The story of a woman married at 14, made a mother 10 months later and divorced at 16 may prove insightful to some Ohio spouses. Her husband was abusive and, because of this, he was served with divorce papers. Once he found out about her intentions, the man came to her parents’ house where she was living at the time accosted her, removing the rings that he bestowed upon her.
Later, he would refuse to pay both child support and alimony, totaling $140 per month. This was during the 1960s though, and that amount of money meant much more then than it does now.
But when he entered her room at her parents’ house with obvious anger, she was afraid. He grabbed her arm and twisted it while he removed the rings. She was frightened and remembered the time that he gave her a black eye.
He managed to remove the rings and began to leave the room when she threw a glass at him that missed and shattered on the wall. Instead of leaving, he returned and threatened to keep their child from her. After that, he left the house.
Though a judge awarded the woman $80 in spousal support and $60 in child support, it was not paid. Another teenage mother helped this woman file for public assistance. Eventually, a case worker helped her file charges against her ex-husband for the unpaid support.
After the dust began to settle, the ex-wife began searching for new men to date, but did not have any positive luck. However, later on, her relationship with her child’s father was rekindled but she decided that she was not ready to get back together with him, despite the two spending time on a cruise together and her forgiving him for the abusive acts he committed against her.
Source: Huffington Post, “Divorced At Sixteen,” Lucille Lang Day, Aug. 11, 2012
