Hi everyone, NCed for this as it could be identifying with the rest of my posting history. I am a regular here.
My ex-husband (together 16 years, separated 3 years, divorced a year ago) has just told me he is moving in with his girlfriend of 2 years. I am really sad about it, because this is so unfair.
In our marriage I was the main provider, did everything for the DC and him, run the house, organized our social life, managed our money. He was essentially a passenger in our life, a funny manchild who never bothered to grow up properly. He used drugs, jumped from job to job (with periods of unemployment in between) and spent our money freely, while I was working my arse off to provide our DC with a good life. Eventually he announced he wanted to separate to "find himself" and left. We now share the DC 50/50, which still breaks my heart as I am missing out so much of their childhood. Upon divorce I had to give him half of everything we had, in spite of the fact that he did very little to contribute during the marriage beside spending our money on gadgets and drugs.
3 years later, he is in a happy relationship with a seemingly great woman who is 15 years younger than him (he is 47 and she is 32), smart, successful and beautiful. I have dated someone for a year but it didn't work out and we recently broke up, which probably contributes to making me feel so down about my ex moving in with his gf. The dating options for me as a 45 years old single woman don't seem great, based on what I see around me and the apps.
How is it fair that he gets to have a second chance at happiness with a great woman, maybe even have more DC and another family, when I am sad and alone after carrying him through life for so long? Why do certain men always seem to land on their feet no matter how little effort they put?
Please be kind with me, I know he has a right to move on but this feels so unfair 