I spent $2,000 to divorce my husband but now we’re happier than ever

A woman who filed for divorce and then returned to her ex-husband just three months later says their relationship is “better than ever” after having a second baby.

Alex Scanlon, 26, of Dayton, Ohio, decided to separate from her husband, Josh, 27, in September 2020 after the couple argued and struggled to adjust to having a newborn baby.

But the couple decided to give it another go and got back together just three months later and despite spending nearly $2,000 in divorce proceedings, moved back in together in December 2020.

They welcomed their second daughter, five-month-old Ophelia, in April 2022 and say their marriage is “better than ever.”

The couple, who began dating in April 2018, got engaged just two weeks after they met and tied the knot in December 2018 after finding out they were pregnant with Harper, now three.

Alex filed for divorce in September 2020 when their constant bickering became too much, and they both dated other people, she said.

But they realized that they had the same problems with their new partners and began to miss each other.

Alex dared to text Josh to tell him how he felt and that he thought they “made a mistake” and he moved again during December 2020.

The couple called off their divorce, which they had already spent $1,948 on, and bought new wedding rings to “start over.”

Alex, a stay-at-home mum, said: “I had a long crush on Josh on social media and was practically stalking him on Facebook.”

“I saw that he was in the same bar as me one night, so I tracked him down on the dance floor.

“We decided to get engaged after just two weeks of dating and then found out I was pregnant three months into our relationship.

‘We managed to plan the wedding in about a day and we had it in my mother-in-law’s living room.

“When we had Harper, we were both struggling to adjust to this new life.

‘I had severe postpartum depression and Josh, and they were constantly in competition with each other.

We were arguing about what each other was doing. I had enough and filed for divorce.

“We both started dating other people, but we still had the same issues, so I realized it was our individual issues.

“I missed Josh and went over to tell him yes and I thought we made a mistake.

“We canceled our divorce lawyers and he moved back in. We are in a really good place now and we love our time with our newborn daughter.”

Josh, who works for Ford Transmissions, said: ‘We were pretty inseparable at first.

“We got pregnant three months into our relationship, got married eight months and had a child a year. We didn’t really have time to get to know each other and our personalities.

‘In our roles in marriage we feel overwhelmed in our own avenues. That’s why we fell.

We thought we would be happier apart.

“At first I was happier not having to deal with Alex, but I started to miss her and miss talking to her every day.

‘Those things that bothered me didn’t seem to be as important as I’d led them to believe when we were together.

“We’re stronger together and we’ve done really well handling all the stress this time around compared to when we decided to split up.”

Alex and Josh met after first messaging through Facebook in early 2018.

“I had a crush on him for a long time,” Alex said.

“I saw that we were already friends on Facebook, so I deleted him and added him back to get his attention.

It worked and sent me a message.

“We were going back and forth trying to set up a date until I was stalking her Facebook and saw that she was in the same bar as me.

I tracked him down and we hit it off.

‘After another date, he didn’t leave after that.’

Josh said: ‘I thought it was funny when she said this to me.

‘I mean everyone makes fun of people from time to time with social media.

“It actually made me feel good to know that someone who felt so beautiful was interested in me.

“Her decision to unfollow me and follow me worked because she got my attention.”

Alex and Josh started dating in April 2018 and decided to get engaged just two weeks later.

“We were at a bar and we decided to go find engagement rings,” Alex said.

“Then a few weeks later we found out she was pregnant.

‘In December I just turned around and said, ‘let’s get married.

‘Two days later we did it.

“We didn’t even have rings, just silicone bands and I couldn’t find a white dress in time to fit my tummy.”

The couple welcomed baby Harper in April 2019 and struggled with the adjustment in their lives.

“I had severe postpartum depression and we were constantly competing with each other to see who would do the most,” Alex said.

All this responsibility was new to both of them.

“We just had this constant back and forth comparison.

We were mourning our old lives.

It became too much tension and Alex decided to call off the wedding in September 2020.

Josh said, “I was upset but I expected it.”

“We both started dating but found out we had the same issues,” Alex said.

“I was arguing with my new partner and he didn’t come to Thanksgiving because of it.

“It made me think that no matter what we argued about, Josh would always show up.

I texted him and said, ‘I really miss you and I think we’ve made a mistake.

He came that night and moved again.

Josh said: ‘Alex had called me and his behavior seemed different.

“She was talking to me in a way that made me feel like she had missed me. And that she was having the same realizations as me.

“When we decided to get back together, we took it easy.

“We focused less on the sexual connection and more on the emotional connection. We didn’t sleep together for about two weeks.

“We were focused on talking and bonding about the issues we were having and what we could do differently to make sure we stay healthy and happy.”

The couple had to cancel their divorce lawyers – they had already spent $1,948 – and became pregnant with their second daughter in July 2021.

Each of them had individual counseling and sessions as a couple to work on their communication within their relationship.

“We were so excited to be expecting again and get past that newborn stage,” Alex said.

They welcomed Ophelia in April 2022 and have loved spending time with her.

“Josh hadn’t even had a baby when we had Harper and I was very critical of everything he did,” Alex said.

“This time he has been learning and listening to podcasts and he has been very supportive.

We still have our arguments sometimes, but when we get to bed, we apologize.

“Hopefully we’ll renew our vows and have a little more proper ceremony.”

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