Editor’s note: The following post was written by the Lovefraud reader “IMarriedIt.” Names are changed.
Thirteen years ago, I was an attractive, confident single woman. I owned a small house with 2 cats & a dog. I wasn’t looking to date when I met a charsmatic man at work, Simon, or rather, he made a beeline for me. I told him I wasn’t interested in dating. He then chose the words he knew would reassure me, that we could spend time together as just friends, but it wouldn’t be dating. We did things together & had dinner as pals (so I thought). He amped up the charm and was likeable & witty, though I thought there was something a little strange about him. One night he rang my doorbell, saying his former girlfriend had thrown him out, putting his belongings in the front yard. They’d supposedly broken up but he still lived in her house.
Red flags ignored
WHY WHY WHY didn’t I tell him to go to a motel? My alarm bells were clanging like a ship’s bells approaching an iceberg. Why did I ignore them & let him come inside? He said it was late at night & he had nowhere to stay.
Well, he never left. He made himself my right hand man, helping with housework, mowing the grass, etc. I liked to hike with my dog. Really? So did he! I loved to sit on my porch & watch the sunset on a summer eve. Wow! He did too, & he loved talking for hours. We had SO much in common.
After a few months, I ran into the former girlfriend. She was a nice lady & gave me her number. She tried to warn me about Simon but I thought she was just bitter because they broke up. Soon, I had some serious reservations about Simon so I called her. She said Simon was really good at figuring out what you want to hear & that’s what he tells you. She said Simon had an anger problem & drove recklessly. He never felt bad about scaring her. After we were married, I noticed Simons’s road rage. He tailgated & flipped people off. Once, Simon tried to run a car off the road while I was with him, I told him never to do that— what if the other driver had a gun & I got hurt? Simon seemed exhiliarated & laughed at the fear on my face.
Sexual desires revealed
Former girlfriend warned me that Simon liked to do some kinky things in bed that she just didn’t want to do. While I was on the phone with her, Simon came in. He stared me down, arms crossed with eyes like lasers. He never said a word but I got nervous & ended the call. In hindsight, I see that Simon was running off my friends, becoming my everything & getting very controlling. He started bullying me so subtly I didn’t notice I wasn’t independent or confident in myself any more. I ran every little decision past Simon for his approval. Simon liked that. Once, on a flight, Simon remarked that he hated flying because he wasn’t the one in control. “I have to be in control!”
Within six months of meeting Simon, he was pushing to get married. I wasn’t keen on that but Simon kept asking. My red flags were flapping as if in hurricane winds. WHY WHY WHY did I say yes one afternoon? It was too soon, and some things were bothering me about Simon, such as his porn use, but I thought it was occasional so I didn’t make a big issue of it. I figured no man was perfect & we had so much in common. I’d never find that in anyone else.
Sadly, I learned after twelve years of marriage that Simon has accounts on several swingers websites & had been running personals ads for several years. He described himself as seeking, searching or looking for men, women, couples & transvestites. So my husband was bisexual & I found condoms in his shaving kit when he returned from a trip. I went through the agony & humilliation of getting tested for STD’s.
Wedding jitters
I was the perfect target for Simon; my family lived out of state & I had no friends left to take me aside & express concerns. Simon suggested a simple wedding in a Las Vegas chapel so that’s what we did. I felt nauseous & clammy during the brief ceremony, which I thought was just jitters. Walking the strip, Simon seemed really fascinated by the guys slapping the hookers cards in tourists’ hands, but I thought, aw, he’s a guy. Soon, Simon & I bought a bigger house with the downpayment from selling my little home. I also made Simon the beneficiary on my investments. Now I see how Simon used me financially.
Soon after our marriage Simon got in trouble at work for sexual harassment. Simon said he didn’t do it, it was just some disgruntled employees making up lies so I accepted his explanation. A few weeks ago, my friend told me he’s hit on her too, & she warned Simon to cut it out or she’d tell me.I learned more things about Simon. He said he’d always been the black sheep of his family & had got in lots of trouble as a teen. His sister accused him of molesting her. Their mother believed his sister so Simon hates them both. I think it’s a classic case of gaslighting because Simon blames his sister for reporting him & said his sister was mentally ill. Simon got in trouble for having sex with a neighbor girl too. After that, Simon’s father put him in the Army.
During our marriage Simon’s brother got upset because Simon owed him money & wasn’t paying it back. Simon said it was ridiculous because his brother was wealthy & didn’t need it paid back. He wasn’t concerned about the rift this put between him & his only brother. A man at work asked me to give Simon a message that he still owed him money. Simon said that was a lie.
Juggling me and the porn sites
Simon’s mask of mild mannered indulgent husband slipped pretty quickly & we had frequent quarrels. Simon went for days at a time not talking to me. I guess when he thought I was distraught enough, out of the blue he’d call my cell saying “Hello, wifey!” in a silky voice, like nothing happened. He acted loving & bought me jewelry until the next cycle. I think now he bought me jewelry because he’d cheated on me. Simon spent lots of time in the den on his computer & minimized the screen when he heard me coming. I googled Simon’s email & screen name & found his personals ads on some dating sites.Now I know Simon was juggling me & his hook ups too.
I developed a sleep disorder which affected my job. Since Simon’s moved out, I haven’t had trouble sleeping normally. Simon was keeping me on a roller coaster of anxiety. My charming, smooth talking husband was really a monster. Simon also gained a hundred pounds over time. The more I urged him to lose weight & take care of his health, the more weight he gained. Maybe he did it to hurt me, I don’t know.
Bullying and sexual harassment at work
A year ago, Simon’s brother told him their mother was terminally ill & urged Simon to go visit her. Simon said he didn’t want to, & his mom passed away a little later. Who could be so cold as to refuse to see their dying mother? I expected Simon to show some grief after her death, but he acted like nothing happened.
Simon recently got in trouble again at work for continual bullying & intimidation of his employees, & sexual harassment again. One of the females he sexually harassed was pregnant. I told Simon the she could’ve lost her baby from the stress he caused her & he said “Yeah right. Pffft. I never touched her or did anything they said. They’re all a bunch of liars & set me up.” There were several witnesses & the case against him was strong enough for Simon to get demoted & transferred to a town a hundred miles away.
Because of Simon’s misconduct again at work, we had to sell our home so Simon could relocate. I moved to a condo & Simon came “home” on weekends. I found females’ phone numbers in Simon’s suitcase & some DVD’s depicting bondage & violence to women. I finally told Simon I wanted to separate due to years of grief & misery with his cheating, bullying & deceiving me. I was also afraid of him now. Simon said phrases like, “There is no one else, I’ve never loved anyone like I love you & you’re the only woman for me.”
I thought he could change. NOT!
WHY WHY WHY did I give Simon another chance when he promised for the umteenth time to change? I really loved my faux husband & couldn’t seem to break it off. In a moment of weakness I let him come back. He actually had me convinced that long distance marriages can work, if our love is strong enough. Finally, the light bulb came on for me:
- Why is it a long distance marriage in the first place? Because he got in serious trouble at work for which he blames everyone else & is not sorry
- Why does my husband live in another town? Because he got demoted & transferred for hitting on women & being a workplace bully
- What a sorry excuse of a marriage this is, with us living apart & him visiting me on weekends & what is he doing Monday through Friday?
I found evidence he was juggling me & the hook up ads. This time I told Simon I wanted a divorce because I don’t think he’ll ever be honest or faithful or change the cold blooded person he is inside. He’s shown no remorse for hurting so many people, including the severe damage he’s done to me, his wife, & my ability to ever trust another man.
Divorced and starting over
Now I’m about ten years away from retirement, starting life over as a single woman supporting myself. My husband & I were supposed to be life partners & travel together during our retirement. It was all a big con by a sociopath, the appearance he wanted of a normal decent married man. I was just an arm piece & a source of sex & a good income. He never loved me, as evidenced by all the hook up ads, probable adulteries & even hitting on my friend soon after our wedding. His family has cut ties with Simon too, because he’s gone through three marriages, several girlfriends, & has burned his family too.
I looked at some pictures I took of Simon recently, & was creeped out by how he was looking at me. His eyes were predatory & he stared a hole through me. There was no tenderness in those eyes without a soul. He almost looked evil.
Looking for feedback
I welcome & appreciate any feedback! I’ve read the Lovefraud books & read the blog almost every day. I’m making progress from the paralyzing fog that barely let me function at work. My boss has been kind. I have many more good days than bad now, & am working to get back the strong, confident woman I started this story being thirteen years ago.
I still have the cats! “Living well is the best revenge” is my motto. I’m reading all I can find about sociopaths & am getting healthy again mentally. Please know that there have been times the web site & the books have kept me sane!
Kmillercats,
yes! my gay frienemy said, “Skylar, everyone uses everyone! I use you, you use me, spath uses you and you use him.”
WTF? I do? He does? huh? Why didn’t anyone tell me about this arrangement and… exactly what am I getting out of it?
😯
Clones… clowns… Clone clowns!
Edit:
just saw your last post, kmillercats. YEP! Spath morphed in front of a teenage girl whose parents we knew. He started talking like a baby. ugh. I was mortified.
“Each person in a spath’s life is compartmentalized and exposed only to the “face” that he knows that person will find acceptable.”
I absolutely second that. This is very easy for my x-spath being a flight attendant. I know for a fact that while seeing me, he was actively planning a Caribbean liaison with a fellow flight attendant. He had me in New York, could go away with this guy and lord knows who elsewhere. I know that before me, he was dating a guy in Tel Aviv.
Facebook revealed very little — some pictures posted form various trips but not much else. He rarely comments on other people’s pictures or postings. Several of his friends are extensive Twitter users and bloggers, but again he is not active there. I take this to mean that he does not want people to know anything about him.
Of course the internet also facilitates his compartmentalization. He is very active on one gay dating site — the one with a large international user base. He lies about his age, location, height… From his picture, he looks younger than in person and I barely recognized him. In fact, save for one detail, I was convinced that this guy was not the x-spath. Had he changed his zodiac sign, I would not have realized it was him.
Thus, he uses the Internet and his job to facilitate meeting people while on flights.
When I met him, I even joked with him why he had not met before… He comes to New York at least twice a month and had been a flight attendant at least 4-5 years when I met him. We like the same kind of place and there not that many pub style gay bars in New York.
But he became defensive — “it’s not like every time I come to New York I go out to bars…” Right. He already had dates arranged.
His life is so compartmentalized I wonder if any of his friends really know him. Two of them are HIV positive and very open about that on their blogs and Twitter.
He is not. Or at least was not to me.
He was even reluctant to tell me exactly where he lived in London…
And I third it…..
“Each person in a spath’s life is compartmentalized and exposed only to the “face” that he knows that person will find acceptable.”
The ex spath’s grandmother once described him as having “more faces than the Town Hall clock”
I wonder if there are any articles on how to handle a ps if you have to deal with them. I know you cant believe anything they say and you have to always be on guard. hmm just wondering.
Hi Love Sucks,
the gray rock article describes how to be boring so the spath will lose interest in you. Other than that, there is no “winning” with a spath, as long as you play their game. No matter what you do, they want your drama. They want to see you freaking and they will do whatever it takes to create that.
Depending on the spath, this can be very dangerous because they don’t work alone. They always find minions to gang up on you.
The only edge you have with the spath is that they are predictable. You can be sure that they will idealize, devalue and discard you. BANK ON IT.
You can be sure that they will lie and mislead you, watch for the “tells”.
In the end you can be sure you will exit any relationshit with a spath with your head SPINNING. It’s very unhealthy.
Thanks Skylar. I guess in the end its all about getting away from them.
I like that Radar>>>Be wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove>>> I will be very careful. I just want peace.
My bi friends include 2 lovely women. Both mothers in their late 30s and 40s. Both married and love their husbands. They find the female body beautiful. They like women. They enjoy the emotional
intimacy and warmth of close relationships with other women and are openly and respectfully never objectifyingly appreciative of a beautiful or charismatic woman. Both have husbands who accept entirely that they had, prior to the decision to marry a man they love and raise kids in a stable unit, sexual relationships with women. It just isn’t a problem. I also have predominantly male friends who have struggled to fully embrace the predominantly gay sexuality, Because even if you live in a big city being openly gay still incurs penalties if not violence and harassment for many. So these men took the part of themselves that loved women and tried to deny their gay tendencies. That doesnt make them disordered. Or woman haters. They do find women physically alluring. But they ultimately wanted a life with another man. Bisexuality is a spectrum ranging from a drunken same sex experimental kiss when you’re a teen to long term relationships with both sexes. It’s not the bisexuality that’s a problem. It’s lying, deceiving, cheating, hurting people.
BBE your scouser pretended to live in a posh postcode didn’t he? I’m guessing he claimed St John’s Wood or Hampstead. Near Hampstead
Heath 😉
Darwinsmom exactly so. Why announce you never engage in violent criminal behaviour. As if you want a pat on the head for not abusing others. Or need reassurance that you are normal.
kim frederick:
Very funny!
“Alfalfa, what about your promise to the “he-man woman hater’s club”?”
“I’m sorry, I have to live my own life”…
Me, too!