86-year-old woman decides to divorce husband 'who never washed dishes once in his life'

Living in a nursing home in Ha Dong (Hanoi) for nearly 2 years, Ms. Luu Thi Dung still maintains the same daily routine as before. Every morning at 4:30, she gets up to practice longevity exercises. By 7:00, she has exercised and finished breakfast. Her room on the 3rd floor is so clean that it seems like there is not a speck of dust.

At 88, Mrs. Dung is healthy, clear-headed, and is a rare case here who can take care of herself. "Only on days when it's too cold do I ask my grandchildren to help me wash my clothes. Otherwise, I do everything myself," she said.

People around her saw her as a neat, optimistic person, actively participating in all activities organized by the center. Few people knew that her circumstances when she came to the nursing home were different from everyone else.

When she was young, Ms. Dung worked in a government agency in Thai Binh city. In her twenties, she married a colleague (who had been married before), but the couple had no children. Unable to accept the situation of having to shoulder too much housework, she wanted to break up in 1985 and 1992. However, at that time, her family dissuaded her, so she had to accept to continue living.

Normally, the older people get, the more they want to have a wife or husband to rely on. However, at this point, old age, weak health, not receiving any support or sharing, Mrs. Dung could not continue to endure. "For the past few years, I have had back pain, many days I could not stand up. I wanted to hire a maid but he refused. Many days I cooked rice, my back ached and I cried," she said.

She said that during those times of illness, she wanted to ask her husband to help cook rice or wash the dishes, but he refused. "We have lived together for more than 60 years, but we are like strangers. I have sacrificed for him, but he has never reciprocated," said Mrs. Dung.

In September 2014, Ms. Dung decided to file a lawsuit. After nearly two years of legal proceedings, with the help of her grandchildren, she was finally freed from the marriage.Soon after, she moved to Hanoi and the nursing home, only taking a few sets of clothes with her. With a pension of more than 4 million VND, Mrs. Dung was supported by her grandchildren to rent a private room at a cost of more than 9 million VND per month in this nursing home.

A grandchild of Mrs. Dung said that before her father passed away, he told his children to take care of her. "Following our father's will, we respect all of her decisions and try to give her a comfortable old age and the best care," the grandchild said.

In the eyes of her grandchildren, Mrs. Dung is a decisive person, interacts well with people around her, and despite her old age, she is not afraid of changes in life and can adapt quickly. When she wanted to live in a nursing home, her grandchildren took her to visit 5 centers. In the end, she chose to live here because it was convenient to her grandchildren's house.

"She has a pension of more than 4 million and some assets after the divorce, so at the moment we still cannot help her with anything. All of her children and grandchildren love her very much, so we have a fund, and whoever gives her money, we put it there. She will live as long as she wants without having to worry about finances," Dung's grandchild added.

During her first year in the nursing home, Mrs. Dung was not comfortable. By the second year, she truly considered it her home. When she was well, she could visit her grandchildren's homes for a few days, then return to "her home."

Phan Duong