The Story: A Marriage Lost in Five Days

When we were dating, my wife was beautiful and gentle. It took me three years of pursuing her, outshining many other suitors, before she finally accepted my love. On our wedding day, everyone praised us as a perfect match with “destined faces,” making me feel incredibly proud.

However, once we moved in together—and especially after she gave birth to our two children—my wife changed 180 degrees. She went from being neat and petite to looking disheveled and out of shape. Every day after work, she would be caught in a whirlwind of childcare and housework until bedtime. Whenever I invited her out for dinner or coffee, she would shake her head, saying she was too busy with the kids.

Despite wanting more children, she wasn’t ready to get pregnant again immediately. She decided to freeze her eggs to wait for a more suitable time.

I repeatedly reminded her to take weight loss supplements, do yoga, or hit the gym to regain her figure and health, but she always claimed she had no time. She even turned around and blamed me, saying that because I often hung out with friends after work instead of helping at home, she was constantly overwhelmed. “How can I be beautiful and fragrant under these conditions?” she’d argue.

I dismissed her reasons as mere excuses. I figured she had just grown accustomed to the “stay-at-home mom” look and couldn’t transform back. I urged her to have a third child, but she refused to do it right away. She froze her eggs to ensure she could still conceive later, even past her prime reproductive years.

Over time, looking at her made me feel bored and fed up, leading me to start an affair without even realizing it. My mistress was a fresh graduate—young, sweet, and fragrant. With her, I felt rejuvenated and relaxed. She didn’t complain like my wife did.

To hide the affair, I played a part. We never met on weekends, only during lunch breaks. Sometimes, I would lie about business trips to spend a few comfortable days with my mistress. Since my wife was always buried in chores and childcare, she never noticed a thing—or so I thought.

This summer, my wife suggested a week-long trip to Saigon to visit her father, but I declined, claiming I had run out of leave days. So, she planned to fly there with the two kids in early July.

Last week, I told her I had a 5-day business trip. She cheerfully packed my suitcase. Relieved that my lie worked so smoothly, I headed to the airport for a getaway in Da Nang with my lover.

During those five days by the beach, I cherished every second and didn’t bother calling home to check on my nagging wife. Strangely, she didn’t call me either. I thought maybe she was just sulking because I didn’t join the family trip, so I didn’t care much.

When I returned home that evening, the house was pitch black. No matter how much I called, she didn’t answer or open the door. Just then, my neighbor looked over and told me that my wife had sold the house to someone else. She had left my belongings at his place for me to pick up.

I turned pale. When I checked, I found several suitcases of my clothes and a divorce petition already signed by her. There was a small note saying she had known about my mistress and our trip all along. She had been planning to sell the house and secure my assets for a long time. Once everything was settled, she finalized the divorce.

In an attempt to win her back, I plan to ask her to have a third child using her frozen eggs. After only a five-day vacation, I have lost everything and ended up empty-handed. Now that she knows everything and is determined to leave, I feel deep regret. I will try to find her and beg for her and the kids to come home. I’ll claim I still love her and suggest having a third child soon so the kids can have both parents. I wonder, though, how effective is conception with frozen eggs?

Medical Information: The Success Rate of Frozen Eggs

What is the success rate of conception using frozen eggs?

Over time, a woman’s eggs undergo aging and a significant decrease in quantity, leading to lower fertility. Consequently, many young women who plan to marry late opt for egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation).

This method involves harvesting unfertilized eggs from the ovaries and storing them in deep-freeze conditions. Once thawed, a frozen egg can be combined with sperm in a laboratory and implanted into the mother’s uterus.

Research indicates that frozen eggs do not significantly alter the chances of a successful pregnancy. Specifically:

• Women under 38 who have 20 or more mature eggs thawed achieve a 70% success rate in pregnancy.

• The study also found 14 cases where women aged 41–43 successfully had children using their own frozen eggs. This age group is particularly notable as they have moved past their peak reproductive years.

Scientists involved in the study noted that the screening tests performed before egg freezing contribute to lower miscarriage rates and higher pregnancy success rates per embryo transfer. They also emphasized that screening ensures a safer single embryo transfer process for both mother and child.