On Saturday, September 19, Ashley Martson had an announcement.
She and Jay Smith are over after more than three years of marriage.
This time … unlike their last three breakups … it’s over for good, she says.
Curiously, the 90 Day Fiance alum seems to blame herself, and not her husband.
When couples break up and one of them is a serial cheater … it’s usually the fault of the serial cheater.
Ashley is now apologizing to her loved ones.
No matter how you felt about this couple, this is a heartbreaking read.
It’s over!
On Saturday, September 19, Ashley Martson took to Instagram to share a painful-to-write but important message.
Just last month …
Ashley and Jay were celebrating their anniversary after a “wild” three years. That’s … certainly one way of phrasing it.
Just weeks ago, she was clapping back at doubters
Anyone trying to give Ashley a hard time about the number of times that Jay cheated on her (once after their wedding, once in a barbershop bathroom, once with an ongoing mistress, once with a girl who claimed to be pregnant by him … and those are just the ones that we know about) got an earful.
They had just opened a business together
The idea that Jay would once again be spending hours on the skin of beautiful young women — a perk of the tattoo trade that he had not hesitated to brag about while in Jamaica — was not lost on fans. Now, Ashley and Jay’s followers are left to wonder how their joint business ventures will be divided up after their new, latest, and possibly final split.
Ashley posted this graphic
“Sometimes things just don’t work out,” the image reads, “and it’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just the way things are.” That is true! Though, as you are about to read, Ashley seems to blame herself for an alleged lack of “strength.”
She has big news
It is in the captions of this Instagram post that Ashley shares her news: “Before the stories get all misconstrued, I will just address it myself.”
Fourth time (breaking up)’s the charm?
“Jay and I have made the decision to separate for good,” Ashley announces.
She suggeststhat it’s her fault?
“I thought I was stronger and more forgiving,” Ashley writes, “but I’m not.”
It’s all about trust
“Sometimes when trust is broken,” Ashley writes, “it just cannot be repaired.”
No hard feelings?
“I wish Jay the best,” Ashley declares, “and we are both on the same page with this.”
Now for a shocker (sincerely)
“No one cheated,” Ashley reveals. Jay … didn’t cheat?
Not with a bang, but a whimper
“No one did anything,” Ashley tells her followers. “I simply couldn’t get over the past.”
Now hold up, Ashley
Why is she suggesting that it’s a lack of strength on her part to not magically forgive and forget the humiliation that she endured? Really hope that she goes to therapy about this.
She is devastated
“I gave my all to this marriage,” Ashley affirms, “and as I type this I’m heartbroken.”
She had so many plans …
“This isn’t how I envisioned my future,” Ashley laments.
She feels like she’s letting down others
“We want to thank everyone who has supported us,” Ashley expresses to her followers, “and were rooting for us.”
Ashley’s trying to move forward
“Have a good weekend everyone,” Ashley tells her followers. Keep in mind that she wrote this on Saturday.
And WOW
“To my close friends and family,” Ashley writes in conclusion, “I’m sorry you’re finding out this way but I just don’t have the strength to talk about it. Please forgive me.”
Read it for yourself:
Honestly, second to this not being about Jay cheating (recently), the second biggest shocker is that this post was how her own loved ones, her irl friends, found out that her marriage is ending.
Of course, that message is no longer there
Ashley has totally cleaned house on her Instagram, changing it from a personal social media platform to a vehicle for her beauty brand. We hope that she’ll return with that personal touch soon.
Jay conducted a similar purge
He posted this photo (yes, in black and white and yes, upside-down) with the caption “MIRAGE.” Is … is that a pun on “marriage” or what? We have no idea.
This was a long time coming
Whether or not Ashley is blaming herself for having the audacity to … let me check my notes here … remember the things that Jay has done and wonder if he will do them again, this actually stems from multiple instances of cheating, and probably a lot more that went on behind the scenes and never made it into the public consciousness.
Ashley’s next step
Will likely be to seek a divorce, right? Technically, she and Jay might just be permanently separating, but this SOUNDS like a divorce situation to us.
There’s just one problem
Historically, Jay has absolutely refused to grant Ashley a divorce. From balking at signing papers for months to deliberately sabotaging the paperwork so that Ashley thinks that she has what she wants (only to discover weeks later that the papers are invalid), he has been “uncooperative” at best in the past.
Will this time be any different?
Honestly … we have no idea. We don’t know what to expect from Ashley or Jay at this point.
Who knows …
At this point, we would be FOOLS to suggest that they won’t get back together. We don’t think that this would be good for either of them, of course, but it could happen.
Good luck!
Again, we really, truly hope that Ashley seeks therapy for her misplaced sense that her marriage ending is some sort of “failure.”