My Husband Cheated… On Boxing Day

As she glanced at the iPad, Danuta Kean realised just why her man had gone out – and why he was all dressed up.

- Danuta Kean

Last Christmas Eve, I waved a cheery goodbye to my only child, my daughter Flynn, eight, as she hopped into my former husband’s car to spend her first Christmas away from me.

While Flynn spent Christmas Day with my ex Philip, his partner and her three children, I was alone — I’d chosen not to accept friends’ kind invitations — yet I felt neither bruised nor resentful. Flynn went with my blessing. After her father and I split, I promised myself that she should never be made to feel torn between conflicting loyalties to two parents she loves equally.

Meanwhile, I indulged in a long lie-in, enjoyed a solitary walk in the glorious Kentish countryside near my home, revelled in a soak in the bath, then ate lunch on a tray by the wood burner while watching the Queen’s speech. 

Three years ago, I never imagined that I would anticipate Christmas alone with such composure. I was consumed by suspicions that my husband was having an affair, and they were confirmed when I discovered messages he had sent to his lover on social media. It was Boxing Day 2014 when our seven-year marriage imploded. Feeling betrayed, hostile and vengeful, I had endured my darkest Christmas.

Emotional circles