I’ve been married and divorced all the in course of eight hellish months. As far as I’m concerned, the marriage never even happened. We’ve both gone our separate ways, have no children, have no debts to each other. My question is this. Do you think it’s necessary that I check the “divorced” box rather than the “single” box for every form I fill out?
Single Sue
Dear Single Sue,
Wow, you don’t sound bitter. (Nudge!) I suppose how you check the box depends on the purpose of the form. If it’s a background check, I suppose technically you should check “divorced,” but if it’s a dating service, for all intents and purposes I think “single” would be just as honest.
Now that you mention it, these forms do seem a little outdated and strange. Often you won’t see boxes for “boyfriended” or “common law.” You instead get the usual “single,” “married” and “divorced,” with there occasionally being an option of “single but attached.” Maybe it’s time for an update. We should include things like “single, but haunted by the past,” and “married, but with a mistress, and seeking even more adulterous mischief,” and perhaps even “married to my job.”
If it is labels you’re worried about after being divorced just once, and the marriage really means nothing to you, by all means I think you have a right to keep it to yourself.
