Legally, there is very little you can do to prevent your wife from filing for divorce. If you want to stop her from going through with it, all you can do is convince her to remain in the marriage. Convincing your wife to not file divorce may be a tall order or it may be as simple as offering an apology. No matter how hard or easy it is, it's up to you to take the steps to get there. No outcome is guaranteed, but if you want to save your marriage, you have nothing to lose.
Step 1
Evaluate your relationship objectively. No one knows your marriage better than you, but it can be difficult to distance yourself from your own emotions and strong feelings about your relationship. Try to approach the problem from an objective perspective, as if you were looking at someone else's relationship and not one that involves you.
Step 2
Talk to your wife and establish objective goals. Married couples often have difficulty communicating. You can try to establish objective grounds that both you and your wife agree to and use those as a common goal. Whether the goal is to simply have a quiet discussion without argumentation or accusations, working together towards a common goal can be an important step in negotiation and reconciliation.
Step 3
Re-establish trust. There are many reasons a marriage ends, but at the core of many issues is a lack of trust. To re-establish trust, you must first repair any damage that caused that trust to break. If your spouse is willing to repair the damage and re-establish trust, you can do so by offering assurances and apologies, but you must follow them up with acts that prove your trustworthiness.
Step 4
Offer a time-frame. You can start offering concrete examples of your trustworthiness by establishing a measurable time-line in which to evaluate your progress. Offer your spouse a specific amount of time for improvements at the end of which she can file for divorce if your relationship is not improved.
Step 5
Offer a guarantee. Another option you have is to offer a legally binding guarantee of her rights to a divorce. Called a post-nuptial agreement, these documents serve the same purpose as a prenuptial agreement and spell out you and your wife's agreed-upon terms as to what happens if you divorce. The process of agreeing to these terms itself can help you resolve contentious issues and get to the heart of the marital discord.
Step 6
Go to a marriage therapist. Seeking the help of a professional therapist can give you and your wife a neutral place in which to discuss your differences and learn to deal with them in a healthy, productive manner.
