Disclaimer: All facts gleaned from the filings stated hereafter are only as truthful as the petitioner. The tone of this article expresses a style of writing historically employed by America’s greatest writers and, as such, is for opinion purposes only. No intentional harm is due. Do not read if the topic of divorce (even your own) causes you emotional distress. Continue at your own risk.

They were once partners, co-owners of a house in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, with its neatly furnished living room and a kitchen full of shared appliances. But in the paperwork filed just after midnight on July 28, 2025, Mark Steven Forbes made it official: the marriage to Lidia Jozefa Forbes was over, at least in the eyes of the law.

The case docketed in Cook County Circuit Court’s Domestic Relations Division reflects the nature of modern divorce—efficient and virtual. There is no upcoming court date listed. Like all domestic matters now, it will be handled remotely, through the impersonal lens of a webcam.

According to the petition, filed by Mark’s attorney Thomas J. Gabryszewski, the marriage began in 2008 and had effectively collapsed by May of last year. “Irreconcilable differences,” the paperwork says. The kind of phrase that compresses years of silence, arguments, and drifting into just two words.

There are no children in the mix—none born or adopted—and neither party is seeking spousal maintenance. That’s because they agreed to that nearly a decade ago, in a February 2016 Marital Settlement Agreement that settled the major issues of division and support.

That deal reads like a ledger of what remained worth dividing: Mark would pay Lidia $125,000 in exchange for her signing over the Buffalo Grove home via quitclaim deed. She would vacate the property, leaving behind most of the furniture—listed in careful detail, down to the Sony TV and dining table. Both parties waived any future claims to alimony.

The agreement goes one step further: releasing each other not just from financial ties but from “any obligation morally or legally” as a married couple. It’s a quiet declaration of independence, wrapped in legal formality, allowing each to pursue “relationships with others as single people.”

And so, the petition simply asks the court to dissolve the marriage, approve the 2016 agreement, and terminate maintenance permanently. It’s the last formality in a process that ended, in spirit, years ago.

Divorce in the digital age comes with no courtroom drama—just PDFs, signatures, and the click of a “Join Zoom” link.

Please contact VowBreakers for access to documents related to the case.