Frey v. Frey

James Frey (plaintiff) filed for divorce from Cheryl Frey (defendant) after six years of marriage, but the two continued living in the same house James built next to his family's lumber business, where he stayed for reasons he said were unrelated to the marriage -- his daughter, the house, and the business. James testified they slept separately and stopped having sex, ate most meals apart (him with his mother, who also did his laundry), while Cheryl testified they kept having regular sex until a meeting with divorce attorneys two years later made clear reconciliation wasn't happening. The couple continued occasional joint activities -- family vacations, holiday parties, dinners out, and marriage counseling -- which James said he did solely for their daughter's sake, and Cheryl did his laundry except his shirts. The trial court found the couple separated on the date James filed and granted the divorce; Cheryl appealed, arguing they hadn't actually separated for two more years and the marriage wasn't irretrievably broken.