Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black revolves around Ava and Dallas’ divorce, which brings out the worst in Dallas. The film is now streaming on Prime Video.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Ava is married to Dallas Bertran, whose family is notorious for causing trouble, engaging in violence, and committing crimes. One of his brothers is killed while committing a theft.
On the other hand, Ava comes from a respected family; her father is a preacher, and both of her parents have always disapproved of Dallas.
Dallas’s mother creates a scene in the church during her son’s funeral and blames it all on Ava, leading to a fight between Dallas and Ava.
Dallas continually mistreats Ava, showing her neither love nor respect despite her efforts to be a good wife.
Ava works at a bank and handles all the chores at home, while Dallas does nothing. However, she refuses to acknowledge that she is stuck in a toxic marriage.
Ava’s best friend, Rona, is married to Dallas’s friend, Jim. Despite her best efforts, Rona fails to convince Ava to leave Dallas because Ava feels pity for him and believes that he is a good person deep down.
One day, Dallas abruptly decides to divorce Ava, breaking her heart. To support her through the divorce, Rona gives her a letter listing all the bad things Dallas has done to her.
Ava spends the next few days at her parents’ house. Rona’s letter as well as her parents help her understand that she cannot keep trying with someone who has hurt her physically and emotionally.
Her parents make her realize that her marriage to Dallas made her deeply unhappy and try to set her up with Benji, a man who has liked Ava for years.
Benji, having been through a divorce himself, understands her struggles. Although he is determined to pursue her, he does not take advantage of her vulnerability.
With her parents, Rona, and Benji supporting her, Ava finally realizes that Dallas never respected her and that she should not have tried to save their marriage.
Now ready to divorce Dallas and move on, Ava returns to her own house and signs the divorce papers without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Dallas finds out about Ava meeting Benji and starts believing that she cheated on him with Benji while they were married.
Years ago, Dallas and his brothers had seen Ava with Benji after her breakup with Dallas and had beaten him up, which resulted in Benji being hospitalized.
Dallas, still insecure about Ava dating Benji, breaks into Ava’s house and tells her that he is ready to give their relationship another chance.
However, Ava wants nothing to do with him. She asks him to leave, but he refuses. When he discovers that Ava slept with Benji, who is still at the house, he gets into a fight with Benji.
The fight results in Benji knocking Dallas unconscious and Ava kicking him out of her house. However, this is just the beginning of the trouble that Dallas, who is unwilling to leave Ava in peace, will cause.
Ending explained:
Dallas’ unhinged behavior
Dallas continues to stalk Ava, so Rona suggests that Ava get a restraining order against him, but Ava does not believe Dallas poses any real danger.
However, Dallas becomes increasingly unhinged. He poisons some of Benji’s farm animals, but with no proof, the police do not arrest him.
Ava’s father worries about her safety after hearing about Dallas breaking into her house. He visits Ava to hide various guns around her house and install cameras outside.
He and Rona finally convince Ava to get a restraining order against Dallas, who continues to harass her.
He even breaks into Jim and Rona’s house when Ava is there with Benji, threatens Benji, and leaves before the police arrive to investigate the violation of the restraining order.
Dallas crosses a line
When Ava’s father visits her, Dallas targets Ava’s mother. He corners and threatens Ava’s mother in a supermarket.
Upon hearing about this, Ava’s father, enraged, goes to Dallas’ house to warn him one last time. Dallas’ brothers shoot and beat up Ava’s father when he holds Dallas at gunpoint.
Ava’s mother informs Ava that her father went to warn Dallas, leading Ava and Benji to search for him. They find him injured outside Dallas’ house.
Even with Ava’s father in the hospital, the sheriff tells Ava’s family that he cannot arrest Dallas without Ava’s father’s statement or other proof.
Fed up with Dallas hurting her and her loved ones, Ava decides to take matters into her own hands.
Ava lures Dallas in
Ava goes to her house alone without informing anyone. She calls Dallas to provoke him, hoping that he will take the bait and break into her house again.
Even after Dallas breaks in with a gun, Ava continues goading him to get him to hit her in order to get more evidence against him.
It is only after Dallas physically assaults Ava that she calls the police. She then pulls out one of the guns that her father hid in her house to prevent him from hurting her further.
Dallas does not think that she will harm him and tries to attack her, leading to Ava shooting him dead. As Ava killed him in self-defense, she is not charged with murder.
Later, when Dallas’ mother threatens Ava, who is no longer scared and submissive, she stands up for herself and does not fail to warn her not to push her family too far.
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