Child-Free Woman Goes Viral After Revealing She Left Her Partner Because He Wanted Kids and She Didn’t

A woman went viral after revealing that she had to end her relationship of five years because her partner wanted kids and she didn’t.

TikTok user @jackiedives often share videos with her 60.9K followers on the platform and shares bits and snippets of her life without children. She is quite popular on the platform and regularly updates her audience about having zero regrets for not having kids.

In a now-viral video, Dives, a 39-year-old photographer, artist, and solo traveler, explained her reasons for posting videos about her life without children and said she often receives hate from other people, especially women who claim she will regret her decision one day.

In a stitch to fellow TikToker @the_mrs_sallee’s video, Jackie, known for “Day in the Life” without kids video series, shared her reasons behind her content and said people need to leave women alone and stop asking questions like when are they going to have children.

“I often get sh-t on TikTok for saying ‘This is how a child-free person does XYZ,’ or ‘This is a day in the life of a child-free person,’” she said in her TikTok stitch. “People are like, ‘Why do you need to put in there that you’re child-free? What difference does it make?’”

“The reason I do that is because I want women like the person who I’m stitching (Maelen) to see what a life without children can look like. I’m 39, and I’m child-free, and my experience of being child-free [started] when my partner decided that he wanted to have children. We’d been together for five years, and he actually left our relationship. So I had to decide [and be] very sure that I was willing to let my partner go in exchange for living a child-free life.”

Dives added that when she parted ways with her partner, whom she loved a lot, many people, including her friends and family members, said it was crazy of her to let him go and wanted to remain child-free.

“I really loved my partner a lot, and a lot of people were telling me that it was crazy to let him go and not just have a baby with him. But I knew in my heart and in my gut that I didn’t want to be a parent,” she explained.

“After we separated, it was really hard for me to visualize what my life would look like. I could see what my life would look like if he and I had stayed together. I would be with him, and we’d have a house, a baby, a family, great in-laws, and a white picket fence, the whole thing.”

The photojournalist said she started posting videos about how her life and what it looks like without kids because she wanted to show other women the reality and make people realize that if someone doesn’t want to have children, it’s an entirely normal thing and they shouldn’t judge and jump to conclusions and call people crazy for their life decisions.

“But because we are never shown examples in media or pop culture about what it looks like to be a woman who doesn’t have children, I had no idea what my life would look like if I didn’t go down the path that everyone expected me to go down. It felt really lonely and strange, and I had to go seek out other women who had also made that choice.”

“So that’s why I always say in my videos, ‘This is what a day in the life of a child-free artist looks like,’ because I want women who don’t want to have kids to have an example of what your life can look like,” she concluded.

@jackiedives

#stitch with @Maelen S. women are shown one way to live their life because entertainment media never features childfree narratives. #childfree

♬ original sound – Jackie Dives

Over 3.5 million people on TikTok have viewed Jackie’s video, and it received 11,000 comments from people, many of whom agreed with her and said everyone has the right to make decisions about their lives without worrying about other people’s judgments and opinions.

“I’m so proud of you. I stayed, and I love my family, but in my heart I know I’m not living the life my spirit was meant for. Fly for me, too,” one wrote.

“Not just ‘have a baby with him’ as though it’s what color to paint the walls or what car to buy. Good for you for understanding the gravity,” a second said.

“Having a child is too important to disagree about. You did the right thing,” a third added.

“I am a happy mom of 2 and I appreciate you doing this. Women need to see more than one version of womanhood,” said another.

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Source: TikTok

3 comments
  1. Keep your chin up, while continueing to be you. You have this time to create a life, and create the person you want to be. Do it. I am in a community where women have babies to trap a man. That means he did not get a vote, and it happens so often that it is a signature move. I have not seen it slow down, but instead, continue without regard remorse regret…
    So i find that your committment to stay the course you designed for yourself a beautiful thing. It is thought through and it will keep being challenged by people who have passed on opportunities that they know that should have been taken. It doesnt matter why they did, it may not be that they even know why, but some how you making this choice challenges the herd mentality. I believe that you are more in line with what living is meant to be. And that living out loud, for you, will inspire some and will feel like biting your cheek to others.

  2. I had my child very young, I was 15 and we grew up together. She was/is awesome but, if I had it to do again (and don’t get me wrong, I LOVE My Child) I would not be so focused on the BS that was indoctrinated (as with much in society now days) to me of: 1. you need to find a good man to care for you; 2. You should have children to take care of you in later years and “fulfill you”. ALL BS! I did the have a child, get married, etc. I do Love my daughter but, will she be there to take care of me when I’m old and senile…doubt it and, not sure I’d want to strap her with that. “MEN” right! I went through plenty to find the best match for me (who never wants/wanted children). Kids BREAK your heart…give you years of worry, stress, conflicts, DEBT and…more kids. I have a grandchild I was fully vested in, was my sun and, now…I never hear from her; unless she wants something. I honestly am more content and self-fulfilled when I move again to another place of work and am hundreds of miles away and just have casual phoncons and far enough away they can’t just drop by and visit…because they do not! Which breaks my heart and hurts my feeling on a regular basis so! Good for YOU! You stuck to your gut. I’m pretty sure any of the feel good stories can be cancelled with heartbreak stories and, bottom line: Its YOUR DAMN Business! When I get too old to take care of me, I’ll live in a home and hope for dementia so I’ll not be aware I have kin that could give 2sh*ts less about my existence. YOU DO YOU!

  3. I personally would be happy knowing I was finally free from this relationship with this woman that was going absolutely nowhere.
    She is basically saying she doesn’t think she’s fit to be a mother.
    I certainly wouldn’t want her as the mother of our children not knowing whether or not she was mentally capable of daily love and support our children need.
    If this couple had stayed together and conceived an unplanned child, then later divorced for the simple reasons of infidelity or because she was constantly depressed.
    It’s the child that would have suffered most.

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