'I just got back from my honeymoon. I already want to end my marriage.’

Imagine returning from your honeymoon with divorce on your mind. For one newlywed, this isn't the plot of a rom-com gone wrong — it's her reality.

A 30-year-old woman recently took to Reddit's TwoHotTakes subreddit with a story that's ignited heated debate on social media.

Just one month after tying the knot, she's seriously contemplating ending the marriage. Why? It all boils down to a deleted chat and a whole lot of mistrust.

A third wheel on the honeymoon.

The newlywed and her 29-year-old husband were living their best lives on their honeymoon when they struck up a friendship with a 27-year-old solo traveller.

Sounds like the start of a great vacation story, right? Well, things quickly took a turn. The couple even exchanged social media handles with the woman, a move that seemed innocent enough at the time. But during the trip, the husband kept checking the solo traveller's social media stories.

At first, the bride didn’t think much of it. "He's a lot more into socials than I am, so that didn't raise any red flags for me," she explained.

But soon, little comments from her husband began to raise suspicions. "He made a couple of comments that let me know he was checking out her stories throughout the trip," she recalled. Even then, she brushed it off, thinking it was just casual curiosity. "We both thought she was cool," she added.

It wasn't until they were back home that her doubts began to take shape.

"I got curious and checked his DMs," she admitted, noting that they had an open phone policy. "The issue is I found no chat. This is weird because he tagged her in a story that she shared, and according to him, they exchanged a few 'innocent' messages saying nice to have met you. The whole thread was deleted by him."

When she confronted her husband about the missing messages, "he first tried to gaslight me, saying he didn't erase it. Eventually, he admitted to deleting it but doesn't admit to it being inappropriate at all."

He claimed he got "nervous," but that excuse didn’t sit well with her. "To me, this is enough to end it. I have lost all trust because now, even if he didn't do anything, I will never know.

"Plus, how many other things has he deleted I don't know about? If it was so innocent, why would he get nervous in the first place?"

Plot twist: The screenshots.

In an attempt to prove his innocence, the husband obtained screenshots of the conversation from the woman they met.

"I didn't ask him to, honestly I wanted to keep her out of it because again this is embarrassing and why would I trust someone I thought was talking to a married man." 

According to the screenshots, "there was nothing on either part," she admitted. "That does make me feel better, but still, why would he delete the chat then?"

The husband, now remorseful, has been trying to make amends. 

"He has been grovelling relentlessly, apologising 1 million times and assuring me nothing happened. He has gotten me flowers, agreed that deleting the chat was a mistake on his part, and promised to never do anything like that again. He also apologised for gaslighting me when I first asked why he deleted the chat."

Despite his efforts, the bride remains conflicted. "Honestly, it's hard to not believe him despite what some people think," she wrote. "Based on my post, I do trust the man and I'm in love with him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have married him."

The internet weighs in.

The story quickly gained attention on Reddit, with thousands of users weighing in. Many commenters supported the bride's feelings, believing the deleted messages were a serious red flag.

One user suggested, "Tell him Reddit told you how to retrieve messages. His reaction to this will tell you how much you have to worry about." Another added, "Even if the messages were innocent, it’s the lying and deleting that make it look bad. Now he can't prove the messages were not divorce/annulment worthy, so [you] have to think they were that bad."

Others expressed frustration with similar experiences. "I caught my ex on camera talking to his [ex] and saving her pics then deleting the texts, and he STILL denied deleting them," one person shared.

On the other hand, some users encouraged her to take action sooner rather than later. 

"Your honeymoon is something that's supposed to be about YOU TWO. If he acts shady during that, then that's who he is. That's who he will be throughout your marriage," a user pointed out, urging her to consider the bigger picture.

To trust or not to trust?

The newlywed bride now finds herself stuck between "I do" and "I'm done."

"For me, any inappropriate messages with another woman would be divorce worthy," she admitted. "However, so far I have no proof, and I can't let him go over just my suspicions.

"My husband is a great man who treats me amazingly and has never given me any reason to be jealous before," she mused. 

But is that enough to overcome this digital dilemma?

Feature Image: Getty