The breakup text was already bad enough. But there’s a new tactic that’s so heartless it’s almost hard to grasp. Men are taking women on hikes, then just abandoning them there.
That’s the premise of the newly named “alpine divorce,” a phrase for a breakup in which a man ends the relationship during a hike and leaves his partner stranded on the trail. Interest in the term grew after international coverage of a manslaughter trial linked to a fatal hiking case in Austria. Then TikTok started filling up with women describing their own versions of it, from being left behind on mountain paths to getting dumped and forced to make it back alone.
On paper, it sounds almost too absurd to be real. In practice, it’s cruel, cowardly, and in some cases could be extremely dangerous.
Why Is Everyone Talking About Alpine Divorce?
One woman explained in a TikTok, “My ex dumped me…after he took me hiking at night, made comments to freak me out, and I had a panic attack.” Another described pleading, “I can’t keep up. Can you slow down?” while her boyfriend kept walking faster. That woman said it was “one of the scariest moments of my life.”
What makes this trend so terrifying is that it takes a breakup, which already sucks on its own, and adds physical vulnerability to it. You’re heartbroken, maybe humiliated, and now you also have to figure out where the hell you are, how to get back, and whether the person who brought you there has decided your safety is no longer his problem.
This is your sign to stop letting men invalidate your feelings because they will NEVER get it. #alpinedivorce #womensafety
Psychologist Mandy Neeble Diamond told SELF she’s heard many versions of this scenario from patients, including women who were dumped on hikes or brought to unfamiliar places and left there. Shannon Chavez Qureshi told the outlet that outdoor settings can feel “less confrontational,” which makes it easier for somebody to avoid eye contact, dodge accountability, and keep moving instead of sitting in the discomfort of a hard conversation. Golee Abrishami added that poor emotional regulation can push people to act fast just to escape their own discomfort.
The entire concept is awful. Ending a relationship is one thing, but leaving someone stranded and scared because you didn’t want to have an uncomfortable conversation is something else entirely.
Chavez says the nervous system can experience this as “a loss of emotional safety.” So while one person gets to escape an uncomfortable conversation, the other is left holding all of it, heartbreak, fear, confusion, and the job of getting back alone. That’s a brutal way to be discarded.
The post The Alpine Divorce Is the Cruelest Breakup Trend Yet appeared first on VICE.
