Ex-wife refuses to give up married name despite being married

She was making a name for herself now—with him.

A woman who has been married to her husband for more than 25 years refuses to give her last name when he prepares to marry again.

Taking to Reddit to tell her story, the 56-year-old said the pair “mutually agreed to go their separate ways” two years ago after her husband came out as gay – 26 years old and a father of two.

Recently, “he got engaged to a wonderful man,” and his ex-wife has been “supportive of their relationship,” wrote the Reddit user, who kept her ex-partner’s last name on legal records.

“But at my grandson’s birthday party, my ex-husband asked me out of the blue if I would consider giving up his last name,” the woman added.

“His fiancé chimed in and said he was uncomfortable with the fact that I still used it.”

She successfully deflected the investigation by joking about having to go through so many government agencies to properly change her name, but no one believed her.

“My ex is not smiling. The woman posted that he insisted it was about starting a new chapter and wanted me to “move on,” noting that it hadn’t been an issue for two years.

“I countered that our kids still have the same name and I would feel weird if I was the weird one.”

She also wrote that, according to her youngest son, “my fiancé feels threatened by my name,” although the woman made it clear she had “no interest in rekindling anything.”

The ex-boyfriend also said his fiancé believed her keeping the name was a “power play”.

“I told my ex I would think about it later – maybe after they were married and settled down. But now, he’s angry and calls me petty and selfish.”

While her children were divided on the issue, the woman’s friends urged her to work harder and insist on keeping the name.

“I don’t understand why names on certain legal documents are so important, but they make me feel like a villain.”

But online, the woman was fiercely defended by some who were at least partially related to her situation.

“I’ve had my ex’s name for 22 years and it’s horrible to change it,” one person commented. “There’s a lot that goes into the name, but like you said, it’s your children’s name and you will always be their mother. It would be too bad if something went wrong with the fiancé.”

Others stressed that the name change had an impact beyond their previous relationships.

“It’s not just his name, it’s the kids’ names too. It’s your family’s names. Honestly, this should be a red flag to the fiancé and he wants to change that,” another wrote.

Meanwhile, a third person pointed out a simple alternative.

“If the claim to his fiancé is so unsafe, he should take his fiancé’s name…it’s ridiculous to ask.”