SHE has to sneak around in her own home like a thief. Watches TV secretly because he doesn’t like her programmes. Calls family and friends when he isn’t around. Gives away her pets before he hurts them. Hides the bruises his blows leave on her skin.
And the person responsible for her torment? The man she’s shared her life with for 30 years – the person who promised to love and cherish her forever.
Frieda (not her real name) delivers a chilling account of her life with a man who has narcissistic personality disorder. You might ask why she doesn’t leave him – why she stays and subjects herself to misery almost daily. But it’s easier said than done, she says.
Here, in Frieda’s own words, is her story.
IWAS in the process of divorcing my first husband when we met. Initially, I wasn’t interested in him – I had children from my marriage, and I wasn’t up for a new relationship. But he contacted me persistently until I finally gave in.
In the beginning, while he was reeling me in, it felt like I was in heaven. He spoiled me like few men could. I’d never loved a man as much and I felt like the happiest woman on Earth. It was the best time of my life.
Looking back, the warning signs were there from day one, but I was willing to overlook everything as long as I could be with him.
He was always extremely jealous. I couldn’t even mention another man’s name without being accused of being unfaithful and his accusations were always delivered in the crudest language possible.
Meanwhile, he was having multiple relationships behind my back.
この記事は YOU South Africa の 06 June 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は YOU South Africa の 06 June 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Our top picks to listen to and watch
The HOTTEST things in POP CULTURE and ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK
QUEEN OF THE COURT
She's just won her fifth Grand Slam title and at 23 tennis star Iga Świątek is only getting started!
WE'RE ON A MISSION TO HELP
The Olifants have started an ambulance service for animals from less fortunate communities
BARBER TO THE BOKS
He's been cutting hair for almost 50 years. But it's the more than 40 jackets and signed jerseys from Springbok players whose hair he's done that make him a cut above the rest
THE SCIENCE OF DEATH
New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be far less distinct than previously thought
WE TALK ABOUT Colombia's underwater treasure quest
COLOMBIA is launching a historic underwater expedition to explore a ship that sank in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago.
UNFORGETTABLE READS
These new releases all offer something surprising and unexpected
EAT YOUR FILL
Trying to lose weight? Stock up on the foods that trigger the release of the same 'fullness' hormone as the weight-loss drug Ozempic
ROMANTIC RUPERT
Retired media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is a sucker for love and at 93 he's got married - again!
RUNNING STRONG
This Roodepoort mom has lost half her body weight - and she's just done her second Comrades