Advice Column

My sister just got engaged and we went out to a nice dinner to celebrate. It wasn’t super fancy, but definitely the kind of place where you try to act a little more put together. Everything was going fine and we were doing toasts.

Her fiancé gave a speech and said how much he loved that she’s “so honest” and “never hides anything.” That hit me weird because she absolutely has hidden things before, especially from me.

About 10 years ago, she secretly dated one of my close friends for months. I only found out because I walked in on them. It caused a huge issue and I ended up losing that friendship. She never really apologized, just brushed it off as us being young.

I wasn’t planning to say anything, but I’d had a couple drinks and ended up muttering something like, “yeah unless she decides to keep it a secret.” The room went quiet immediately.

[Read more…] about “I made a kinda snarky comment at my sister’s engagement dinner and now everyone’s mad at me”

I’m a 35-year-old woman, divorced for about 8 years, with a 9-year-old son. I had been dating someone for almost 4 years who also has a son. Our kids became close very quickly, and before long, we were spending most of our time together and building a serious relationship.

Early on, I realized we weren’t fully compatible. Things weren’t bad, but our goals didn’t align, and every time we talked about the future, we got stuck. Still, we stayed together and kept going.

[Read more…] about “Seeing my son cry after my breakup broke me – how do I support him? “

Today I got a Facebook message from someone claiming my husband was cheating on me with escorts. I asked for proof and they sent screenshots. I confronted my husband and he admitted that about a month ago he had contacted an escort but never showed up to the appointment.

Because he didn’t show up, the person has been demanding payment. Now there are two numbers threatening him, saying if he didn’t pay $4000 they would send everything to his wife. They followed through and contacted me.

Now they are threatening to come to our house.

[Read more…] about “Husband attempted to cheat, now family is being harassed”

My girlfriend and I have been together for a year, and overall things have been solid. We communicate well, support each other, and I’ve always made it a point to respect her independence. I’ve never tried to control what she wears, who she talks to, or what she posts.

But today she posted a picture of herself in a thong, facing away from the camera. It was just her, full view, with a cheeky caption. It completely caught me off guard because she’s never posted anything like that before.

[Read more…] about “Girlfriend posted revealing photo on Instagram”

So my wife (36F) today asks me how much I have in my savings account. We have been together for 6 years and married for one of those years in May. We don’t share bank accounts, her money is hers, and mine is mine. We are sitting cooking dinner in the air fryer when she just out of the blue asks, how much do you have in savings?

For me, it’s not any of her business and I told her that. Am I wrong for not telling her how much I have in savings?

[Read more…] about “My wife asked me how much I have in my savings account.”

Six years ago, I found out that my wife (40F) was unfaithful, and it hit me hard. At the time, I chose to stay for the sake of our young child, hoping to keep his life stable. Over the years, we’ve tried everything—couples counseling, therapy, you name it—trying to rebuild what was broken. But no matter how much effort we’ve put in, it hasn’t worked. Our relationship has become more of a partnership in parenting than a marriage. She’s a great mother to our kids, but the love we once had is gone. I see her more as a friend or a roommate now, not the woman I fell in love with. We’ve been together for almost 18 years, but it doesn’t feel like a marriage anymore.

[Read more…] about “My wife cheated and I have trouble leaving”

My husband and his mom have an incredibly close bond. He’s the baby of the family, the one who stayed close to home, and they talk daily.

• We live across the street from them in a house they bought for us.
• We have dinner with them every Sunday and then again at their house every Monday.
• They watch our child for several hours every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but there’s always some criticism about my parenting.
• They buy something new for the baby every week, pay for our lawn service, bought our cars, and, of course, our house.

[Read more…] about “My husband is a classic mamas boy”

My boyfriend (27M) and I (27F) have known each other for 10 years and been together for 8. We grew up together—first love, university, life milestones, everything. We moved in together after graduating and have built a stable life with similar careers and income.

Early on, we talked about marriage and agreed we’d wait until we were financially stable. After we both got good jobs, I felt ready—and our families started asking about it too. I held off bringing it up because his job was stressful.

Last year, an opportunity came up where being married could give us certain benefits. We talked seriously about a quick civil wedding and even discussed it with our families. It made me feel like he was ready.

[Read more…] about “My boyfriend doesn’t want to marry me after 8 years of an amazing relationship”

My husband and I met when I was pregnant with my first son. His biological father had just walked out on me after finding out about the pregnancy. He said he wanted nothing to do with it, moved away, changed his number, and disappeared completely. I didn’t hear from him again until now, six years later.

My husband has been there from day one. He stepped in without hesitation and has raised my son as his own. He even signed the birth certificate. Since then, we’ve grown our family and now have two kids together.

Everything has been going so well. He treats both children equally, and he’s an incredible father and husband.

Then, out of nowhere, my ex reached out. He says he’s ready to be part of his son’s life now.

[Read more…] about “My husband raised my son as his own… now the biological father wants to come back.”

Several months ago, one of my husband’s closest friends got engaged. A few months later, my husband was asked to be a groomsman and he said yes. We recently received the wedding invitation, and I am not invited.

For context, my husband and I have been married for over 15 years. We used to live across the country, and because of COVID, we didn’t meet the couple during the first couple of years they were together. After moving back to our hometown, I spent some time with them. I always got along well with the groom and liked his fiancée.

I’m pretty introverted and tend to be quiet in group settings, but I’m kind and respectful. For some reason, the fiancée developed a strong dislike for me early on. I don’t know why. When I found out, I tried talking to her about it, but I didn’t get any clear answers. She eventually blocked and removed me on social media.

[Read more…] about “My husband is a groomsman, but I’m not invited to the wedding”