“I don’t love you anymore” is something no one in a relationship likes to hear, but “I never loved you” is even worse. When we are in love, all the negative aspects seem to go away, and we do not notice any red signs. That was the case for the protagonist in this narrative, who discovered that time always reveals the truth, even if we don’t want to see it.
There are numerous reasons why a marriage ends, and while some individuals may anticipate it, others are taken entirely by surprise, therefore here are some pointers at the end of the piece.
I met my ex-wife, Annabelle, in college. She stood by me through some tough times, but my family kept telling me that, although she seemed nice, there was something off. This only got worse when she dropped out of college and said she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom someday, so she didn’t need a degree. I didn’t mind the idea of her staying home with our future children.
Some time later, I received an offer for my dream job. It was a 6-figure paycheck and included a company car and travel. I could finally move out of my parents’ house and have my own home. I used part of my signing bonus to buy an engagement ring. Since I started dating Annabelle before I had any money, I never imagined she was with me just for that.
My family tried to point out red flags. For example, Annabelle planned an expensive, over-the-top wedding and wanted the biggest house she could find. My bonus ran out pretty quickly and I worried I hadn’t saved enough.
The expenses got worse when our children were born, but I thought she just wanted to spoil them. Then I was fired from my job, but a month later, I was hired at another company where I earn much less. It’s enough to live on, we could stay in our house, but things had to change.
I told my wife that our children could no longer go to private school and that we would no longer make so many trips a year. She was not happy.
Two months later, she told me, “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” It took me by surprise and we argued. She took the kids to her mother’s while we were “on a break,” but a few weeks later she asked me for a divorce.
She claimed that we had grown apart, that I was working too many hours, and that I was never there, when in fact I had been home every night for dinner and we used to spend the whole weekend together.
I asked her several times if the problem was that I was making less money, but she denied it. She said she had married me too young and needed to see what else was out there.
I didn’t want to believe that my entire marriage had been a lie. Two weeks after filing for divorce, she was already with someone else. They moved in together in just three months. They even got engaged before our divorce was finalized. This guy is a surgeon and has a 6-figure-a-year salary. I don’t know when she started cheating.
Now, because of my schedule, I only see my kids on weekends, and I hate it. I regret not getting Annabelle to sign a prenup, because she got half of everything. I went from loving her to despising her.
I love my kids, but I hate that I wasted 10 years of my life with a woman who only wanted me for my money. I should have saved a lot more, but she wasted it on useless things when we got married.