Shortest Snapchat story ever: Saudi divorces wife for snapping

Shortest Snapchat story ever: Saudi divorces wife for snapping
Lack of communication? No emotional connection? Grown further apart? This Saudi groom has just added 'Snapchat' to the list of why people divorce.
2 min read
25 Oct, 2016
The social media app is widely used across the Arab world [Getty]
What doesn’t last longer than a 10-second Snapchat video? One Saudi couple’s marriage, that’s what.

A Saudi groom snapped at his new bride after she allegedly shared footage and photographs from their wedding ceremony via social media platform Snapchat, despite a clause in the marriage contract prohibiting her from doing so.

“There was a prenuptial agreement between my sister and her fiancé that she would not use social-media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram or Twitter to post or send her pictures,” the bride’s brother said.

“It was included in the marriage contract and became binding. Regretfully, my sister did not honour the pledge and used Snapchat to share pictures from the wedding ceremony with her female friends, resulting in the shocking decision by the groom to cancel their marriage and call for divorce,” he said, according to Saudi daily Okaz on Monday.

Earlier this year, another Saudi groom quickly flicked through his own love story after he accused his bride of neglecting him to respond to congratulatory messages on their first night together.

While figures suggest the kingdom’s divorce rate stands at around 30 percent, the cases are not out of the ordinary for the region.

In June, Twitter users put forth their theories behind the various causes of divorce, including parental interference, sexual infidelity and err… even the kingdoms regional-rival Iran.

The Arabic-language hashtag #WhatIsTheCauseOfDivorceInSaudi gained traction among the Saudi ‘Twittersphere’ - known to be the most active Twitter community in the region - shortly after it was introduced online.

Translation: "It's because they put two people together and force them to love each other. Love doesn't come about through force. They find they cannot love each other and get divorced."

Translation: "Poverty, the price of rent, the high cost of living, low salaries, male infidelity, men's weak personalities and women's strong personalities."

Translation: "Incompatible ways of thinking and culture. Men's views on wives' duties such as cooking, sex and making babies. Ignorance of women's rights. Hoping he will change after marriage."

Translation: "The lack of dialogue."

While the exact reasons for divorce cannot be pin-pointed or determined, one thing that may potentially save your marriage is signing out and switching off your phones.

You’re welcome, kids.