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!
Yes My dearest Moondancer,
You are right. I don’t want to scare her either. So I should have said: It does take a LONG time to process the trauma of what happened, but you will experience little victories, helpful things that people say that feed your soul. That’s your focus for now…. TO FEED YOUR SOUL. Feed your soul EVERY day. Moon is SO right. In the end, it is about US.
HIS LoveSucks:
???
One method I used b/c the pain and confusing was SO OVERWHELMING to me? I learned to write it all down in a journal, just to get the pain OUT of me, OUT of my brain, I wrote and wrote and wrote. (Irony that those journals are also evidence of what he did and said, in a timeline b/c they are dated and I also wrote the TIME. So I have proof of his shenanigans b/c I can line up the legal docs with the backstory.)
And each day, I did something to ease my stress, even thought I might not have felt it at that moment. I tried it all until I found what worked for ME, what I NEEDED. And one thing I needed was a hug, but I had no one to hug me. SO, weird as it sounds, I HUGGED ME. I wrapped my arms around me and HUGGED ME and talked out loud to me as if I were talking to my dearest friend. Sounds crazy but your subconsious doesn’t care WHO hugs the body, so it worked for me on a subconsious level. I also used massage glove and massaged my arms and legs. Caring touch helps reconnect our souls to our bodies. (touch is VERY nurturing when the soul spirit has been wounded)
I went to sleep with lavendar scents. I slept with a HUGE ENORMOUSLY soft white bear and a soft blanket. I sent notes of encouragement in the mail so when I opened my mail, there was an inspirational message. (Funny how much smarter I sound to me than I thought myself when I wrote.)
These are things that gave me moments of feeling relief, and I built moment upon moment until I had relief for minutes, then an hour, and so on. I also drag them out b/c I reverted whenever something bad happened b/c recovery is not linear, sometimes it’s two steps forward, three steps back, then four steps forward and one step back. But the process is OVERALL… FORWARD.
This is just examples. You have to experiement with yourself to see what is meaningful to connect to and recover YOUR life force, your spirit. She’s still there, she never goes away. She’s just retreated into safety and will return when she feels safe. YOU will work on making a safe place for her again. That’s what recovery is for. Feeling safe and strong again.
All my best,
Katy
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE – BUT FIRST IT WILL PISS YOU OFF
Moon……………again, just……..wow.
Love, I am not intending to come off as harsh, but it might be a huge leap onto your healing path if you write down on a piece of paper what, precisely is preventing you from putting an end to this.
For instance, I was afraid (fearful) of being on my own and paying bills, etc. I had no employment income aside from a very small part-time position which was all that I could physically manage as per physical disability, etc.
If you are in fear of your physical / emotional safety, there are always – always – options. http://Www.ndvh.org has a host of resources available.
If you are not bound by a contract of marriage and do not have joint interests (co-owned house, car loans, etc) ther is no good reason to remain living with a toxic person. There just isn’t.
I have a beloved friend who is in a terrible relationship and refuses to end it because of her own fears. They aren’t married and do not have a single joint interest – yet, she will not put an end to the abuse because of her own fears. And, all I can do is listen and let her express her torment.
Give this some serious consideration, Love. What is worth remaining for?
Brightest blessings
There are thing i want to do and maybe I will one day. I just hurt so bad and want and need releif from the pain. I have been so consumed with everything going on with me and sround me that I had not noticed that I hadnt eaten in 2 days. Amazing, and I dont even care. I dont.
Truthspeak.
There is that moment, isn’t there. I stayed tooooo long and tried to fix what I had NO control over. Until that moment when a wee small voice inside me said it out loud.
“There is nothing to stay FOR.”
TRUTH is a B! But it’s the only path through HELL to freedom.
HIS Lovesucks
I know about that pain, just wanting the pain to stop.
I was fortunate to have a wonderful therapist to speak with for a few weeks. As she pointed out to me, the bombs are dropping. You’re getting wounded. As long as you stay, the pain will only get worse b/c the bombs are causing more and more wounds. You have to get away from the bombs (he who is dumping bombs on you).
I saw this on a T- shirt not long ago –> It is better to have loved and lost then to live with a Physco the rest of your life.’
I was not aware LS that you are still with this guy. It took me 3 years and 35 pounds lost to see him to the door. I feel for you, I dont know your situation or circumstance’s.
But you can not begin reclaiming yourself until he is gone and you are NC.
Yes we live together. It is hard. So Hard.
Love, it’s a choice that we have ALL had before us: do something or, give up. Each and every one of us identifies with the pain that you are experiencing, but not a single one of us has the power to heal you. YOU are the only one who can either put an end to the abuse and save yourself AND your soul, or not.
You have choices. Either realize that you DESERVE to care about yoursel, or remain in misery. It’s down to what you will, or will not do to survive, emerge, heal, and recover.
I am very impressed with all of my friends here on love fraud. Looking back I can see the growth of all of us. WE all have become stronger wiser and more confident. I think the best thing is we are all much wiser. I would like to believe if having to deal with a spath again we are more prepared to look for Red flags and if we see any we will be smart enough to get out of dodge. In my case because of my grandsons at least be smart enough to never let myself be put in a compromising position again where my heart will be torn out.Sociopaths do not get even. Getting even is not good enough for them, they seek revenge. I have moved on and stayed away for the boys sake as well as ours. The sociopaths still seek revenge. I have found out the only way to stop them is to stand up for myself, no matter what the cost. If they win we all lose because they will never stop as long as it is working for them they love drama and keep creating it. I have the strength to stand up to these bullies now.I too would not be here without the good people on love fraud. This has been quit the journey but I Am still here and I made it.
Thank you all
xoxo