Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Ex wife still has husband’s surname

630 replies

ByCyanPlayer · 15/01/2026 11:31

Am I wrong to be peeved that my husband’s ex-wife still uses his surname, despite them being divorced 28 years and they were only married for 2 years? They share a son who is 30 but I fail to see why she can’t go back to her maiden name, plus she isn’t the type to be bothered about her and her son having the same surname.

OP posts:
ThatCalmFinch · 15/01/2026 23:06

Does she still refer to herself as Mrs (ex-husbands name)?

cherish123 · 15/01/2026 23:08

It is a bit odd. Most women would prefer their own name post divorce. Did he instigate the break up?

ThePerfectWeekend · 15/01/2026 23:10

My DB was married briefly in his early twenties (no DC). I do find it strange his ex not only kept his name, but gave it to her DC. I did wonder what her DP (the DC's DF) thought of that.

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 15/01/2026 23:12

I don’t really want my ex-husband’s surname, but we have 3 adult children together and I don’t see why I should change mine. On the day he got remarried, I changed mine on social media only to a mash-up of old family names. I didn’t want there to be two Mrs Ithinkof’s - even though we still owned two properties together and were only just divorced 😡 I think you are being VERY unreasonable.

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 15/01/2026 23:13

ByCyanPlayer · 15/01/2026 11:40

A common and short one-syllable surname, nothing unusual or difficult to spell

Miaow 😂😂

Hiptothisjive · 15/01/2026 23:17

FaceEatingLeopard · 15/01/2026 11:34

Log it with 101 ASAP

Agreed. Do you think it warrants a cobra meeting, or a call to the PM just to be safe?

LadyGAgain · 15/01/2026 23:39

Don’t be ridiculous!! Honestly, I never cease to be amazed by some of the bonkers things I read on here!

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 15/01/2026 23:42

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 15/01/2026 23:13

Miaow 😂😂

Just realised you’re describing my surname 😂😂

Cairneyes · 16/01/2026 07:44

cherish123 · 15/01/2026 23:08

It is a bit odd. Most women would prefer their own name post divorce. Did he instigate the break up?

From comments on here, most women DON’T prefer their own name post divorce, what they seem to prefer is to have the same name as their children.

notacooldad · 16/01/2026 08:05

I've been thinking about this post and realised none of my my friends have changed their name back to their original one after a split.

I cant think of any colleagues or acquaintances that have either, although im sure someone must have. Ive even thought about my mum and dad's friends and they haven't changed. One has been divorced since I was a child and never remarried ( I'm 60) and still has her married name. Her ex has been dead for sometime now.

I think people just cant be arsed with the hassle.
IF I divorced id keep my married name, ive had it a lot longer than my original one.

socks1107 · 16/01/2026 08:12

My dh ex wife has kept her married name. Couldn’t care less tbh it’s just a surname and one she took in marriage, much easier when their son was little to have still used it and why then change it after all those years.
yabu

Naunet · 16/01/2026 08:50

You're being a misogynist OP, names don't only belong to men.

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 16/01/2026 10:17

cherish123 · 15/01/2026 23:08

It is a bit odd. Most women would prefer their own name post divorce. Did he instigate the break up?

WOMEN OWN NAMES TOO

Ergo, the name she chose to adopt when she married is her own name.

<wanders off muttering swear words>

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 16/01/2026 10:20

ThePerfectWeekend · 15/01/2026 23:10

My DB was married briefly in his early twenties (no DC). I do find it strange his ex not only kept his name, but gave it to her DC. I did wonder what her DP (the DC's DF) thought of that.

Maybe she just liked the name. Maybe it’s the sort of name she might have chosen for herself. And then it made sense to give her name to her children.

Sunsetseascape · 16/01/2026 11:28

MrsJeanLuc · 15/01/2026 15:19

I don't understand why anybody would want to keep their ex's surname - I changed mine by deedpoll

This a surprisingly common error.
Your maiden name IS your official name (unless you changed to your married name by deedpoll).

If a married woman goes to court, for example, and gives her married name she will be asked to state her maiden name, as in:
Jean Luc nee Maiden

So after divorce there's no need to do anything except start using your maiden name.

Yeah I feel like I’ve heard this before, that actually you never truly change your name on marriage, your “proper” name is still the one you were registered with at birth!

I never looked into the details though so I don’t know the specifics.

Daisywhatsyouranswer · 16/01/2026 11:29

Wow, I’m proper cringing for you op; there is jeakous and insecure and then there is this. That’s a whole new low.

IceStationZebra · 16/01/2026 11:31

Just shows that anybody changing their name at all is a bit daft really

Bonniegirlie · 16/01/2026 11:37

With my ex husband I changed my name back immediately as it was a relatively short marriage. I have now been married for 36 years and would keep my married name this time. It would just be too much hassle. If I had had children from my first marriage I would have kept the name. What difference does it make to you? It’s a real faff to change your name which might be why she’s kept it.

TotallyAddictedToCoffee · 16/01/2026 11:46

I'm 50/50 on this

DH's ex wife remarried using his last name, as opposed to reverting to her maiden name... which I thought was a tad weird, but hey ho. They'd been divorced 10+ years, but share a child, so I assume that's why she kept his name.

But if, after 28 years, your DH's ex hasn't remarried or moved on, she probably sees little point in changing her name back to her maiden name - and it isn't hurting anyone

As a second wife, you need to learn to let go of things like this

Rrlj · 16/01/2026 11:50

I never use to understand this but now as a married mum if I was to divorce I would more than likely keep it because my children have the same surname. Once their grown what would be the point in changing it back after all them years the hassle it would cause. If I didnt have dc I would 100% go back to my maiden name.

Purlant · 16/01/2026 11:54

Why don’t you and your husband go by your surname instead? Problem solved!!

cherish123 · 16/01/2026 12:10

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 16/01/2026 10:17

WOMEN OWN NAMES TOO

Ergo, the name she chose to adopt when she married is her own name.

<wanders off muttering swear words>

The feminist in me is quite cross by your comment !

It's not her name! She chose to change when she married but she isn't now. She's her own person who had a whole existence before she married. If she chose to change her name, that's up to her but she got it as a result of being married. If she's no longer married, I don't know why on earth she'd keep being Ms ExH!

TakeTheCuntingQuichePatricia · 16/01/2026 12:21

Sunsetseascape · 16/01/2026 11:28

Yeah I feel like I’ve heard this before, that actually you never truly change your name on marriage, your “proper” name is still the one you were registered with at birth!

I never looked into the details though so I don’t know the specifics.

My family have always said the opposite. My birth name has apparently never "really" been mine as, had the "normal" order of things happened, I would have married and changed mine.

My brothers SIL didn't change her name on marriage and my brother insists that her name "technically automatically changed" and that she's wrong to still use her birth name. Confused

TakeTheCuntingQuichePatricia · 16/01/2026 12:23

cherish123 · 16/01/2026 12:10

The feminist in me is quite cross by your comment !

It's not her name! She chose to change when she married but she isn't now. She's her own person who had a whole existence before she married. If she chose to change her name, that's up to her but she got it as a result of being married. If she's no longer married, I don't know why on earth she'd keep being Ms ExH!

The feminist in me thinks you're being ridiculous.

The name she uses, regardless of where and when she "got" it, is her name.

Minjou · 16/01/2026 12:30

Sunsetseascape · 16/01/2026 11:28

Yeah I feel like I’ve heard this before, that actually you never truly change your name on marriage, your “proper” name is still the one you were registered with at birth!

I never looked into the details though so I don’t know the specifics.

This true. Your name remains your legal name. If you change it on marriage that's also your legal.name.
You can use either, or both, as you like. I do. I have a passport in one and a driver license in another and use both for work.

Swipe left for the next trending thread