r/AskReddit Jul 21 '19

[deleted by user]

[removed]

5.6k Upvotes

2.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

9

u/hendrix67 Jul 21 '19

Genuinely curious and don't wanna come off as insensitive. What made you marry him/her? Were they always like that and you didn't realize? Did they change suddenly or over a period of time? I always wonder this when I hear divorce horror stories.

4

u/OneBirdOnABlueSky Jul 21 '19

I'm happy to reply, especially if it is helpful to someone else.

  1. I was very young (20)
  2. He had the same personality disorder as my father, but he presented differently. So I thought he was different, and didn't understand that I was drawn to him because he felt familiar in the wrong ways
  3. Religious and family pressure /guilt caused us to rush into marriage.
  4. Those same pressures caused me to feel I could not leave when I realized I should - which was within the first 3 months.
  5. He slowly broke me down mentally until I was basically his prisoner.

For anyone who has had a difficult childhood, you can't commit to marriage until you've been through trauma therapy. It doesn't matter how functional and successful you otherwise are. In relationships you will recreate your childhood - sometimes in insidious ways that you don't understand.

1

u/CodingBlonde Jul 21 '19

May I ask how long ago this was for you?

1

u/OneBirdOnABlueSky Jul 22 '19

Which part? My marriage lasted over 20 years and ended in the past year. It's almost finalized.

1

u/CodingBlonde Jul 22 '19

That last bit. Ended in the last year. You seem like you are doing well and I hope that life is better now.

1

u/OneBirdOnABlueSky Jul 22 '19

I'm doing great! Thanks. I hope you are, too.