One year ago, I proudly shared a post about achieving a significant milestone: crossing the $1M mark in net worth as a 46 M (Software Engineer/Founder) + 37F Wife (Lawyer) + 1 Kid (3 Year Old) based out of Delhi.
(https://share.gvine.app/NesXUAgWM4VMDeUd6)
Life was good, or at least I thought it was. Fast forward to now, and everything has fallen apart. My wife has left me, and I’m left with almost nothing. Here’s how it all went down.
It started with little things. She became distant. She was always glued to her phone and was working late more often than before. Being a lawyer, I never really questioned it. I thought it was work pressure, “She’s working just like me. This is what we do.” But deep down, something didn’t feel right.
One day, when I came home earlier than usual, I found my wife in our bedroom with her office colleague, a guy I had met once or twice. I don’t need to say what was happening. My world collapsed in that moment. The woman I had spent over a decade with, building our life together, was betraying me right in our home.
I confronted her right there. I was shaking with rage and disbelief. She didn’t deny anything, and instead, her reaction was cold. She simply said, "It’s over. I’m filing for divorce." No apologies, no explanations. Just like that, my world crashed.
As a lawyer, she knew every loophole, every angle, and she used it to her advantage. My wife knew how to navigate the system better than I could have imagined. She immediately filed for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, citing "mental cruelty." I was shocked, I was the one betrayed, yet I was being painted as the bad guy.
When the adultery claim was brought up, she did what most lawyers would, she denied it outright. Despite my evidence (messages, photos from that day, and even CCTV footage from our society), her legal team played it smart. They attacked my character, saying I was controlling and manipulative.
India’s divorce laws favor women, especially in cases where children are involved. Even though I proved her infidelity, it didn’t matter much in the distribution of assets. Since she’s entitled to maintain the lifestyle she was accustomed to, the court ordered me to pay a huge alimony sum, given my financial status.
The final blow came during the settlement negotiations. Despite being cheated on, I was ordered to pay a substantial amount in alimony and child support. We had a joint portfolio, and it was divided in a way that left me with very little.
I lost about 50% of our mutual funds (1.9 Cr gone) and had to liquidate a significant part of my NPS and Provident Fund (about 60L) to cover the legal fees and the settlement amount. Our real estate investments, including our house, were awarded to her as she claimed she needed a stable home environment for our child.
The international investments that I had carefully built over the years were halved, and I had to give up 75% of our crypto holdings (around 34.5L). Even though she had minimal involvement in building those assets, the court’s view was clear: the wife was entitled to a fair share, especially since we had been married for over 10 years.
The court granted her primary custody of our child. I was given limited visitation rights, something I didn’t even think was possible when I first entered the courtroom. The judge’s decision was influenced by the fact that I was a busy professional, and they argued it would be in the best interest of the child to stay with the mother.
As for my dream of having another child and expanding our family, that’s gone too.
From being worth over 9.15 Cr to having barely 2.5 Cr left in my name after the settlement and legal fees, I’m left picking up the pieces of my life. Most of my investments are gone, the family home is no longer mine, and I’m living in a rented apartment.
What’s worse is the emotional toll. Every day I wake up in an empty home, and the silence is deafening. I’m trying to focus on rebuilding my life. Seeing my kid only a couple of weekends a month is heartbreaking.
If there’s anything to learn from my experience, it’s this: no matter how strong your financial situation seems, everything can change in an instant.
My villain era has begun. Life has given me a second chance. Time to make more money than ever again and make her regret what she did to me.
