At the risk of sounding like I used my husband simply as a sperm donor, I admit that I lost interest in him the moment my baby was born. It wasn’t his fault. I had loved my husband for a decade before we had our son. I was his third wife, we had a two-decade age difference between us, and he already had two kids - but, somehow, it worked. Until I decided it wasn’t working anymore. People love to blame their spouse for the breakdown of their marriage, but I’ve always known that it was largely my fault.
We’d had a good marriage, and we’d been together for all of my 20s and married in 2003. I thought we were happy, but then, in 2007, I had a baby - and that little man changed everything.
NOTHING ELSE MATTERED
Winston, born by emergency caesarean at 32 weeks – taught me so much about family and real love in a way I hadn’t before experienced.
I was obsessed with him. Yes, partly because he was a much-longed for IVF baby. Yes, because he was super cute and so much fun, right from the start. But mostly because I had worked so hard to be in this position – to become a mother – that nothing else really mattered to me after that.
I always thought a baby would unite people, but Winston’s presence divided us, because some members of my husband’s family still expected me to be the devoted family woman I’d always been. They didn’t see that I was – just devoted to a different family now. My very own.
Denne historien er fra August 17, 2021-utgaven av WOMAN'S OWN.
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Denne historien er fra August 17, 2021-utgaven av WOMAN'S OWN.
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MIND OF MY OWN
The Woman's Own columnist has her say on the gender gap, cats and timed hugs
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LET'S EMBRACE OUR CHRISTMAS TAT!
Becky Dickinson explains why she'll still be rocking around her tinsel-strewn tree this year
BURIED SECRETS
We look at the shocking cases of celebrities posthumously accused of being sexual predators-and how they got away with it
FESTIVE NO-BAKES
Pop on the Christmas tunes and whip up a batch of these easy sweet treats
PROTECT YOUR SMILE
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'TIS THE SEASON TO SHINE!
At last, Hayley McCrossan, 39, feels fit and healthy
FOR THE LOVE OF TOM
When Deborah Mitchell, 57, lost her son, she vowed to help other families facing the same heartbreak
THE NURSE WHO LEFT MY GRANDAD FOR DEAD belict
Rachael Fealey, 31, had one question for the woman who killed her beloved Grampa - how could you?
Coleen's MONEY WORRIES
What are the reasons behind her financial and marriage fears?