In the midst of the pandemic, one woman met her husband, Ted, and felt like she’d finally found the man of her dreams. He checked all of her boxes, and there were instant sparks. So, they quickly became enmeshed in each other’s lives.
“I honestly felt like it was a soul connection. Maybe that’s why I ignored so many red flags,” she said.
It wasn’t until after they finally tied the knot and were about to celebrate their one-year anniversary that she discovered Ted (and someone else very close to them) had been stabbing her in the back all along.
But first, let’s go back to the beginning and give you some background on Ted. Early in their relationship, he introduced her to his kids and repeatedly swept her off her feet. He’d take her on trips, brag about her on social media often, and “shower” her with affection.
“I couldn’t get enough of it. Finally, I was getting exactly what I deserved from a man,” she recalled.
However, another person entered her life as well: Ted’s sister-in-law, Stacy. Suddenly, Stacy tried to forge a friendship with her, and even though she’s normally a very welcoming person, she still felt like something was off.
In fact, she even tried voicing her concerns about Stacy to Ted, yet he simply claimed that his sister-in-law didn’t have many friends. Plus, he asked her to just give Stacy a chance since they were “family.” That’s why she pushed her reservations aside and got closer to Stacy.
“At first, it was pretty shallow and just me trying ot humor her. But Stacy eventually became a confidante and what I considered a true friend,” she explained.
It took one year from the start of their relationship for Ted to propose. He decided to get a custom engagement ring, fly her across the country, and pop the question in front of her whole family. She was over the moon and believed that Ted truly “saw” her and appreciated her.
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Nonetheless, once they were officially engaged, she noticed that Ted’s behavior began to change. He’d act “out of character” sometimes, and initially, she tried to write off and excuse his actions due to his past traumas.
“It was confusing to see such extreme swings in his personality, but those swings were rare, so I justified them. He was perfect in every other way, but everyone has flaws, right?” she thought to herself.
What struck her as bizarre, though, was how, whenever Ted seemed to be in a mood, Stacy would coincidentally text her to check in. This led her to suspect that Stacy had some sort of “intuition” about her life, and she’d regularly turn to Ted’s sister-in-law for advice.
Sometimes, Stacy would even randomly text her, claiming to have had a bad dream about her and asking if she was okay. These texts would always align with nights she’d had problems with Ted, and she never considered the fact that perhaps Ted was also confiding in Stacy behind her back.
Anyway, she and Ted proceeded to get married, and immediately after, their relationship soured quickly. Ted began to nitpick her every move, spark fights with her, snap at his kids, and lie to her. He even started demanding that they sleep together and threatening to divorce her over small disagreements.
“My mental health started spiraling, but I kept making excuses for why he was acting the way he was. Stacy was always there for me when things got bad,” she detailed.
Additionally, her physical health was declining. She’d been getting infections, losing weight, and breaking out.
Then, the very day before her one-year anniversary with Ted, she’d been reading a book to his youngest kid before bed when she felt a phone vibrate. At first, she thought it was her own phone, grabbed it from under a pillow, and saw that Stacy had texted. Next, she opened the message, which read, “I love you,” and realized she was holding her husband’s phone.
She got up, ran into the bathroom, and locked herself inside as she scrolled through Ted and Stacy’s texts. They’d supposedly shared explicit photos and spoken about visiting the same cabin where she’d had her wedding ceremony–but this time, alone.
On top of that, she saw one text from Ted, which said, “I’ve closed things off with all my other side pieces. Now, it’s just you.” This led her to learn that he’d been talking and making plans with more women during their marriage.
Like a ton of bricks, the truth about their relationship hit her: she’d never truly known Ted as a person. So, she packed all her belongings and left their home in the middle of the night without a word. She also took screenshots of his text messages and sent them to his mother and brother.
“My whole world was crashing down on me. My perfect man was an illusion all along, one that he eventually admitted to carefully crafting,” she vented.
“He had read me like a book and offered me compatibilities that never really existed. I felt so stupid, I felt duped, like I was conned.”
And as of today, she still struggles to understand Ted and Stacy’s actions. All she knows is that, now, their betrayal has taught her to trust her instincts.
Can you imagine being so blindsided? What would you have done after uncovering your husband’s infidelity with his own sister-in-law?
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By Katharina Buczek
Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing in... More about Katharina Buczek
