After Remarriage, Seeing a Spouse Struggle... Man Says "Serves Them Right," Woman Says "Of Course"

A survey found that when hearing news that an ex-spouse remarried and is living a difficult life, men tend to feel "serves them right," while women accept it as "only natural."

On the 15th, Only-U, a remarriage-specialized matchmaking company, conducted a joint survey with matchmaking company Bienarae targeting 538 divorced men and women nationwide who hope to remarry (269 men and 269 women each). The survey was conducted via email and the internet, with the main question being, "How would you feel if your ex-spouse remarried and is living a difficult life?"

[Image source=Pixabay]

Regarding this question, 37.2% of male respondents answered "serves them right," and 39.0% of female respondents answered "only natural," marking the highest percentages for each gender.

Following that, men answered "only natural (34.2%)," and women answered "serves them right (36.1%)," with "feel sorry (men 17.9%, women 17.1%)" and "want to help (men 10.7%, women 7.8%)" coming next in order.

Son Dong-gyu, CEO of Only-U, explained, "In Korea, since women initiate divorce more often, men are often in a passive position in divorces. Men who are divorced tend to think of suing if their ex-spouse remarries and lives poorly, while women who suffered from their ex-spouse believe it is only natural that the other party lives badly."

When asked, "How would you feel if your ex-spouse remarried and is living happily?" the responses "jealous (men 34.5%, women 40.2%)" and "try to ignore (men 38.3%, women 36.4%)" ranked first and second respectively.

After that, men answered "want to congratulate (16.0%)" followed by "want to sabotage (11.2%)," while women answered "want to sabotage (15.2%)" followed by "want to congratulate (8.2%)."

An Only-U official interpreted, "There is a proverb, 'When a cousin buys land, your stomach aches.' Especially if the ex-spouse, with whom there was accumulated resentment due to a painful marriage, remarries and lives well, it is easier to ignore rather than congratulate."

Finally, when asked, "What is your relationship with your ex-spouse after divorce?" men most frequently answered "relationship as the mother of the child (36.1%)," followed by "strangers (35.3%)." Women answered "strangers (43.1%)" most, followed by "relationship as the father of the child (33.1%)."

Other answers included "acquaintances (men 16.4%, women 15.2%)" and "friends (men 12.2%, women 8.6%)."

Lee Kyung, General Manager of Bienarae, explained, "In Korea, it is common to treat an ex-spouse like an enemy after divorce. Therefore, except for work-related interactions concerning children, it is natural to become strangers after divorce."

CEO Son said, "In Korea, many endure and tolerate difficult marriages before divorcing. Therefore, even if an ex-spouse remarries and lives well, it is hard to congratulate them, and if they live a difficult life after remarriage, it is also difficult to sympathize or comfort them in reality."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.