They argue over everything, every day. He goes on trips for DAYS without her. She treats him AWFUL as well."
"She constantly belittles him, demands he buy her expensive gifts, insults him, and is basically cruel. They are toxic together, and I wish they never got remarried. My mom even said once, after a big fight over nothing of consequence, that she wished she had never remarried him."
—49, USA
16. "My mom got married right out of high school and had my three oldest siblings. They divorced, and she had me and married my dad. Then, they divorced when I was in high school, and she remarried her first husband after, like, 17-ish years of being apart. It’s been about eight years now, they argue like they’re still teenagers, but they’re happy."
"Plus, he’s always been a part of my life because of my siblings, so it’s better than some rando."
And finally...
17. "My grandparents got remarried after 25 years. They had my mom when they were only 16 and got divorced a few years later. Grandma remarried three other people, then they ended up back together. I think they just wanted company and settled, honestly. They aren’t loving toward each other at all."
—Anonymous
Have you — or someone you know — gotten back with an ex after a divorce? What happened after? Tell us your story in the comments below, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, feel free to use this Google form.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.