“There was never a break. Being a single mom was time-consuming as is, add in juggling three small businesses and attempting to figure out how to heal in the midst of it all. Comparison knocked on my door frequently in the beginning.”
‘Within five years’ time I lost my mom to cancer, got married, lost two grandparents, had a son, got divorced and went broke.’: Woman’s journey re-defining definition of success
‘I didn’t feel safe in my own home. It took 3 years for me to find the courage to ask for a divorce. I developed stomach ulcers from all the stress. The end was inevitable.’
“I had experienced years of him ‘bending’ the truth, of him telling me I was ‘too much,’ trying to diagnose me with different types of mental illness. Little did I know, there was more to come. I found reserves I never knew I had, but that’s what moms do. We do everything possible to make sure our children don’t get hurt.”
‘After my daughter’s birthday, I realized he’d been lying to me our entire relationship. I watched as the life I expected crumbled away. We longer felt like lovers. We felt like roommates.’
“Shortly after, we found out we were expecting. I was a wreck. I knew no part of me wanted that. I was a child myself, terrified of changing my life. I hadn’t realized he’d been seeking satisfaction from other women. I became uncomfortable breathing the same air as him.”
‘If you were to die today, what would happen to your girls?’ I was in a crumbling marriage to an unfaithful spouse, a stressful job and had just been recently diagnosed. My world was ending.’
“I started having severe chest pains. My soon to be ex-husband was determined to make my life a living nightmare. He stopped getting the girls from school, was coming and going from the house at all hours of the night. He treated our home like a roadside motel.”
‘My husband was living a double life. I found YEARS of mail in his trunk. He changed the locks, abandoned me in a parking lot.’: Woman re-marries ‘amazing’ man she met on blind date, says ‘love always wins in the end’
“He had another daughter I didn’t know about. I did some digging and found empty pill bottles and beer cans in his car. The car that drove my child to daycare. At 32, I had to move back in to my childhood bedroom, so ashamed of myself. My daughter and I tried to make the best of our ‘vacation’ as I called it. My husband was an addict and con artist, and I got duped.”
‘I was finally ready to ask for a divorce. Then I found out I was pregnant. I was shocked. ‘Well I have to tell my husband.’ It felt like we were living separate lives.’
“I didn’t think I was going to make it. My husband was with me. I told him he was going to figure out how to be a great dad. He had to trust himself, and find who he needed to help raise our daughter. My breaking point was when I caught him lying to my face.”
‘Your husband has been unfaithful to you,’ I was informed. ‘This marriage was a mistake,’ I told my husband. Weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. My fairy tale turned into a nightmare.’
“I received the most devastating blow to what I thought was a ‘perfect’ marriage. I felt divorce was the only option. In tears, I called my mom. ‘Come home, Avrielle,’ she said.”
‘I found out my marriage was a lie. He was unfaithful. I had been lied to for months. I spewed venomous hate towards him. I was numb. Then, I found out I was having a miscarriage.’
“We got married! I was so happy, I truly thought we were going to be okay. I had two amazing daughters, a rocking career, a husband who wasn’t perfect, but he tried. Then my world fell apart.”
‘He was named ‘Baby Boy’ since his mother left just hours after birth. Could they have the same mother? Something was different about this one.’: Mom ‘miraculously’ adopts children with same birth mother
“‘Hmmm, that’s funny their moms have the same name,’ I told my roommate. My roommate and I were looking at each other wondering if we were thinking the same thing. Part of me wanted to blab it all in that moment and reveal this huge secret.”
