Should You Date During a Divorce?
Dating your way through a divorce can be tempting, especially if you’re coming to the end of an unhappy marriage and hoping to find something better on the other side.
Before you jump back into the dating game, consider the following:
• As far as the courts are concerned, you are legally married until your divorce is finalized—even if you and your spouse are technically separated.
• Texas allows for both “fault” and “no-fault” divorce. Dating during divorce could be seen as adultery in fault-based cases, and it can certainly make it harder to deny an allegation of adultery prior to separation.
• A fault-based divorce involving claims of adultery could impact aspects of the settlement agreement, including spousal support and/or division of assets.
• If you have children, they are already dealing with confusion and complicated emotions in dealing with their parents’ divorce. Think how much more confusing it will be for them if they happen to meet (or see an email or hear a message from) someone you are dating before the divorce is even final.
• Dating during a divorce will almost certainly inflame an already volatile relationship with your spouse. If you are hoping to reach a settlement or to be able to co-parent post-divorce, you may not want to do something that will trigger negative emotions.
While we don’t condone one over the other, we do strongly advise that you fully consider your situation before moving forward.
