nelen.ru - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
This 40-year-old woman and her ex, 36, have a 4-year-old daughter, and she broke up with him when their daughter was a year old. Sadly, her ex didn’t provide her with any support throughout the pregnancy, and he was toxic and physically and emotionally abused her after their daughter was born.
She stayed in the relationship after the birth because she wanted her daughter to have two parents who were together. However, she knew that she didn’t want to raise her daughter in an environment like that, and she didn’t want her daughter to believe it was acceptable for men to hurt women or anyone.
At the same time, she was incredibly unhappy, so she never questioned whether she made the right decision in breaking up with her ex. She knew it was the best thing for her and her daughter. But she doesn’t think she’s perfect and acknowledges that she can be pretty set in her ways.
More than three years after she broke up with her ex, at the beginning of 2023, she met a wonderful man who respected and supported her. He’s sweet and giving, and she describes him as the most amazing man she’s ever known.
They’ve been dating ever since, and in September, she felt like she was ready for her boyfriend to meet her daughter. In her view, she spent a long time vetting him, and he was a trustworthy man.
“I informed my daughter’s dad about my relationship and asked him if he wanted to meet my boyfriend before I introduced him to our daughter. He refused to meet him but also didn’t want my daughter to meet him,” she said.
According to her ex, she should only hang out with her boyfriend when their daughter is not with her. But her ex only has custody every other weekend, which was what he wanted. Her ex moved an hour away, and she has pleaded with him to move closer so that he can spend more time with their daughter, but he’s rejected this idea. Her ex’s relatives live near her, and his workplace is also not far away, so it never made sense that he chose to move an hour away.
She thought it was unreasonable that her ex assumed she’d only get together with her boyfriend every other weekend. Even though her ex didn’t approve, she allowed her boyfriend to meet her daughter.
Every summer, she throws a massive birthday party for their daughter, and she always invites her family, her ex, and her ex’s family. Not long ago, she mentioned the party to her ex, saying that she wanted him to meet her boyfriend before the party so that everyone could be cordial for their daughter’s birthday.
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