Here are some of the most shocking and poignant stories:
1.
“I wasted our almost million-dollar retirement gambling.
I was always so reliable, conscientious, and honest.
I cannot believe how much gambling has destroyed me.”
“I trusted my cousin even though I was told not to.
fayeesnow
3.
I was so stressed and sad.
We both ended up leaving our spouses, and he left his kids.
I never thought I’d break up another woman’s marriage, either.
I hate that I did that.”
“Being so determined to finish my degree.
My English degree was, and remains, useless.
I wish I’d learned a technical trade when I realized how much I hated college.”
Anonymous
5.
“I wasted my 20s in poor, unfulfilling friendships.
“Not using protection during sex.
I was 30 and in a dark place after the end of a six-year relationship.
I trusted my new intimate partner too quickly; he ended up giving me herpes.
Wear protection, people!”
sacs8
7.
“I was made executor of my late mother’s estate.
After, I had my sister and her husband move into the house so it could be insured.
It was up for tax taking three years later, as they never paid taxes or utilities.
Additionally, they practically destroyed the home’s inside with foolish, ill-conceived, and never finished upgrades.
I evicted them and then spent a year making the house suitable for sale.
The settlement was fraught with greed and hatred.
I will have my attorney become the executor of my estate to keep peace among my children.”
“Staying married to my husband, who had an addiction to alcohol.
Now, he has cirrhosis and heart failure due to the drinking and can no longer work.
We have kids, and all the bills and expenses are on me.
“After 30 years and 50 or more screenplays, I finally accepted that I suck.
I really wanted to be a successful screenwriter.
I thought the validation from my peers would finally give me the self-esteem I lacked.
“I supported a man who’d just gotten out of prison.
We were in a relationship.
ALL the red flags were there like his numerous past relationships but I ignored them.
I filed a police report on him.”
“My mother wanted to transfer nearly a million dollars to me before she died last year.
My father, who’s 92, and my brother, who’s 60, went berserk!
My mom was a businesswoman; my dad could never keep a job.
Well, Mom told me not to trust my father and brother.
I thought it was her dementia talking, so I stupidly trusted them anyway.
The million dollars was transferred to my brother.
My dad married Mom’s 62-year-old caretaker a year later three years younger than me.
I was then removed from my dad’s will.”
I had ‘friends’ who were constantly putting me down, belittling me, and just being plain mean.
They’d bring up shared experiences from childhood and remind me of our long friendship.
Ellie, United States
13.
Weirdly, I’m okay with all of it because I really was a good brother to him.
That’s my solace and his shame.
Whether he actually feels shame or not, though, I’ll never know.”
There were a lot more issues than that, but I felt so used that it really scarred me.
I don’t keep up with him anymore, but I imagine he’s still a loser in Florida.
Meanwhile, I’m living my best life in Nashville!
My advice to younger women is never to pay bills for anyone else.
They can figure it out and work hard without you.
Don’t let anyone take advantage of you and steal the hard-earned money you’ve made.”
I thought about getting the morning-after pill, but I thought I’d be fine.
Being a single parent is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I have no business being a parent.
I was incredibly dumb.
I definitely don’t feel that way anymore, but I’m still too scared to file.”
“I decided to help my sister by allowing her to move into my home.
I was wrong; living with her was seven years of hell.
My sister was no nicer sober than she was when drunk.
Think twice about having a family member live with you.
They can take you for granted even easier than a stranger would.”
Chonnie, 69, California
17.
“Between 2009 and 2013, I took back the same guy five different times.
The first time he left me should’ve been enough reason NOT to take him back.
Never mind that he lived with me for over a year and never bothered proposing.
Then, he contacted me because he realized how nice of a woman I was.
I’ve since married and moved on, but he recently contacted me again.
I read his text and deleted and blocked his number.”
We looked for a house to buy and settled on a beautiful two-million-dollar home.
I paid for his prescriptions, our rented house, and everything else.
He never returned."
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
