Gabriel Mizrahi

And they're like, we understand.

Three Hail Marys and two Toblerones.

Yeah, probably more naive than nefarious based on what we're hearing.

I asked if they ever had misgivings about who they married after the wedding.

Their response?

Absolutely never.

Not a thing.

This is God's will, said with a weird smile and head nod.

This from a religious woman who also had a Bible verse to share for everything.

After about three or four of these conversations, both together and individually, I felt like we weren't making any progress and it became clearer and clearer to me that this marriage was done and not what was best for either of us.

These counseling sessions just further showed me that my thoughts and actions were aligning much more with who I was versus what I had been pretending to be most of my life.

I didn't seek any other therapy, which honestly, maybe I should have looking back.

But at the same time, I felt a lot of clarity and conviction in the steps I took to dissolve things, even though it was hard.

I know I quote-unquote let down lots of people through this process.

I lost pretty much all of my friends from college and the church.

It took a few years to really repair my relationship with my parents, and I was formally excommunicated by this church.

At the same time, it was liberating to finally express doubt in the face of extreme communal pressure and then to step out onto my own path.

But I don't think this is how everyone's story goes.

I did see examples of couples and individuals who sought church counselors and then seemed to stay in the fold, as it were.

So, just like with any sort of therapy, I suspect there can be good and bad gleaned from whatever path you take.