London Pride: Gay Pride 2009

MARRIAGE IN CRISIS: Series of articles examining marriage and relationships, how they thrive but often fail

My Pastor Slept With My Wife

Losing Faith in Church and Religion

Episcopal Church Approves Gay Clergy

Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe: Do separation and divorce have to be ugly and painful for all concerned?

Divorced: Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson divorced Debbie Rowe with clinical precision. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston fought an ugly battle in the media with Angelina Jolie as the temptress in the wings. Tom Cruise's divorce from Nicole Kidman revealed his weirder nature as a devotee of Scientology. Separation and divorce, or simply being apart from your lover, can be painful, messy and ugly. Readers report on their experiences from the frontlines of love. 

advertising in San Francisco, and I was this married guy from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She lit a fire in me and made me see all the things I'd given up when I settled down and had kids.

I married her as soon as my divorce came through. It took about five months for me to realize I had made the biggest blunder of my life. My new wife was an irresponsible wacko.

She smoked pot, drank copious quantities of wine, and was unfaithful after we'd been married just a five months. She said, "Baby, you know me, I like to party. It doesn't mean I don't love you."

I missed my kids like hell, I missed my ex-wife who was such a good woman, such a great mom, completely caring and responsible. I begged and begged her to take me back, but she wouldn't. She said she could never forgive me. She even told my kids I was a bad man.

I divorced my wacko wife within a year. I begged and pleaded with my ex, all to no avail. I got into this horrible depression, did the rounds of therapy, counseling, self-help groups, none of them helped. Basically, I got into this mess because I dropped my guard and thought with my c--k. It's ruined my life. I don't know anyone who is as unhappy as I am. I really screwed up in the biggest way possible.

Love is a human right

Gina: I am having an awful time coping with the loss of my husband. It's a permanent loss, nothing can be done about it. He died of pancreatic cancer last year, and it's left the biggest hole in my life.

I catch myself speaking to him -- Glen was his name --expecting him to answer; I dream about him, wake up, and he's not there. I cry buckets and buckets of tears because I am just so lonely and depressed.

There aren't any meds that help my condition. I was told that time will heal this gaping wound, I'll find new friends, new activities, I might even find a new love in my life, but all those things feel unreal and impossibly far away.

I have never been this sad in my life. You have to live through it to understand it. You spend your adult life with someone you adore, respect, and admire, then illness rips them away from you, tearing out your heart, damaging your soul.

Wallard: I'm 19 and I met this fantastic girl, Kerry, who's 17. We were at mission camp together fixing houses in the Appalachians, working hard everyday. Kerry and I made an immediate connection. It was love at first sight. I'd wake up in the morning and my	Colors of pride
my whole body and soul came alive when I saw her. Her smile was so beautiful, she was such fun to be around. I loved just looking at her, her hands, her hair, her eyes. She was in my thoughts all day and night. We walked together and talked; she really got me in ways that other people don't.	Kara Goucher: How to build an athlete's body

Then the camp ended and it was time to go home. I had to go back to Chicago and Kerry had to go to Bloomington, Indiana, which is a long way away. We keep in touch by Skype, email, instant messaging, but it's just not the same. I feel like my heart is shredded in a thousand pieces. Sometimes I just break down and cry and can't stop. My parents and friends try to comfort me but it doesn't help. I love Kerry with all my heart. I can only be happy if I am with her. I want to save up some money and move down to Bloomington to be close to her.

Audrey Hepburn: Designing for American women

Lauryn Hill: A salute to African American style and talent

Greg: My wife Zoe found out from my cell phone messages that I was having sex with a woman from work. Zoe hit the roof, did the full drama queen routine. I told her it was just sex, nothing serious. You know, for a guy sex can be just sex; he doesn't want to leave his wife and marry the woman. Anyhow, Zoe has this therapist friend who told her we should think about trial separation, which is

a stepping stone to divorce or to saving your marriage, whichever way you choose to look at it. Zoe takes my calls but I can't meet her. She gives me zero input into what's happening in her life. I don't know whether she's meeting guys, sleeping with them. I imagine she'd doing everything possible to make me feel bad, a loser. 

If that's her goal, it's working. I feel a complete schmuck. How or why could I risk my marriage like that. I was stupid. I miss Zoe so much. Thing is, my crime isn't a major one, is it? It's not like I'm guilty of genocide or drug trafficking. I slept with a woman a couple of times, that's my only crime -- and I'm serving hard time for it.

Teresa: My husband, Jake, and I have been married for 21 years. I love him to bits. He's the best thing that ever happened to me. We fell in love at high school, went to the same college, studied music together, then both got jobs as teachers at the same school. We're inseparable. He's my best friend, the shoulder I cry on, the man I most desire.

We recently got the terrifying news that Jake has a brain tumor and it doesn't look good for him. I feel sick inside for him, for us, for our marriage. I have to hope and pray he'll recover. Right now it's not too bad, but who knows what it'll be like a few months down the road.

How will I cope watching Doug die before my eyes? How will he manage the pain, the attacks, the loss of function, the meds and treatment? 

Our lives have been turned upside down. There is nothing good that can come out of this. People tell me there's a greater purpose, but I just don't believe them. The best place for Jake is to be here with me in our perfect family. He doesn't deserve to be ill. It's not fair. It's so cruel. I just want to cry all the time.

Sign the Guestbook. Recommend news and stories to us, sell us photos, send us news, tell us if you like our selection.

Custom search this site for marriage, relationships, beauty, and fitness

How to stay in shape at 50-plus

Build a pro athlete's body

Dr. Lisa Randall, Harvard physics professor: A guide to super intelligent women

Powerful and succesful women leaders

Women sports stars show how to build a perfect body

Bold and beautiful: The American woman

Freida Pinto, star of global success 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Build your dream body, give overweight the finger

First love: Leaving your spouse for a childhood sweetheart

Green card: How to marry an American woman and become legal

Social anxiety disorder: nervous before meetings and social gatherings? Worried about meeting people? Uncomfortable in a crowd? Avoid challenges at work?

Sarah Palin's interviews with Katie Couric

Stay in shape at 50

Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe; Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston; Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman; Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton: matches made in heaven or hell? Celebrities seem to hook up and part as though ending a relationship is the easiest thing in the world. It's not -- leaving or losing a spouse or lover is painful and often ugly. Our readers tell us how they cope with separation, divorce, and being apart from their loved ones.

Divorced: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman

Divorced: Tom Green and Drew Barrymore

Divorced: Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton

My pastor slept with my wife

Losing faith in church and religion

Eric Benet, husband of Halle Berry: Can men with high sex drive marry and remain faithful?

Running the world: Keeping in shape during international travel

This site's Privacy Policy