“Then, a light bulb in my brain, immediately expressed aloud: ‘I bought that shirt for you,’ I said to him. In fact, I had lain beside him in bed, on our wedding night, and ordered it as a present to surprise him when we returned home from our vacation. He held my gaze for several seconds before mumbling. ‘I kind of forgot you were a real person.’”
‘I have a girlfriend.’ He dropped the bomb. ‘I didn’t mean to run into you.’ It was bound to happen at some point.’: Woman runs into ex for the first time in 9 months, ‘I built my tribe’
‘I’ve loved my ex for 5 years.’ I was in the toilet, vomiting. I watched the father of my 3 kids die right in front of me.’: 40-year-old woman finds happy ending after infidelity, ‘Love will find you in the hardest of times’
“My biological father was a serial philanderer. I used to tell my husband, ‘You ever cheat on me, it will be the last time.’ Little did I know, 18 years later, I’d be left with 3 kids while he was out joyriding in my car with the another woman. ‘Well, don’t you think it’s too soon?’ In the chaos of my marriage ending, I never thought I’d fall in love with my best friend’s brother. When I give my heart to someone, I give it.”
‘He relapsed and started dating someone behind my back. I was completely blindsided. His secret turned out to be the best gift.’: Woman recounts emotional divorce from husband, ‘Your future is so much bigger than current circumstance’
“Months went by and I found myself falling back into him again. The codependency ran so deep, we honestly didn’t know how to be apart. But this wasn’t the man I’d married and chosen to spend my life with. ‘I’ll do anything to get my family back,’ he preached. He was faltering with his rehabilitation. Things started to derail. He was supposed to get better for us, for his family. I was caught in his web.”
‘A text from my husband came in. ‘I’m not happy. I want more. If you’re coming home, I won’t be here.’: Woman finds ‘new version of happiness’ after husband’s abandonment
“I pulled into a Dunkin Donuts parking lot and tried to call him. His phone was off. When I made it home, nothing was out of place. Except my husband was gone. Large bar tabs appeared on our statements. Girls’ phone numbers came up on our records. The following week, he agreed to meet me at the park. ‘I want a divorce.’ He was cold, emotionless. I refused, which made him angry. I obsessed looking for something that may have led to this. Some sort of sign. He offerred no explanation.”
‘I gasped for breath. ‘I…read…your texts!’ I could barely get the words out. I was hyperventilating.’: Women re-discovers herself after husband’s affair and ensuing divorce
“I saw the pictures and read the words, but my brain couldn’t understand. My arms were tingling. Alarm bells were ringing in my head. ‘What? Why was this woman, his assistant, texting this to him?’ I slumped to the bathroom floor, then shakily stood and made my way down the stairs, using the handrail to prop me up.”
‘Don’t worry about the Joneses. They might happily trade in that 6-bedroom home for exactly what you have.’: Mom reminds us to be grateful for what we have, ‘if your little place is filled with love and warmth, you’re already rich’
“Years ago, I was married to a different man who cared more about material possessions than his family. We had a big house with an incredible view, nice vehicles, a boat in the driveway. We were, in fact, the Joneses. But inside the front door, life was filled with drug abuse, infidelity, and violence. Two children who never saw their father, or only saw him screaming at their mother. From the outside, we were the envy of neighbors and friends. Inside, it was a nightmare.”
‘I received a call at work. ‘I saw your boyfriend with another woman.’ She was someone I knew, married, with kids of her own.’: Woman marries dream man after infidelity, separation, ‘He is proof everything happens for a reason!’
“She was someone who had been at family events and had been around my child. I had just run into her earlier that week. My heart sank. I was forced to move out of my home and become a single mom. After I finally stopped fighting for a life that was never meant to be, I met Ryan. The moment I got in his truck, I knew. ‘If you want to date me, you have to date my daughter.’ I was tough. I shared the good, the bad, and the ugly, but he choose to stay. Through it all, without a question, he chose me. And he chose my daughter, too.”
‘My husband came home from work. ‘I think we should separate.’ He’d been discussing our marriage with his mother. I jumped out of bed, livid.’: Woman ‘grateful’ for her cheating ex and his mistress, ‘They set free the woman I was’
“‘How could you discuss our marriage with your MOTHER?’ I demanded to know. I yanked my rings off. ‘Isn’t this what you want?’ He asked. ‘Don’t you hate me?’ It felt like a weight had been lifted. We planned our divorce. Everything was going great until the paperwork was signed. I suggested we go out to dinner to celebrate. He shook his head. ‘Just go, Tara.’ I didn’t understand. And then a tall, thin woman with wavy hair walked in the door. He locked eyes with her. I was struck with another revelation. It wasn’t his mother with whom he’d been consulting about our marriage, it was his girlfriend.”
‘I made a mistake. My ex found out. ‘I should’ve known better,’ he said. I thought I deserved it. I wasn’t faithful.’: Woman overcomes abusive relationship to find the man of her dreams, ‘I feel like a damn warrior!’
“He burnt my grandma’s table in a bonfire and emailed me pictures. At 2 a.m., he was yelling outside my house, banging on all the doors and windows. I was hidden behind the couch dialing 911. He keyed my car. I woke up with 100+ missed calls. My family finally convinced me the police needed to be involved. I brought so much proof, I thought they’d have to arrest him, but nope. Their ‘hands were tied’ and ‘boys will be boys.’”
‘I can’t… goodbye… I love you,’ he slurred. I never heard the gunshot, just his screams. He wanted me to hear everything.’: Widow resorts to post-loss drinking, sex binges to cope with husband’s suicide, realizes he ‘wasn’t the monster mental illness made him out to be’
“‘I don’t love you. I never did. These past 7 years I’ve just been playing house with you and the kids.’ My husband scoffed these words to me after I found a video email from his married girlfriend confirming my worst nightmare. I was trembling uncontrollably. Later I sat on an old road listening to the helicopter above us trying to locate John while we passed my cell phone back and forth begging him to put down the gun. Just before 9 p.m., John asked for the phone to be handed back to me.”
