Letters to Lovefraud and Spath Tales

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story from a reader who posts as "freebird." Names have been changed. My story started July 24th. I had just joined plentyoffish.com, very ambivalently, as I was looking to hopefully meet someone worthy of my time. I received a message from "Karl." He was soooo hot, five years younger than me, just moved here from New York. I've always had a thing for the northerners. I found myself excited to get his messages, and the only reason I'd get on it at one point was just to talk to him. We switched numbers and talked a little before we met. He told me that he moved here to start a company with the goals of it merging with his prior company, and that …

LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: The sociopath got my brain twisted right awayRead More

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader whom we'll call "Caitlyn." I was being lied to for about 6 months by the guy I had been dating. He was very charming, great sense of humor, and seemed to be very caring and genuine. Always told me I was beautiful and after about a month or so he loves me and is in love with me! Red flag number one! Why did he say those words that soon!!? I chose to ignore it because he seemed different and the chemistry was great. He also said things to make me think we were soul mates and we were going to have a future. Away a lot He is an otr trucker so he's gone a lot. We've gone out of town a few times, dated, etc. but I started to feel …

LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: I should feel lucky to be free of the sociopath, but it’s tearing me up!Read More

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story from a reader whom we'll call "Arlene." Five months ago I found myself in one of the worst situations of my life. I found out that my boyfriend, the love of my life, the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and grow old with, the man I thought I knew better than he knew himself, of 8 years ... was a total stranger and never existed. This is my story. I started dating a man 11 years older than me when I was 24 years old; I am now 33. We supposedly, in my mind, fell in love very quickly. Three months in, he took me shopping for a wedding ring, and two weeks later he told me that he had been making payments on the one that I loved, …

He’s a sociopath – he’s been lying to me since the day I met himRead More

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader whom we'll call "Clara." My ex friend, after lying, abusing, manipulating everyone has now found himself in a whirlwind of trouble. Owes everyone in town, credit card issues, issues with every law agency known to man, IRS, trouble with his two previous ex wives, etc. Is now going around saying to everyone what goes around comes around, everyone is out to get him, he can't win or get ahead, no one has any sympathy or empathy for him. He "tries" to be a decent caring guy. Except he fails to mention he pathologically lied to everyone, stole money from people, was sleeping with other guys' wives, carrying on with single women …

LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: Is he blind to the fact that he exploits and manipulates?Read More

  Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following story from a reader whom we'll call "Miriam." I met a con man in 2002 on Match.com while I was living and teaching school in Germany. We were married one year later in Germany and moved three times during the marriage. He lied to me every day for seven years. Because of the fraud, I lost my retirement house, much of the furniture and furnishings I had collected over 20 years, my car, my life savings, and seven years of my teaching salary. My husband only worked part time for nine months, but was managing all of our money. He made promises to me that were all broken. He had opportunities to work but always told employers "we don't need …

My sociopath husband embezzled $400,000 from me, and it was legalRead More

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a reader whom we'll call "Felicia." I was separated from husband and joined a personal training center. The trainer through months of me training with him convinced me to help him open a restaurant. I worked long hours for no pay. He would tell me, I'll make you a partner, just prove to me you can run the restaurant. This went on for a year. I divorced and after the divorce he started to tell me I was the best thing that happened to the restaureant, that I would start to make a lot of money. He then started to ask me to go places with him that pertained to the business. Then he would tell me I was beautiful and we eventually started …

The sociopath would always make me think I did something wrongRead More

Editor's note: Lovefraud received the following email from a woman who lives in Greece and Cyprus. We'll call her "Evangelina." My brother is 14 years older. He took charge of my life's choices (where to live as a child, what to study as young person applying for university), and I blindly followed, as I fully trusted him. He was my brother after all ”¦ He then turned nasty every single time I did not fulfill his expectations. He even lied and said often that a choice that was made by him, was only mine. Like studying archaeological conservation when I knew I am weak in sciences. But he insisted it's for my interest not to study what I want and I'm inclined toward (I'm good with arts so I wa …

LETTER TO LOVEFRAUD: Pushed, and then abandoned, by a controlling older brotherRead More