There was a time, pre-kids, when being invited on a weekend break by a new boyfriend would have had me stuffing my suitcase with glee. But in April 2015, with a three-year-old son to think about, organising my schedule was much more complex. ‘I could do the second weekend in February or the last one in March,’ I said, in response to my then-boyfriend Josh* inviting me on a trip to Manchester. ‘Oh,’ he replied, irritation clear on his face. ‘I wanted to go this weekend, can’t you get a babysitter?’ And that was when it became obvious that our short relationship was already fizzling out.
I’d split with my ex in 2013 when our son was just a year old. We’d been together for eight years and it was a while before I felt ready to start dating again, but when I did, I quickly realised it was a minefield.
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