Top 20 Petty-as-Hell Modern Divorce Stories
Divorce is messy, but some exes take pettiness to Olympic levels. If you thought your split was bad, these real-life divorce stories will make you feel like a saint.
From frozen pizza fights to lawsuits over wedding gifts, these people turned “till death do us part” into “till I take everything, including your dignity.”
Oh, and if you think pettiness is a modern thing, think again. People have been out-pettying each other for centuries. 👉 Click here to read the most ridiculous divorce stories from the 1600s and earlier.
1. The Wife Who Sued for a Single Penny
Most people fight over houses, cars, or custody—but this woman? She took her ex to court over one cent.
Apparently, he owed her $0.01 from an old bank transaction, and she wasn’t about to let it slide. She hired a lawyer, filed the paperwork, and actually pursued it in court.
Did she win? Absolutely. But after legal fees in the thousands, she might’ve lost the bigger battle.
2. The Husband Who Held His Wife’s Wedding Dress Hostage
After his wife filed for divorce, this man refused to give back her wedding dress.
Did he want it? Nope. He just knew she did—so he hung it in his living room for years.
Talk about next-level bitterness.
3. The Frozen Pizza Court Battle
Most divorcing couples argue about who gets the house. These two? They went to war over who got the frozen pizza in their freezer.
They hired lawyers, filed motions, and actually made a judge rule on pizza ownership. Hope it was stuffed crust.
4. The Man Who Wanted His Kidney Back
A husband donated his kidney to his wife years before they split. When she filed for divorce, he demanded it back—or at least $1.5 million in compensation.
Unfortunately for him, body parts aren’t considered marital assets, so the judge shut that down real quick.
5. The Woman Who Took “Half of Everything” Literally
When a judge ruled a 50/50 split, this woman grabbed a saw and got to work.
She cut their bed, TV, sofa, and even their toaster in half—and then mailed her ex-husband his portion.
Honestly? Respect.
6. The Last Name Legal Battle
Most exes just want to move on, but this guy made sure his wife legally couldn’t keep his last name.
He spent thousands in legal fees just to force her to change it back. Because, you know, that’s where priorities should be.
7. Frequent Flyer Miles: The Real Divorce Currency
Forget about the house or car—this couple spent a fortune fighting over their frequent flyer miles.
After months in court, the judge split them down the middle. Hope they enjoyed their half-price vacations.
8. Wedding Gift Refund Requests
One woman decided that since her marriage didn’t last, neither should her wedding gifts.
So she sued every wedding guest to get half their gift money back. Let’s just say… she didn’t get invited to many second weddings.
9. The Netflix Hostage Situation
This man refused to finalize the divorce unless his ex-wife kept him on her Netflix plan.
That’s right. No house, no car—just eternal access to Netflix Premium. I mean, priorities.
10. The Pet Custody Battle from Hell
Instead of joint custody of the kids, this couple went to war over joint custody of a goldfish.
Court-ordered alternating weeks… for a goldfish.
11. The Spiteful License Plate Change
A woman took revenge on her ex by changing their shared car’s license plate to IMFREE before returning it to him.
He drove around town unknowingly advertising his own divorce.
12. The Husband Who Removed the Toilet
After losing the house in the divorce, this man removed every toilet before handing over the keys.
His ex-wife got the house—but not a working bathroom.
13. The Social Media Smear Campaign
An ex-wife spent her entire divorce settlement to buy Facebook ads… dedicated to publicly trashing her ex-husband.
I guess revenge is best served with a boosted post.
14. The Expensive Revenge Drink
One woman bought the most expensive bottle of wine she could find on her husband’s credit card right before the divorce was finalized… then poured it down the drain.
For no other reason than because she could.
15. The Judge Who Got Petty Too
A judge, fed up with a couple fighting over who got the family dog, ordered them to spend 24 hours together with the dog to see who it preferred.
Neither survived the experience. The dog ended up with a friend.
16. The Literal Wall Between Them
A couple, forced to live in the same house during their divorce, built a wall down the middle of their home.
The best part? They refused to acknowledge each other’s existence.
17. The Ex Who Stole the Letter “E”
A woman, leaving their shared apartment, took every single letter “E” off the keyboards, books, and posters just to annoy her ex.
18. The Lawyer’s Nightmare Divorce
One couple spent $100,000 fighting over a $1,000 couch.
Their lawyers tried begging them to stop, but they wouldn’t back down.
19. The Husband Who “Accidentally” Burned the Divorce Papers
Every time his wife tried to serve him divorce papers, he burned them, “accidentally” spilled coffee, or found another creative way to avoid signing them.
The divorce took years.
20. The Great Wedding Video Heist
An ex-husband was so mad that his ex-wife got the wedding videos in the divorce…
That he broke into her house, stole the tapes, and set them on fire.
Final Thoughts: Who Wins the Pettiest Ex Award?
These people clearly took “petty” to the next level. But now the real question:
👉 Which one do you think was the most ridiculous?
👉 Be honest… have you ever done something just as petty? 👀
And don’t forget—pettiness isn’t just a modern thing. History is full of dramatic, ridiculous divorces, too.
👉 Click here for the pettiest divorce stories from centuries ago.
