Note: this post contains mentions of physical and verbal abuse.
“He was my absolute best friend.
He took care of me when I was sick, and we had three beautiful kids together.
And then he turned to her and told her that he loved her.
He broke my heart and gave me so much anxiety and devastated our children and friends.
I would be perfectly happy if I never saw him again and so would my kids.”
anonymous
2.
“I was married for 20 years.
When my mom died suddenly, I was devastated and fell into a deep depression.
My wife seemed distant, but I thought we were just going through a terrible time together.
Eventually I gave up and filed for divorce.
omelette77
3.
“My husband was addicted to porn.
I found this out after about two to three years of marriage.
After 20 more years, I walked in again as he was watching porn.
I came to find out that he lied to me for the past 20 years.
Who was he and how am I ever to trust him again?
My heart and world were shattered!
I was done.”
Although I didnt realize it from the start, our relationship was always about me taking care of him.
Always building him up and telling him he was great.
After 25 years of soothing him like a child, I finally decided to stop doing that.
I didnt tell him; I just stopped building him up 24/7.
Well, thats when he decided he didnt love me anymore.
So he found another mother.
Lied and cheated on me for two years before he felt secure enough in that relationship to leave.
Went straight from our bed to hers.
What an asshole.”
“After 20 years of marriage, I came home to find my husband had moved out.
I found out he was having an affair for over six months.
His family including his mom who was my best friend haven’t spoken to me since my husband left.
He barely sees his children and doesnt pay anything for support.
Been a difficult time for me and my children.”
“Married 25 years at the time.
Husband worked and lived in Kuwait.
I found $1,600 missing from our bank account.
The bank guaranteed he removed it so I confronted him when he returned home full-time.
Ten years later, I decided I was worth more and left.
We had been together since we were 17 and parted for good on my 62nd birthday.
What a waste of the last 10 years of my life.”
lafayette70506
7.
I would probably have stayed forever because that was what you were ‘supposed’ to do.
Im finding who I am again and enjoying it."
freyathwarrrior
8. jdtres85
9.
“My parents had a great 30+-year marriage.
They were looked at as examples of how you want your love life to be.
Then my dad got a new job and started getting stressed and paid less attention to my mom.
It sucks because although it was probably ultimately my dad’s fault, everyone blames my mom.
I blame them both.”
thegassygoose
10.
“The love in the dating phase was addicting.
It was striking gold.
But after the honeymoon, it started falling off.
Less kissing, less hugs.
More sleeping different hours, more phone addiction.
Then came a need for control and instituting terms for sex.
I tried for 19 years to prove my love and worth.
Then I finally realized I was a fool.
It was only getting worse.
“I learned about covert vulnerable narcissism.
I threw in the towel, and I dont think it bothered her that much.
I had no value.
Should have done it much sooner, but I really love this woman.
“After six decades of abuse physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial I walked away.
He pissed away over $250k and was unfaithful.
I was exhausted from ‘taking care’ of his infantile demands.
My goal is not to be married to an asshole when I die.”
carolrenner
13.
We never really fought, loud words occasionally, but that was it.
She took my truck and left me her dog I figure I got the better deal.”
searunner52
14.
“I started to think about our life as empty nesters and how we needed to improve our marriage.
To that point I was busy with four kids and got no help from my husband.
I was used to that life, but wasnt willing to continue without a commitment from him to improve.
“I left my ex after 23 years of marriage.
Looking back, I realize that it was just love bombing.
We’re having a blast, traveling, and looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together.
I’m so grateful to have this second chance!”
absepa
16.
“Not me, but my mom.
barbarapausa
17.
“I divorced my husbands opioid addiction.
He gaslit me for years, denying his drug misuse and using in front of the children.
I had enough of his shit and told him to leave.
Best day of my life when he left.”
“Married 20+ years, but miserably for the last 10 of it.
She was abusive, distant and wouldn’t change.
She thought I was bluffing (she said so!
), so at the end of the week, I left.
jibbyjibmeister
19.
“I was married for almost 30 years.
Gradually, he became arrogant, more controlling, and verbally vicious.
I divorced him four years later.”
By the way, he had other affairs in the meantime.
Just two more examples of his disrespect and narcissistic personality.”
She prefers to live in another house away from him.
Yes, there is such a thing as KARMA!”
“I finally got to be more of the person I wanted to be.
During the marriage, I was just a character in someone else’s life.
Now, I get to do whatever I want when I want.
I have my own friends and hobbies.
I wasn’t allowed to have my own friends or do anything I really wanted to do.
The divorce was bitter, and I lost contact with my kid.
I’ve had relationships with many wonderful women since.
I live on a lake now and have close friends in the community.
I foster dogs and restore old boats.
I have a fairly large social media presence and hopefully inspire a lot of people with my photography.
I feel like my life only just started.”
“My sister is in this situation right now.
She ended up meeting someone in a similar situation about a year ago and began an affair.
“I married her 33 days after our first date.
Seven days into our marriage, she cheated on me with her ex.
That triggered a series of cheating on my side.
I should’ve ended it.
She was caught cheating three times, and I was never caught.
We lived together for seven years, which ended in divorce.
Lesson: It’s either no cheating or divorce right after the first time.
I’m happily remarried for three years with a wonderful wife and a child now.
I don’t feel the urge to cheat on my wife now at all.
It was all in my head, trying to make my first pay for her mistakes.”
bluecookie89
24.
He chose to venture to keep the side relationship hidden from me.
He even went so far as to play parent to her children while ignoring the ones we had.
He chose her because she owned and operated a small bar aka an alcoholics dream.”
I left him the house and walked away with everything that I bought throughout the marriage.
It wasnt worth losing my mind over him.
I did the paperwork for the divorce and walked him through the process.
I found a new home to buy and moved in the same day I closed on it.
He was upset that I just walked away.”
And lastly, here’s one with a twist:
25.
“I left my husband after nearly 25 years.
I was 17, and he was 26 when we first got together.
We had one daughter.
We both cheated at different times, but he always blamed me for his cheating.
I started an affair and worked it into my head that I was in love with him.
I left my husband to live with the other man.
He’s a truck driver so he wasn’t home a whole lot.”
“We did get back together.It is easier this time around.
I’m not so jealous, or maybe I just don’t really care at this point.
But I do think we have both learned from our time apart.”
