“Every inch of this home made me cringe. I couldn’t even enjoy a coffee on the front porch without thoughts of my husband sitting on the porch with his ex-wife. Every handle I touched, every doorknob I turned, I couldn’t escape the past.”
‘You knew he had a child. What did you expect?’ It was an emotional battlefield.’: Stepmom urges others ‘I promise it’s so worth it’
‘My divorce was finalized. And my ex brought me coffee in bed. There are just no words.’: After divorce, mom expresses ‘gratitude’ for her ex
“I stood side by side, laughing and crying through three decades of this life. Of building a home together. Of bringing children into the world and raising them. Of building two businesses. Nobody needs to understand it.”
‘When your son and I decided to go our separate ways you said, in the heat of it all, I wouldn’t let you see your grandkids.’: After separation woman pledges to mother-in-law ‘my door will always be open for you’
“I didn’t understand why you could ever think that.”
‘He was hunched over in our guest bathroom, holding a gun. My birth control failed. I found out I was pregnant days before.’: Woman survives traumatic divorce, ‘You always have a voice, use it’
“I panicked, my body uncontrollably shaking. Standing in our apartment hallway, soaked in sweat, I tried to stay calm and rationalize with him. The moment I had always dreamed of in my nightmares was finally here. He was going to kill me and our unborn baby.”
‘Look at you, puttin’ on lipstick to go to the cemetery,’ my husband teased, whistling at me. I didn’t plan to see a living soul there.’: Woman realizes during quarantine, ‘Fear is no match for God’s love’
“I hadn’t left our property for over a week. I applied a full face of makeup to go for a walk in the cemetery. I didn’t plan to see a living soul there. My heart leapt! There it was. It felt like genuine joy. For many, it will be life changing. And it’s so scary.”
‘This is my ex-husband’s new wife Tiffaney showing up and showing out. This isn’t JUST another picture of a stethoscope and a coffee cup.’: Nurse mom praises co-parent during quarantine
“Today, when she dropped off the boys, she brought coffee. I worked 72 hours last week, and will work 72 the next. Both ICU ‘s where I’m a nurse are busy preparing for unknowns. This is a picture of all of the good things I wanted from my divorce. By choosing their daddy, she also chooses them.”
‘I called my ex. ‘You’re the one with sole custody, it’s your problem.’ The fact is, in this time of uncertainty, we are both her parents.’: Woman encourages co-parents to ‘work together and set differences aside’ during Coronavirus
“When he picked up the phone, I was surprised to learn he had been laid off a month before the Coronavirus took off. If this had happened a year ago or even 6 months ago, I would have a very different narrative on how this is going. I’ve literally heard it all. But I decided to give him a chance to help.”
‘We’ll miss you,’ my sister-in-law told me. You all abandoned me, just as my husband had.’: Woman feels ‘betrayed’ by in-laws after ex left her
“He left me at 10:30 p.m. on a cold Sunday night. You allowed my husband a place to stay, accepting him with open arms. You didn’t say anything to him, knowing he was using drugs. Everyone coddled him. Truth is, you all abandoned me. I was a part of your family for 11 years – and I was written off.”
‘You haven’t been giving her crap, you lying jerk. You’re selfish. I’m with a screaming baby.’: Woman recalls being coupled to a ‘pathological parent’ who ‘begged’ for a child
“They beg you for a child. Your pregnancy will be planned and discovering you are with child is the highlight of your relationship. Then the mask slips, and nothing is ever the same. Suddenly, the baby is a ‘trap,’ and you have ‘trapped’ them by becoming pregnant. They completely shun your child. They’re a ‘mistake.’ They regret ever having them.”
‘He’s never kept secrets from me. Today, in the very back of that last closet, I found something I hadn’t expected.’: Woman works through jealousy of fiance’s past relationships, ‘Do I really want to do this?’
“Everywhere I turned, his ex’s belongings were in all the rooms. Pictures on Facebook showed memories made in what had now become my kitchen and my living room? Every time his ex’s mail came to the house, my body would run hot and cold at the same time. His daughter would start every new conversation with, ‘When she lived here, we did…’ It was eggshells for me.”
