“I was sitting in my room doing homework. His ex-girlfriend called. He was caught red handed. He drove to my house with flowers and sobbed. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m just so insecure because you’re so out of my league – I got nervous and cheated.’ I was so angry. My relationship was destroying my family. Nevertheless, I went to Disney with him anyway. I stood in the middle of Magic Kingdom crying, alone and terrified.”
‘Wow, he really cares about me.’ His scheme to butter me up to lose his virginity worked.’: Domestic violence survivor reveals she’s been ‘scared to speak my truth’ for years, but finally realizes ‘I’m stronger for what I’ve been through’
‘I was just pulled over, for no reason.’ He’s black, I’m white. My heart raced. We get the CRAZIEST looks.’: White woman dating black man says ‘it’s an honor he’d choose to be with me, it blows me away’
“‘How many white women have you actually dated?’ I asked. ‘None. That makes you like…a pioneer. lol.’ I read his response, a knot forming in my stomach. ‘I’ve never really trusted or felt safe around white people.’ He’s HUGE, towering over my 5-foot figure. We get the CRAZIEST looks when we’re with our kids. His are biracial, my youngest is white white WHITE. I imagine people wondering if I cheated on him.”
‘Tragically, she died by poisoning.’ Needless to say, I was aghast, horrified. ‘Holy cow, I’m so sorry.‘: Woman recalls sarcastic husband’s morbid first date joke, ‘He was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath’
“We begin making more small talk. ‘You mentioned you’ve been married twice. What happened with your second wife?’ Manny sat straight up in his chair and looked me in the eye. ‘Well, sadly, she died as well…’ By now I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I could end up in the back of his trunk.’ Our server hands us our food. We just sat there across from each other in silence.”
‘I don’t want to be sick. I hope I just go to sleep and wake up in heaven.’: Woman thanks husband’s family for sharing ‘spunky’ Nana with her after losing father to suicide
“I started dating Matt, my future husband, and quickly learned he lived with his grandmother. I didn’t want Nana to think less of me. But several months into our relationship, she bought new sheets and extra pillows for Matt’s bed — point taken!”
‘I can’t do this,’ I muttered to myself. I was only 22, unmarried. I didn’t want my boyfriend to feel trapped.’: Young mother doesn’t believe she’ll be ‘punished’ for ‘having a baby out of wedlock’
“I was terrified, ashamed. I cared too much about walking around with a large stomach and no ring on my finger. My boyfriend and I had only been dating a little over a year. I’d been indoctrinated with the belief that what was happening to me was a sin that would tarnish me for the rest of my life.”
‘Do you have a son in Idaho?’ I instantly knew my son was gone. He took his life after a silly argument.’: Father says son’s death by suicide feels ‘unreal’ after his struggle with mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse
“I heard a knock on my door. I opened and saw a young policeman. He told me he had a phone number I needed to call. I quickly realized we had trouble. The officer claimed he didn’t know what it was about (doubtful). I called the number – it was answered by a person at the Boise morgue.”
‘I’m ok babe, I overslept.’ My phone lit up with her beautiful face. We went to my hotel room rather than dinner.’: Boyfriend discovers his ‘baby’ overdosed in bed next to him, despite being ‘happiest in a long time’
“She didn’t want me to stay at her apartment because of her obsessed ex that was still showing up uninvited, and unannounced. She was the most beautiful person I’d laid eyes on. She had 3 little girls she loved dearly. All our demons had disappeared. Or so I thought. My sweet Elena told me she was going to the bathroom to take some medicine. Then we sat and talked. ‘I love you so much, just don’t hurt me.’ How silly I thought. She went to sleep soon afterwards.”
‘I called off the wedding 3 weeks before the date. It’s shaken me to my core. I could not call him my husband.’: Woman leaves fiance, celebrates her ‘triumph over this horrible experience’ on would-be wedding day by rocking her dress
“I felt like I had been picked out of the crowd; I was the lucky winner of a long sought-after prize. When red flags began to appear, I willfully ignored all of them. His proposal was my long-awaited goal. I had done it! It felt amazing to wear my beautiful engagement ring. But I was crumbling on the inside. I escaped the house through the second story window.”
‘I was tossed like a rag doll off a deck by my hair. He tried to take my life in front of my kids.’: Domestic violence survivor escapes abuser, ‘takes her life back’ with the help of her ‘tribe’
“The girl he was cheating on me with began harassing me, too. She wanted money for an abortion, and wanted me to know they were seeing each other. Sadly, I made the mistake of confronting him about this. The officer who responded sat me down. ‘I want to help you and end your suffering.’ He did the most amazing thing that day. He had me sign one piece of paper. Just one signature. The right to go after him.”
‘I’m not an addict, but I was addicted to trying to fix one. If you’re lucky, they recover. If you’re really lucky, you recover, too.’: Woman learns firsthand that loving one with addiction will ‘consume you’
“You will stand in their bedroom and plead that you ‘just want them back’. If you watch the person you love disappear right in front of your eyes, you will start to dissolve too. Those not directly affected won’t understand. It is not the person who uses, but the addiction. And yet, sadly… it is not the addiction that dies, but the person.”
