Couple Divorces Over World of Warcraft

When Nerd Love Dies

February 19, 2008

And I thought money was the number one reason couples fought! A California couple is divorcing after the husband developed an all-encompassing addiction to World of Warcraft. Jocelyn and Peter had been married for six years when she bought him the multiplayer game and he became quickly obsessed with it.

Jocelyn said Peter spent several hours every day, from 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., playing World of Warcraft after work instead of spending time with her. He couldn't even make time for one half-hour show to watch together, Jocelyn said. Peter even stopped paying bills and doing his part of the housework, and predictably, Jocelyn eventually kicked him to the curb. Where's Dr. Drew when you need him?!

I can actually see how this could happen — people can form legitimate addictions to anything, it seems, and technology only provides a whole new slew of options. I've been barked at by my boyfriend to stop playing with my iPhone or laptop and I've sniped at him in kind. Has anyone else every had relationship problems caused by their gadgets or games?

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35 Comments

Corv 1 year

I never gamed a day in my life until my bf got me on wow. I loved it but Im not half as good as him. we created new toons together but I keep getting slayed pvp wise and hes such a jerk about it, i just wanna break us off over the game, which is stupid and after a few min of cooling down, i realize it but seriously! I dont get mad about the amount of time he spends on it, because he does have priorities like work, school and we bike and hike together but he rages on me over the game and it drives me crazy

blossommac 3 years

my bf plays Wow before we dated, he ask me to try, so i tried, i didn't like it at first, but was his Internet connection was pretty slow. later i tried in my place, and just love it. now we play , but not together 'cuz i up lvl pretty slow

3 years

YES! I feel like his mom at times!! My bf will be so0o *hypnotized* by his video games that I could walk right past the TV and he won't even notice me, let alone hear anything I might say. This has become extremely annoying because he makes me feel like one of those bitchy, needy girlfriends. Why is it that men act like children and then complain when we treat them like one?!

3 years

I have had the same problem. I am a patient person, so I have stuck it out with my boyfriend. He used to be addicted to WoW, but now the addiction has moved to Rainbow 6. I keep thinking its my fault he plays so much, but he has played games ever since he was a kid. Oh well. I just watch TV or go for a walk. I hate being ignored for a video game, but maybe one day he will look away from the TV to see me walking out the door. Like I said, I try to understand and be patient, but there are other things I should or could be doing rather than wasting my time for him to be finished playing his game. I love him, but it is hard at times to know that video games come before me and always will.

SimplicityDivine 4 years

My boyfriend is a WoW player. I can honestly say it is trying my patience and I am about ready to give up. He plays from the time he wakes up until he has to go to bed or work. Even then, when he gets back from the night shift, he plays the game. Which wakes me up and keeps me up ( since the computer is in the room) I love him, but I am becoming very unhappy with how this is turning out. I have talked to him about it about 3 times. He says he will start spending more time with me once he beats his friend to lvl 80... but I do not believe it. I am at the end of my rope with this thing.

lilwildone1202 5 years

my man used to be addicted to world of warcraft-- well addicted might be pushing it but he would play all the damn time. when we were long distance, i didn't care if he played all night bc usually i'd be on instant messanger talking to him..but man oh man when i moved in with him it was an on going battle when he'd raid four nights a week and then come to bed at 1-2 am. i used to freak on him. but then he started playing less and less and then finally he got bored of it. but..yeah sucked

magickalrealism 5 years

Absolutely. My marriage was the victim of Playstation - my ex husband would rather spend hours on it than go to school, talk to me, or engage in the fun parts of marriage. It lasted 31/2 years, and that was all I could take of being ignored.

sparklestar 5 years

Oh I run a big online community but if somebody asks me to unplug then I do. They don't pay me enough to be online 24/7. =P

sparklestar 5 years

This happened to me! I lived with a guy and he would play Guild Wars/Civlisation/World of Warcraft CONSTANTLY. He would get up around 10am (after I'd gone to work) and play til around 3am/4am. He even cancelled attendance at one of my family's events because he'd promised somebody he would be in a certain place at a certain time to carry out a raid! WTF?? I broke up with him soon after the family event cancellation. I think I kind of ended up cheating on him but he also kind of deserved it for ignoring me for the last 12 months. =P

LadyAngel89 5 years

One word... Everquest. When we both used to play, it was a fun pasttime for the both of us to share that didn't cost a lot of money. But now that I don't just work part-time anymore and he still does I've quit playing and he plays more than ever. I don't have time anymore to keep up the house like I used to, and instead of picking up a little slack the house goes to a shambles because he would rather play. Sometimes he would stay up all night while I slept and sleep all day while I was at work. Nothing would get done. He still plays, but we've taken months to work out the issues. It most certainly is an addiction, and is hard to deal with when you're the one that is being put on the backburner.

Alia Miller 5 years

My boyfriend was addicted to this game!! And I mean REALLY ADDICTED!!! His gaming buddies were more important and it almost cost us our relationship! Well actually, I was giving up on him and found myself a toy-boy. Haha. Anyywaayyys to cut things short, he found out and he realized that it was HIS ADDICTION that drove me away. And now he's FORBIDDEN to touch WORLD OF WARCRAFT or ANY games that can destroy our relationship.

freegracefrom 5 years

My boyfriend will get really into a game for a week or two. It's pretty rare though and doesn't last forever. When he gets into that mode, I just devote my time to something else. It only irritates me when he makes us late for something because he doesn't want to stop playing.

Random 5 years

Thankfully, it hasn't happened yet. My boyfriend used to text people during movies or dinner, but stopped after I told him it really bothered me (I know, but I'm one of the people who puts my phone on silence in restaurants, movies, etc. and won't look at it until we're out the door). A couple I know are both addicted, and it's kind of sad. Neither of them keep any kind of real job, and spend all their free time playing WoW. It got to the point where she pretty much dropped out of school because of it, and the few times I was over at her place, she didn't bother to look up from the computer screen.

Phasekitty 5 years

My bf runs an online community and it drives me crazy when he devotes long hours to something that's not his job, doesn't pay him, and eats up the very little time we have together (we both work jobs with super long hours). Whenever we're planning on doing something (watching tv, eating dinner, etc.), I have to tell him that he needs to get off 10 minutes in advance because it takes him forever to pull himself away. It drives me nuts, but we both understand and he doesn't completely ignore me.

missbanana 5 years

hah. funny. ive heard alot of couples (friends of mine) breaking up over this

tglynn 5 years

ack, I broke up with someone over this >< it got to the point to where he'd put his phone on silent so i wouldn't bother him.

pandatron 5 years

My ex was addicted to Halo. I'm a gamer myself, so I understand the addictive aspects of games and what it's like when you're really into something. But you have to draw the line somewhere. You can't let it interfere with reality. He didn't want me to come near him when he was playing, he was overly aggressive during and after playing (it literally took him about an hour to calm down after a Halo session). The worst part was that he did it late into the night, the console was in the bedroom, and he would yell constantly while I was trying to sleep. And whenever I said anything about it, he would turn to me and yell at me like I was the guy that just killed him in the game. So loud, in fact, that we got the cops called on us and almost got evicted for all the noise complaints we received. Needless to say, I didn't last more than 6 months in that apartment with him.

kissmesteph 5 years

I personally haven't, but I know couples who ignore their family and friends (and kids) to play WoW. It's kind of ridiculous. People need to learn self-control.

colormesticky 5 years

Hubby and I are good about getting off the computer or shutting of the XBox when the other starts to feel neglected, so we've never had a problem. My sister, on the other hand, just dumped her boyfriend not too long ago over WoW.

7bits 5 years

I would say the majority of gamers that break up are because the relationships they build IN GAME. IE: spending more time with players than your SO.

JovianSkies 5 years

When my bf and I were going out, he'd play games sometimes, but always included me in some way, so I was never neglected. He'd stop playing because he felt guilty anyway, though I never actually had a problem with it. We're pretty laid back people :-)

i am awesomeness 5 years

HAHA! That's so ironic because this morning in my public speaking class, we had to do informative speeches about a topic of our choice. one student chose video games, and he mentioned World of Warcraft-- how it has been described as so addicting that it has become (jokingly, I hope!) known as a birth control! lol

komler 5 years

I definitely think that it would have made me reassess a relationship if my boyfriend wasn't paying attention to me - at least to a certain degree - in his spare time. Sure, he should have time for his own things, but if we don't do things together, what's the point in spending time together?

tinabeana 5 years

Go to www.gamerwidow.com if you think this isn't real.

TidalWave 5 years

I would a million times over have my bf addicted to video games than tv. Kitkat: "and i got new dresses, but i couldn't play like most could, i got bored after about an hour, and then just kind of went and did sit ups while i put my character on the "follow" command" -- It really doesn't sound like you played the game at all, imo!! lol @ dresses!! they don't even exist in the game! i guess i know what you mean, but yeah, definitely sounds like rpg's are not your thing. this is all about priorities. some people have them in check, some don't.

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