The friend is pulling your leg, poorly catechized, or misinformed.
Or,... he may even know that his reasons for the divorce do not meet the narrow criteria to obtain an annulment. In this case, some marginal Catholics will pull the “buy out” cannard for justifying their condition.
Annulments obtained in the Church require legal examination, hearings, research, dedicated staff etc., as secular legal efforts would with an law professional outside the Church.
Just sayin’.
A lot of times proving your case involves asking your children to testify against one of their parents.
That is a bridge too far for a lot of people.
+1