20 Women From History Who Got Revenge On Their Horrible Husbands
Their Husbands Regretted Crossing Them
Throughout history, plenty of women found themselves married to men who were unfaithful or downright cruel. It’s easy to look at their stories and assume they just put up with it, but a few very crafty women got their revenge. Their retaliation ranged, too, from some men unlucky enough to face public humiliation and expensive divorces all the way to political coups and murder. These 20 women took different approaches to get justice, and some of their stories ended just as badly as their marriages.
1. Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was sick and tired of being undermined by her husband, King Henry II of England—and she was also sick of how often he neglected her and their children. So, in 1173, she supported her sons' rebellion against their father, helping create a serious threat to his throne. Henry didn’t take kindly to it, imprisoning her for nearly 16 years. But she survived him and returned to political power after he died in 1189.
2. Isabella of France
Edward II of England ticked off his wife, Isabella, by allowing his favorites to accumulate tons of power while her own position quickly dwindled. She wasn’t about to dig her own grave, and during a diplomatic mission to France in 1325, she joined forces with Roger Mortimer and subsequently organized an invasion of England. By 1327, Edward had been forced to abdicate, leaving Isabella to govern on behalf of their young son.
3. Catherine the Great
Russia's future Catherine II endured a troubled marriage to Peter III, whose affairs and behavior made their relationship less than amicable. After he became emperor in 1762, Catherine secured the support of powerful military officers and participated in a coup that removed him from power. Peter died shortly afterward under suspicious circumstances, and Catherine ruled until 1796.
4. Tamar of Georgia
Queen Tamar of Georgia married Yuri Bogolyubsky in the 1180s, but their relationship quickly became a disaster. Thanks to his reported drinking and inappropriate behavior, she eventually had the marriage annulled and sent him away. That alone was unheard of, and Yuri thought so too when he later tried to overthrow her with the help of rebellious nobles—but Tamar defeated his forces and stayed queen.
5. Urraca of León
Queen Urraca married Alfonso I of Aragon in 1109, only to discover that their political partnership was almost impossible to maintain. From what we know today, it was reported that Alfonso physically mistreated her, and their increasingly bitter disputes only contributed to open warfare between their supporters. Urraca separated from him and continued defending her authority over León and Castile until she died in 1126.
Carlos Múgica y Pérez on Wikimedia
6. Mary Eleanor Bowes
Mary Eleanor Bowes married Andrew Robinson Stoney in 1777, a union that almost immediately soured when she discovered that he only wanted her enormous fortune. To make matters worse, he was also terribly abusive. After escaping his control, she pursued legal action against him, even surviving an abduction orchestrated by Stoney in 1786. She finally secured her divorce in 1789, depriving him of his claim to her fortune while he faced imprisonment for his crimes.
John Cox Dillman Engleheart on Wikimedia
7. Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick's husband, the future King George IV, treated her terribly right from the jump. He also separated from her shortly after their wedding in 1795. When he became king in 1820, he then tried to push things further with a divorce, which would’ve stopped her from becoming queen. But Caroline returned to Britain and publicly challenged him, even showing up at his coronation in 1821. She was refused entry, but it still led to an embarrassing scene for the royal family.
8. Lady Anne Clifford
Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset, repeatedly pressured his wife, Anne Clifford, to accept a financial settlement instead of pursuing her family's inheritance. Anne refused, despite her husband's spending, infidelities, and threats to separate from her. Her persistence eventually paid off when she inherited the disputed estates in 1643, after which she spent her years restoring her family's castles.
9. Caroline Norton
Caroline Norton left her abusive husband, George Norton, in 1836, but he ruthlessly used the law to keep her away from their children. He also tried to take control of the money she earned from writing, since married women had very few rights at the time. She didn’t take it lying down, fighting back by campaigning for changes to the law, which not only worked, but also helped bring about the Custody of Infants Act of 1839.
10. Elizabeth Packard
In 1860, Illinois minister Theophilus Packard arranged for his wife, Elizabeth, to be confined in a psychiatric institution after disputes over her religious beliefs. Elizabeth spent an excruciating three years institutionalized before eventually returning home, where her husband continued trying to control her. Luckily, it didn’t take a court very long to declare her legally sane in 1864, and she subsequently campaigned for reforms protecting women.
11. Margaret of Valois
Margaret of Valois endured a turbulent marriage to Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France, whose numerous affairs ruined their relationship. In 1585, she openly broke with her husband and her royal relatives, taking control of the French city of Agen during a political rebellion. Although the uprising failed, she later negotiated favorable terms for their marriage's annulment in 1599, including financial compensation and continued recognition of her royal status.
Unidentified painter on Wikimedia
12. Ruth Snyder
Ruth Snyder's marriage to Albert Snyder was deeply unhappy, to say the least, and it all stemmed from Albert's drinking and emotional distance. In 1927, Ruth had finally had enough. She and her lover, Judd Gray, murdered Albert after arranging life insurance policies worth $45,000. Their getaway fell apart, however, and Ruth was executed just one year later.
New York State Department of Corrections and Community on Wikimedia
13. Angelina Napolitano
After enduring abuse from her husband, Pietro Napolitano, Angelina took matters into her own hands—she killed him in 1911. Her trial attracted widespread attention because her defense described the violence she had suffered and argued that if she hadn’t taken his life, he surely would’ve taken hers. She was still convicted and sentenced to death, but public campaigns actually got her released from prison.
Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
14. Mae Talbot
American opera singer Mae Talbot went on trial in 1910 after fatally shooting her husband, who had reportedly subjected her to endless violence. Her attorneys argued that she had acted in self-defense, presenting evidence about his behavior rather than hiding behind an insanity plea. Well, it worked, and the jury acquitted her.
15. Betty Broderick
Betty Broderick accused her husband, Dan, of years of physical and emotional abuse, claiming he'd also used his legal expertise to control their finances and take custody of their children. Their bitter divorce reached a head in 1989 after Betty entered his home and fatally shot him and his new wife, Linda. She was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in 1991 and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Wikimedia
16. Lorena Bobbitt
You’ve undoubtedly heard of this case—even if you don’t recognize the names. The story goes that Lorena Bobbitt alleged that her husband, John Wayne Bobbitt, had subjected her to repeated forms of abuse. In 1993, she’d just about had enough, and after he allegedly attacked her again, she severed his most beloved appendage while he slept. Surgeons reattached it, he was acquitted of assault, and Lorena was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1994.
17. Princess Diana
On the other hand, just about everyone knows these names. Diana's marriage to Charles was plagued with issues from the jump, and it deteriorated even further amid revelations about his relationship with Camilla. After years of public scrutiny, Diana secretly cooperated with Andrew Morton on his explosive 1992 biography, which detailed her life with the royals. Her televised 1995 interview spilled even more beans, publicly exposing the unhappy marriage before the couple finally divorced in 1996.
Provincial Archives of Alberta on Unsplash
18. Mary Winkler
Mary Winkler claimed she'd endured years of abuse from her husband, Matthew, who was a minister. Because of that, she fatally shot him in 2006, later telling investigators that she'd reached her breaking point after all those years under his heel. She was convicted in 2007, and released later that year after receiving credit for time already served.
19. Francine Hughes
Francine Hughes endured years of abuse from her husband, Mickey, and his terror didn’t even end after their divorce. If anything, she repeatedly struggled to obtain protection from the authorities. But in 1977, following another violent episode, she set fire to Mickey’s home while he slept, killing him before surrendering to police. She further rooted herself in history with a subsequent acquittal on grounds of temporary insanity.
20. Sally Challen
Sally Challen endured what her family and legal representatives described as decades of controlling and humiliating behavior from her husband, Richard. In 2010, after finding evidence that he had been chatting with another woman, she took his life at their Surrey home. Initially convicted of murder, Sally successfully appealed in 2019 and was released after prosecutors accepted a manslaughter plea.
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