Is divorce always a bad thing?

First of all I think that nothing is good or bad in itself. It's our perception of it that makes it good or bad.

Even though there are plenty of couples who stick together until one of the two dies, I don't believe that ‘till death do us part' is natural. People's lives are like paths. These paths cross each other, sometimes run in parallel, side by side for a longer or shorter period of time and then take their own course. People tend to regard long-lasting relationships as being one path, being walked by two people, but in my view they're still two paths. They're just so close together that it becomes hard to distinguish them. If these paths lead into different directions at some point in time, it's only natural and in everyone's interest to acknowledge this and deal with it in a mature way.

As you may have already understood, I am divorced. After a marriage of more then 12 years my ex-wife and I have decided that it was better for each of us to split up. Obviously this is a decision that was not made overnight. Obviously this was not a decision that was made without emotion. It was a tough decision, but a wise one. During our marriage we had grown apart and with the both of us not feeling comfortable with our situation, irritation and frustration had already begun to overgrow that what was still good between us.

Once we had decided to break up, the frustration and irritation disappeared and what was left, was the good that was still there: friendship, respect.

We divorced two years ago. I may have ‘lost' a wife, but I have kept a friend.