- Joshua Maingi walked into marriage believing he had found a partner to serve God with, only for everything to change just two weeks after the wedding
- When his new bride asked for a divorce, the man who once ignored red flags found himself grieving a future he had already pictured in detail
- Now, he carries his scars quietly, healing, but forever changed by a love that ended almost as soon as it began
When Murang’a teacher Joshua Maingi looks back on his journey, he remembers a young man in campus who believed he had found a partner grounded in faith and purpose.
Source: Youtube
They met during a Christian Union meeting, a place he considered sacred. To him, this was a sign, a partnership blessed by God, destined for ministry, and supported by both families.
At the time, he was in second year while she was a year behind him. Their relationship blossomed quickly, even though not everyone approved.
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Friends raised concerns, warning him of red flags, but he brushed them aside.
“I tried everything to be what she desired,” he recalled, admitting he believed love and faith would be enough to overcome their differences.
Life took them separate ways for a while, especially after he completed campus a year earlier. They broke up, drifted apart, but somehow found their way back to each other years later.
Reconciliation brought a renewed sense of hope, and soon they began planning a future together. Their wedding in April 2016 felt like the beginning of something lasting.
“I knew we would have normal conflicts along the way but believed the two of us would solve them since we had the backing of the church and parents,” he said.
But two weeks after the wedding, the cracks he had ignored during courtship resurfaced. This time, they were wider and more painful.
“She started asking for a divorce two weeks into the marriage. I thought it was a small thing, but it actually happened,” he shared softly.
For Maingi, the shock was overwhelming. He had grown up in a stable home where divorce was never spoken of, let alone experienced.
The thought of becoming a divorcee felt like a heavy cloud hanging over him.
He later realised that communication was the biggest stumbling block between them. Arguments escalated, misunderstandings grew deeper, and on one occasion he came home to an incident where his wife became violent towards him.
That moment became his turning point. “I knew it was time for the marriage to come to an end,” he said.
Yet even as he acknowledges that the marriage failed, he also accepts his share of responsibility.
“I am aware there are words I could have used that may have changed things,” he admitted.
The experience left him comparing divorce to death, not in a graphic way, but in the sense of grieving someone who is still alive, grieving a dream that simply could not survive.
Facing society afterwards was another battle. People talked. Some judged. Relatives questioned. The stigma of being divorced felt almost unbearable.
“I even received several warning letters at my workplace because my boss noticed I had lost concentration,” he chimed.
But through counselling, self-reflection, and eventually forgiveness, including forgiving himself, he began to heal.
Today Maingi is in a much better place. He has moved on emotionally, rebuilt his confidence, and found peace.
Yet there is one thing he still cannot bring himself to do: watch the video of his wedding. The memories are still too heavy, too raw.
Even so, his story is one of resilience, a reminder that healing is possible, even after a heartbreak that came just 14 days into what was meant to be a lifelong union.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
