©By Cheryl Bolen
Divorces, while not unheard of in the Regency, were extremely rare. Only the wealthiest could afford the expensive process of filing a bill of divorce, which must be approved by the House of Lords before moving to the House of Commons. It sometimes took years for Parliament to grant a divorce.
As women had few legal rights, the divorce petition had to originate with the husband, and in almost all cases was initiated because of the wife’s adultery.
Because few men wished to own they had been cuckolded, only the most furious of husbands would set themselves up for such notoriety.
For the divorce hearings—where witnesses gave testimony to prove adulterous liaisons—generated tremendous notoriety. Printings of the transcripts made bestsellers.
Few woman wished to expose themselves to such scandal. A divorced woman was barred from court and from almost all aristocratic functions. She could not obtain custody of her children, either. And if she went on to remarry (some divorce decrees forbid the wife to marry her seducer) she would be prohibited from presenting legitimate daughters from the second marriage.
This happened to Lady Holland when her first husband (with her full support) divorced her so she could marry Lord Holland. (She also had to sign away her fortune to the first husband, Sir Godfrey Webster.)
Some men braved the notoriety the absorbed the expense of divorce in order to ensure they would not have to give their name to a child fathered by the wife’s lover. By English law, any child born during the marriage was the legitimate issue of the marriage and could claim titles, land, or other inheritances.
A much cheaper—and more common—option for a couple trapped in a miserable marriage was an ecclesiastical separation. The drawback to separation was the inability to remarry.—Cheryl Bolen’s latest novel, Oh What a (Wedding) Night, continues the Brazen Brides series of Regency romances.
Cheryl Bolen's Regency Ramblings 
I knew women had few rights during the Regency period, but I’ve never read such a detailed account of what women had to tolerate due to a divorce. No wonder some couples stayed in miserable marriages and had affairs on the side. I wonder what a woman could do during that period if she was faithful but her husband was not… and she wanted a divorce do she could remarry? What misery there was! I knew there was a reason I liked the trope where a heroine refuses to marry by arrangement and steadfastly stays single until she can marry for love. Thanks for your post, Cheryl. jdh2690@gmail.com
Thanks for visiting, Jan. Love mingling with other history lovers.
The Holland divorce is a very good example. I’m glad you refreshed my memory on that!
Do you remember the sad story of what she did to try to keep her little daughter, Angelyn?