Shiftheads - Divorce: The Cash Was Gone in a Year. The House Took Thirteen to Buy.

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift · Apr 8, 2026 · 9m

Buying a house after divorce started with losing everything twice. Once in the divorce. Once in the spending that followed because grief and recklessness often travel together and nobody warns you about that part. The matrimonial home sold in 2011. The cash disappeared fast. Debt replaced it. Then thirteen years of quiet, unsexy rebuilding that did not involve a nice car or a comfortable financial cushion.

The house that ended that thirteen-year stretch is 139 years old and sits in a village called Merrickville, Ontario, population a few thousand. The carpet came off today. What is underneath…