are there happy 2nd relationships

[heghog]

having recently split from EA X, having 2dcs and being over 40, I know my chances of finding a lovely man to restore my faith in men in general is not that high. All the men my age are either single for a very good reason and/or looking for women younger than themselves and/or yet to have children.

Notwithstanding all of that I have not given up hope.

so I am looking for people to tell me of lovely second relationship, step dad that they adored and men who were single for some reason other than womankind was better off without them.

share your good news stories with my please and if possible tell me, how did your lovely new dp or dsf come to be available?

yes I am aware for every happy story there are probably a dozen unhappy ones (my X has met a new partner so that is an unhappy story in the making), but today just for today, happy stories please.

My mum was widowed at 50,and at 54 is about six months into a lovely relationship with a lovely man, he was married in the past but no horror stories about the break up. They are really happy together :)

see it can happen.

I am actually pretty happy on my own (before everyone tells me that I don't need a man) but I just like to think that it is possible...

I left my abusive husband 3 years ago and assumed I'd remain single for a very long time (I am nearly 40). After just under a year of being happily single I met my DP on a divorce advice forum and we are getting married later this year. We have our ups and downs but overall my life have never been better

Yep. Separated from my first husband (dv) spent 2 years being happily single then met DH. 6 years in and we are very happy and he's an amazing stepdad to my DDs :)

can I ask how you met?

My mum, now in her mid 70s, was widowed at 50, sadly had another bereavement of a second partner who she was with for around two years, and has now been with a lovely widower for around seven years!

There's hope for us all

Mh DH was married before (I hadn't been) We're now happily married and have been for seven years. I hope I'm a good step mum.
We met at a party I went to with my DB
DH's ExW has also remarried a lovely man too. He is an excellent step dad to DHs DSs. (I don't know how they met)
Second relationships aren't doomed to failure. In this case there are two people who I would guess are much happier in their second marriages than they could have hoped to be if they'd stayed in the first one.

Not sure if my example is long established enough to be of much use, as the relationship is only 11 months old and we don't live together nor have plans to, but my DP is lovely. He was very hurt when his XW ended their relationship ? but after some soul-searching has now concluded it was best all round and is happier than ever. We both had several years before the end of our last LTR and the start of this one, though he casually dated in the interim.

He has been content to let things develop at my pace, is very respectful and considerate (generally in life, not just with me), and great with my DC. He would like DC (doesn't have any) but prioritises a happy relationship. Oh, and he's hot and great in bed!

We met through work when I began working from the same location as him (we don't work together), which is great as it gave me lots of people who have known him for years and can vouch for his good character.

secretservice indeed.
I have been musing that although X can and probably will have many relationships, none of them is going to be happy.
but it is nice to hear that it is possible especially nice from those who have had to put up with dv the first time around.

sometimes MN and is all doom and gloom. so this brightens the day

heg I left an EA marriage after 24 years and my DP was married more than 20 years when his DW left for OM. It took us both a year or so to recover.
We met through POF and despite my scepticism two years on we are very very happy together and can't believe our luck. I hope both our Xs are as happy.
There is a saying that everybody brings out a different tune in you, and I rather hope a different woman will make my XH a nicer man. I know DP makes me a nicer person!

DP and I both had long marriages previously: I split with my XDH, his XDW split with him.

Been together 6 years, amazingly happy, both learned from our mistakes and much more conscious of nipping bad habits in the bud. And both our Xs are now in stable relationships and seem very happy too.

Both in our 40s when we met, with teenage + children.

My parents split when I was 4. Mum was on her own for 6 years and got together with a friend after he got divorced. I'd always liked him when I knew him as "friend's dad," but he is a great stepdad and I soon grew to love him like another dad, although I was really frightened when they moved in together that we'd all get too attached and then they'd split up. They've been married 20 years, they still enjoy being together, and my step-sibs and I count each other as "proper" siblings now.

I married my DH less than two years after his divorce - I met him when he'd been divorced eight months, and I'd just come out of a long and horrible on-off relationship. He was teaching a sculpture course I was doing, neither of us had any plans to start a new relationship, but we ended up deciding to get married within a few months. He is a brilliant step-dad, and I love his DCs too - which is not to say it hasn't been bumpy, and still can be.

I think one of the key things for us was that neither of us was looking for anything at all, it was a nice surprise and there was no pressure. It all just seemed to fall into place. Step families aren't straightforward though, but that's another story. I don't regret any of it.

theCat not just a new man for your mum but siblings for you too.

I shall remain optimistic. I at least have the benefit of having had a couple of lovely rs before meeting X. I just need reminding that men are more often that not normal.

lemon I would be happy for X if he had a happy rs as it is to the benefit of our dcs but I am dubious. All his rs start well but eventually he convinces himself that his needs are not being met and underneath it all he does not respect women. but who knows maybe even he can find someone who will change his mind or maybe he will work it out himself.

My dm was in an abusive relationship after she left my F but then met a lovely man who is now my DSF and much more of a dad to me and a GF to my dc than my actual F. They've been together about 12 years now and got together when she was late 40s and he was late 50s. His long term partner had died about 5 years before he met my dm. They met at a trade event when they both had similar small businesses.

I know several second marriages (after divorce) which have lasted 20+ years and seem/seemed very happy.

Sorry heg been a busy day. I met him on the internet but not on a dating site, it was a mutual interest forum :)