Characters The Divorce Freida McFadden

Jeremy Roth: The Manipulative Mastermind of The Divorce

Overview

Jeremy Roth appears at first as a wealthy investment banker who initiates a seemingly one-sided divorce against his wife, Naomi. As the novel progresses, the quiet, tired husband who "hasn't been happy for a long time" (Chapter 6) transforms into a calculating predator. The epilogue reveals his full scope: Jeremy knew for years that his son Teddy is not biologically his—the child is the offspring of drug addict Clay Barkley. To keep Teddy, Jeremy orchestrated Clay's murder disguised as an overdose, then spent years gaslighting Naomi, poisoning her kombucha with Tylenol (Chapter 74), and framing her as unstable in the custody battle. He is not a victim of a broken marriage but a master manipulator willing to kill anyone who threatens his possession of Teddy.

Plot Role

Jeremy drives the novel's central conflict. His decision to file for divorce and his subsequent maneuvers—locking Naomi out, emptying bank accounts, retaining every top divorce lawyer to block her from hiring them (Chapter 15)—create the legal and emotional crisis. He is the antagonist who appears reasonable while systematically destroying Naomi's credibility. His secret is the story's final twist: he murdered Clay Barkley to eliminate the biological father and planned to murder Naomi to eliminate the last witness. His actions force every character into extreme positions, especially Naomi, who commits fraud and arson, and Veronica/Annie, who becomes entangled in his trap.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Jeremy's core motivation is absolute control over Teddy. He treats the boy as property, not a child. This is evident in his epilogue statement: "anyone else who tries to take my son will suffer the same fate." He values possession above love or truth. His traits—patience, cold calculation, and charm—enable him to maintain a facade of the devoted father for years while secretly planning murder. He is also deeply skilled in manipulation: he hires Rosita, then blames Naomi for not getting Teddy to school reliably (Chapter 74); he gives Naomi incorrect times verbally but never in writing, making her appear disorganized; and he plants the stabbed elephant in Teddy's drawer to manufacture evidence of Naomi's instability (Chapter 74). He shows no genuine remorse, only triumph when Naomi dies.

Chronological Arc

Jeremy's arc spans the novel's past and present. The epilogue jumps back two years: Clay Barkley approached Jeremy claiming Naomi stole the infant. Jeremy took a secret paternity test, confirmed Teddy is Clay's son, then arranged Clay's murder by staging a heroin overdose (Chapter 74). In the present timeline, Jeremy feigns marital unhappiness, files for divorce, and begins gaslighting Naomi. He meets Veronica (Ronnie) at the running trail and manipulates her into an affair, using her both for companionship and as a tool to pressure Naomi. He demands full custody in mediation (Chapter 21), plants evidence, poisons Naomi's kombucha (Chapter 74), and ultimately provokes the tragedy that ends with Naomi trapped in a fire he set. The final revelation is that Jeremy orchestrated everything—starting with Clay's murder—to keep Teddy at any cost.

Relationships

  • Naomi Roth: Jeremy marries Naomi only because she presented infant Teddy and a faked paternity test (using his own father's DNA). He sees her as a temporary inconvenience. He treats her with contempt, lying about the renovation and hiding his affair. His manipulation escalates from financial warfare to attempted murder.
  • Teddy Roth: Jeremy's relationship with Teddy is possessive rather than loving. He admits the boy is not biologically his yet resolves to kill for custody. He weaponizes Teddy's welfare to justify his actions (claiming Naomi is unstable), but his epilogue confession shows he views Teddy as a trophy, not a person.
  • Veronica "Ronnie" / Annie: Jeremy uses Veronica as an affair partner and a wedge against Naomi. He appears devoted to her, promising divorce and custody, but he never reveals his murderous past. The epilogue shows he plans a future with her, but only because she rescued Teddy—reinforcing his transactional view of people.
  • Ezra Fletcher: Naomi's divorce attorney is Jeremy's intellectual rival. Jeremy respects Ezra's intelligence but resents his interference; he tries to poison Naomi partly because the mediation was not going his way (Chapter 74).
  • Clay Barkley: Jeremy meets Clay only once—to murder him. Clay posed the ultimate threat to Jeremy's possession of Teddy, so Jeremy eliminated him coldly, using Clay's history of addiction to stage an overdose (Chapter 74).

Key Decisions and Consequences

  1. Murdering Clay Barkley (two years before the novel): Eliminates the biological father. Consequence: Jeremy secures Teddy but must live with the secret and eventually kill anyone who learns it.
  2. Initiating the divorce (Chapter 6): Sets the legal battle in motion. Consequence: Allows Jeremy to cast Naomi as the villain while he controls the narrative.
  3. Planting the stabbed elephant (Chapter 74): Manufactures evidence of Naomi's instability. Consequence: Weakens Naomi's custody case, though Ezra counters it.
  4. Poisoning Naomi's kombucha (Chapter 74): Attempted murder disguised as suicide. Consequence: Fails to kill her, but contributes to the overall gaslighting and Naomi's paranoia.
  5. Starting the house fire (implied): Finally kills Naomi. Consequence: Jeremy loses the house but gains sole custody and a clean path forward with Veronica—yet his own tyranny continues.

Theme/Symbol Connections

  • Deception and Manipulation: Jeremy is the ultimate deceiver, lying to Naomi, Veronica, Teddy, and even his own lawyer. He uses gaslighting as a weapon, altering times, hiding evidence, and projecting his own instability onto Naomi.
  • Obsession and Revenge: Jeremy's obsession with Teddy drives him to premeditated murder. His revenge against Naomi is methodical and patient, spanning years.
  • Identity and Theft: Jeremy steals Teddy's identity by faking paternity and erasing Clay. He also steals Naomi's agency by blocking her access to lawyers, money, and her home.
  • Marriage and Betrayal: Jeremy's marriage is a fraud from the start. He betrays every trust—financial, emotional, and physical—turning the divorce into a battlefield.
  • Motherhood and Protection: The novel contrasts Naomi's fierce, though criminal, motherhood with Jeremy's cold possession. His "protection" is actually imprisonment: he kills to own Teddy, not to nurture him.

The stabbed elephant symbolizes the collateral damage of Jeremy's war: a child's toy turned into a weapon. The kombucha represents his poisonous influence—something that should be healthy (a natural probiotic) turned lethal. The paternity test symbolizes the fragility of truth: a single falsified swab can rewrite an entire family history.

Book-Specific Questions and Answers

Q1: Why does Jeremy say he wants a divorce? Does he mean it? A1: Jeremy tells Naomi he hasn't been happy "for a long time" (Chapter 6), but his real reason is to eliminate her from his life permanently. He never intended to reconcile; the divorce was step two of his plan (after murdering Clay, before murdering Naomi). (Interpretation supported by his epilogue confession that he "bided time" and "finally had a reason to get rid of Naomi.")

Q2: How does Jeremy manipulate legal proceedings against Naomi? A2: He retains every top divorce lawyer on Long Island to create conflicts of interest, leaving Naomi with only the unconventional Ezra Fletcher (Chapter 15). He also hides his affair initially, transfers joint funds to make Naomi appear impoverished, then restores the money just before mediation to make her look like a liar (Chapter 22). His lawyer Hardwick is kept in the dark about Veronica's drug arrest (Chapter 31), showing Jeremy's willingness to sacrifice allies.

Q3: Does Jeremy actually love Veronica? A3: The epilogue suggests he views Veronica as a "keeper" because she rescued Teddy from the fire. His earlier behavior is conditional: he risks the affair but refuses to introduce her to Teddy until after the divorce began, and he uses her as a prop to exacerbate Naomi's jealousy. His love is transactional, tied to her usefulness in his plan. (Explicit from his statement: "she rescued my son from a burning house... she's a keeper.")

Q4: What is the significance of the paternity test in Jeremy's plan? A4: The test is the linchpin. Jeremy obtains a DNA sample from his Alzheimer's-stricken father, substitutes it for Teddy's, and falsely confirms paternity (Chapter 66). This forces his marriage to Naomi. Years later, when Clay appears, Jeremy kills him rather than risk a legitimate test. The test symbolizes the artificial bonds he creates to own Teddy.

Q5: Could Jeremy have been stopped? A5: Only if someone had investigated Clay's "overdose" suspiciously, or if Naomi had discovered the poisoned kombucha before drinking it. But Jeremy was careful: he used Clay's history to make the murder look natural, and he manipulated Naomi's own unstable behavior to discredit her. In a thriller context, his success highlights the danger of manipulation backed by privilege. (Interpretation; explicit evidence shows no character discovers his full plan until the epilogue.)