
The dictionary defines a homewrecker as "a person blamed for the break-up of a marriage or long-term relationship, especially as a result of having an affair with one of the partners."
That's serious business, sure.
But relationships are complicated and everyone has their reasons, regrets and even justifications, as we learned one Redditor asked the online community:
“Homewreckers" of reddit, what's your story? Did you regret it?"
"He asked me out..."
"He asked me out before he started dating her, and I said no, for a bunch of reasons that had nothing to do with my feelings for him. They were together for almost 2 years, and during that time, we kept in touch. It was innocent enough, talking over Facebook once in a while, joking around, and I would tell him funny stories about bad dates I was going on. One night we were both drunk texting, and things got super super flirty. I realized that we were no longer talking as just friends."
"The next day, I messaged him, and told him this wasn't fair to his girlfriend, and that we had to stop talking online. We stopped. Six months later, he shoots me a message, saying that him and his girlfriend had broken up, and asked me to hang out to catch up. I hadn't been sure if it was a date or not, until he smooched me. We were inseparable from that day on."
"Unfortunately, he had failed to tell me that he had literally broken up with his girlfriend THE DAY BEFORE he called me. And I got a reputation for breaking them up, which I kind of did, even though he never technically cheated. We're still together 10 years later, though, and sadly she still resents me for "stealing" him, and I know that she (and her friends) still think he cheated on her with me. I don't blame her though, I'd have been heartbroken if I was her, and I still feel bad for how it played out.
"I didn't know..."
"I didn't know he was married until she contacted me. I got lucky as hell. She found out what he was up to, she knew I didn't know, and simply asked me to meet with her to confront him and understood I was blindsided and understandably hurt and guilty all in one. So we met him together at a coffee shop. It was awkward as all get out. I cut him out of my life and after she and I had a talk we also broke contact. I still feel bad."
"Definitely regret it..."
"Definitely regret it, but mostly because I wasn't behaving well for myself or by my own standards. So I started dating this guy I worked with, and ended up moving in with him. I'd just graduated college and really wanted out of my parents' house. It was hard for me to adjust to living back at home, I couldn't find a decent job for months (still didn't I was working at a restaurant). Anyway, I lived with this guy for a few months, and he goes back home to Visit his family."
"Except he didn't. He went home to get MARRIED. And then he came back, and we went right back to living together. I heard rumors sure, and when I confronted him about it he gave me all sorts of excuses until he finally confirmed it. And then it was more excuses to keep me around—it was arranged, he didn't love her, blah blah blah."
"But eventually, she tells him she wants to come live with him. So she does. I'm kicked to the curb. Bounced around for a bit. She hates it here, wants to go back home."
"So me, being the dumbass that I am, get asked to move back in. Now, at this point, when I look back at it, I try to be a little kinder to myself. I did, and ended up in a really low part of my life. He strung me along, saying he wanted to be with me, and told me he would break it off. He didn't. He exhibited a lot of abusive/controlling behavior during this time. Mostly emotional abuse, and once got physical. Then, after almost 3 years of living together, he straight up ghosted me. Left the country. When he was supposed to return, he just didn't. I also was a bit of an alcoholic at that time (1.5 years sober now!), and didn't handle it well. Drinking, hating life, stuck in a shitty apartment in a shitty city not really knowing what to do."
"I went back to therapy, talked it out, and started working on the self-esteem problems/undoing a lot of the abusive behavior he was displaying. I didn't do a great job. I went back to hooking up with another shitty ex. Started talking more to an old hookup from school."
"That old hookup from school came to visit me, we reconnected, and I moved four hours away from that fucked up situation to move in with him. I'm very lucky that I ended up with someone who was not only honest, hardworking, sweet and respectful, but willing to love me through all that fuckedupness lol. We got married two months ago!"
"So I remind him..."
"Was sittin' at work on my lunch break one day, get a message from friend's husband. He's drunk and high and wants me to come over to mess around. (This was the second time ever speaking to the man, mind you)"
"So I remind him that I'm his wife's friend, have never met him face-to-face, and give him the chance to tell his wife what just happened. Then I had to make a choice. Do I tell her or not? Cause some people dont wanna know. Or they blame you instead of blaming their S/O."
"Send her a message and tell her that I have something to tell her about her husband, but I need to know if she wants to know or not. She says "Send me everything"
"That night after work, she confronts him. He deleted the conversation but I had sent her screenshots. They got divorced over it (and other things too, she told me) and they have dual custody of their 8 year old son."
"As for whether it was worth it or not...I feel like she and I are closer friends now but I can't really say. No one seemed to come out on top with this one."
"Thinking back..."
"I got called one by the pissed off wife of the guy I dated for a few months. The problem was that was the first time I had a clue he was married, and if I'd known before then I would have broken it off immediately."
"Thinking back, I should have found it weird that he never invited me over to his place, but eh."
"But yeah, he was the homewrecker. He had a home and decided to mess it up by dating me."
"If anything good came of it..."
"Huge regret. If anything good came of it, it was that I learned not to be so judgmental. I married at 19, and divorced at 23, my ex was the one cheating. I used to say any woman who would do that is a slut. After the divorce, I was a bit lost and a little wild. I hesitantly began a relationship with a guy I considered a friend and trusted. He told me he would leave his wife for me, and I believed him. I knew her, and while I liked her, she did cheat on him multiple times, so it wasn't hard for me to believe he was leaving."
"Pretty soon, I tired of the sneaking around, and began to pressure him. Turns out I wasn't supposed to really believe he'd leave her. That was the end of that short-lived stupid mistake of mine. Later, he spilled the beans to a friend of his, who told someone else, and the wife found out. Started driving by and wanting to fight me, screaming names as she drove by the house."
"I told her I didn't want to fight her and that I regretted what happened. Said she could kick my ass if she wanted to, but I wasn't going to defend myself, I was already kicking myself for being so stupid. That was pretty much the end of it, it was many years ago now, and it still makes me feel bad. Probably my top regret ever, and definitely out of character for me."
"I quickly..."
"Yes. I did not know he was married. 30 years married... he was military, I worked on base as a civilian. I moved in with him and everything. Turned out his wife lived in another state and never visited. There was nothing that made me think he was married. No hushed phone calls or anything. After we broke up he told her about me hoping it would make me take him back. She divorced him. And against my better judgment 6 months later we got back together. It was the worst year of my life. I quickly moved out and moved on."
"From what I know..."
"I was labelled the "homewrecker" even though nothing actually happened between me and this girl. We had a bit of "flirty banter" at work over the course of a few weeks during the summer. I kept coming in in the mornings to post-it notes left on my desk with flirty messages, and I would return the favour of course"
"I was unaware that she was engaged and had a child, and we carried this flirty banter on until one day she came over mine and we sat down and watched a movie together (literally nothing happened, and her SO clocked onto her not being home at her usual time and started spamming her with calls). I walked her down to her car, and managed to lock myself out of my house (that's another story which I have told in this subreddit -"https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/e5xmhh/what_is_your_locked_yourself_out_story/f9n6ftv?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x).
"Go into work the next day and everything is normal, walk out of work and there he is, the girl's SO, standing at the back of his van searching for tools. She messages me and tells me not to leave the building, to which I oblige. After this we split things off and don't talk anymore."
"From what I know they are still together and she has another child on the way."
"I know she wasn't a bad person..."
"I don't know if this counts because they were separated for two years and in the midst of a divorce but she definitely called me a homewrecker when I started dating him and they had already been separated for a year and a half but their divorce hadn't been finalized. She called me sobbing and screaming profanities at me. Told me they were a family (no kids, but I get it.) I felt bad at the time, I told him that I didn't want to date a technically married man and that broke up with him. He still went through with the divorce and found me after, months later. We started dating again and now we're happily married."
"I know we're both good people. I know she wasn't a bad person. Just two people in a bad relationship (there were lots of threats of self harm) and someone who shouldn't have gotten in the middle before it was fully resolved. I wish her happiness but I don't feel guilty for finding mine. I've been cheated on by my ex and the woman knew full well we were together (not separated) and even then, I don't blame her. It was his choice and our relationship was dying. Probably just too hard for him to end it. I wish them both happiness."
These were interesting stories! Do you have similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
The Mandela effect is when multiple people share the same, incorrect memory.
Its name stems from when paranormal researcher Fiona Broome falsely believed that the future president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, died in prison in the 1980s.
A false memory she shared with a number of others.
Our memories have been known to deceive us, as we might frequently forget someone's name or one of our numerous online passwords.
But when we share a memory that turns out to be false with many others, convincing ourselves it wasn't the truth can be a very difficult ordeal indeed.
Redditor Mysterious_Boat_1701 was curious to hear people's most unsettling experiences with the Mandela Effect, leading them to ask:
"Which Mandela effect freaks you out the most and why?"
A mysterious gym
"Just had one personally."
"Went to a mall where there was supposedly a gym, asked around and nobody that worked at the mall knew what I was talking about."
"Looked around and couldn't find it."
"Come back a few months later and it’s right there in front of my face, you'd have to be strung out to not notice it."
"idk how or when it just appeared but it freaked me out."- prex320278
A "fruit"ful logo.
"That the fruit of the loom logo never had a cornucopia."
"What’s crazy about that one is that someone emailed the creator of the logo about it and he said even he remembers it having one."- mrcock2·
Less well intentioned than they thought.
"I Mandela effected my whole family once."
"Years ago there was a football player on a rival team that always did a dumb celebration after he got a sack and my family and I always hated it."
"One night after he did it my family started trashing the celebration and I said as a joke 'we are all going to feel terrible when we find out he is doing that celebration as a request from a make-a-wish kid'."
"Fast forward to years later and our team is playing that team again."
"The player got a sack and did the celebration."
"I rolled my eyes and said 'I hate that celebration so much' my mom instantly turned and said 'don't say that, he is doing it for a sick kid'."
"'I actually like it."
"So I was like 'what?'"
"'No there is no sick kid', my whole family then proceeded to argue with me'."
"They all vividly remembered reading articles about it, seeing special report segments before games about it, and other information."
"Some of them even thought they knew the disease the kid had and even extra details about why the kid chose that specific celebration."
"They all had these shared memories that they were sure were true."
"I was floored by all this and insisted none of that was true."
"So we looked it up.'
"Not true."
'No kid like that ever existed.'
"They still have trouble wrapping their heads around this one."
"Turned out human memory is not near as reliable as we think"
"It was American Football and the player was Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings and his cattle roping sack celebration."
"This was maybe 10 years ago."- AUSpartan37
His eyesight was better than we thought.
"Mr. Monopoly's monocle."- Additional_Day9903
It's not easy being green.
"I have a personal one that to this day a decade later still destroys my mind."
"I had an old(ish) 2001 dodge neon."
"With BLACK SEATS.'
"I drove this car for years and years, like 80,000 miles.'
'All through college."
"I took work breaks in my car, commuted hours every day total, to college and then the opposite direction to work and back."
"I even lived out of this thing on several occasions.'
'The day I go and trade it in, I'm pulling misc things out of the car at the dealer."
'And the seats are GREEN."
"Not even a little."
'Like very unmistakably GREEN."
"In my black Neon, with black interior, that ALWAYS HAD BLACK SEATS."
"My girlfriend then, wife now, goes oh they've always been green."
"EXCEPT THEY F*CKING WEREN'T DON'T LIE TO ME."
"This is still upsetting to this day..... life is a lie and nothing is real."- ZakuLegion
An urban legend was born.
"Not a global one, just a family thing."
"Back in 2002 my grandma had her 60th birthday, my father took us home at 10.00pm, ready for bed."
"We, me and brother, were 12 and 14 at this time."
'All went well."
"Over the years, a story was made up that we went missing after visiting the local playground after dinner at said grandma's birthday party."
"Some neighbors help to search us, the whole train of 'missing children in a smal village'-thing."
"Fun fact: we never went missing."
"Dad brought us home, put on 'Toy Story' on tv and left."
"My brother and I heard first about this in 2015.'
"From different people on different occasions."
"'Ah your one of the missing boys'."
"I first thought they were mocking me for a different event.'
"I got lost, but it was 2013, alcohol inflicted, different story."
"But then they ALL tell us the same story about us going missing."
'And the stories are damn close to 'true' in every story my mum is driving around the same neighbors to different locations to search, old wine yard, old mill etc."
"Sometimes I think I got lost on the most brutal way."
"I was lost and changed this plane of existence with another one."
"It sometimes made me think about my whole life."- tjorben123
Memories are a fascinating thing.
They can be changed or altered with even the tiniest suggestion.
And making the truth seem less believable than lies.
One last time. One last meal.
How do you chose a last meal?
Let's hope we never have to find out.
People on death row get that option.
Do they deserve it?
Whose to say?
But they have it.
A steak. A pizza... Burger King.
The food world is their oyster.
Oyster. Also an option.
The menu is endless...
Redditor No-Caterpillar4212 wanted to know what our menu choices would be if we faced the end. They asked:
"You're on a death row, you have one hour left, they ask for your final meal - what is it?"
I'd want 2 hours in a Golden Coral with a bar. Covers it all.
Years
"I want a nice filet mignon, medium rare, a baked potato with everything on it, and a nice Cabernet from a good year - I'm thinking 2135."
cleon42
"'Sorry, we couldn't get the Cabernet from 2135. So instead of what could have been a great wine request from a more plausible period of time, you get this crappy stuff we sourced from Wal-Mart. Enjoy your meal, I hope that maintaining your sense of humor was worth it."'
Until_Morning
Take Me
"Something badly cooked so I will be sick and want to die sooner and have diarrhea so bad it will be a last revenge!"
ratchet0101
"Taco bell it is!"
No-Caterpillar4212
"If Taco Bell makes you poop a lot, it's a sign that you probably need more fiber in your diet."
RDAwesome
The Yuck Factor
"A huge bowl of baked beans, a bowl of shredded wheat, a six egg omelette, and a gallon of apple cider. I'm gonna make it awful for everyone."
"Save yourself the hassle of eating all that, just ask for one pack of sugar free Haribo gummy bears. Should make for an interesting time for the folks watching you die."
MamaSweeney24
"You void your bowels when you die too so that should be lovely."
IDontControlTheFood
Perfect
"Fried chicken with some Fanta."
Aggravating-Year-776
Fried chicken is on the top of everyone's list!
Details
"150mg of MDMA. I’m dying happy."
W0nderfu1W0nder
"This should absolutely be allowed. If our leaders insist on the practice of capital punishment then the condemned should be able to ingest any substance they damn please."
forewontoi
Broken
"McFlurry. Those machine are always broken. I just bought myself some time."
Curiousuk_South9566
"Is this like an American thing? I worked at a McDonald's in Denmark once and our machine was never once broken when i was there."
oliv111
"I saw a video about this once. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I think it has something to do with the contract that was signed in America. Only one company is allowed to do maintenance on the machines and they basically lock out if it's cleaned incorrectly. It's a crap system."
grilled-pbj
Sorry
"Cabbage!! Add some cabbage. I don’t know if an hour if enough to take effect but there was an old coworker on a cabbage diet. Omg she smelled, like it was coming out of her pores. She knew she smelled and kept apologizing and reminding us of the diet."
ImStillaPrick
The OG Always
"Olive Garden. Unlimited soup and breadsticks."
thegodfaubel
"I saw a sketch once, can't remember who it 2qs from. But a an inmate ordered the all you can eat buffet and had been eating for like 8 years. He's constantly on the toilet and takes micro-naps between bites."
KingOfTheGoobers
"Unlimited for 1 hour. Cool."
anticlockclock
How Golden
"If my grandma is still alive her potato soup and cheesecake. Hopefully I'd be able to cook said meal with her one last time."
ATLAS_IS_LOST
Let's hope none of us has to make this decision.
Most people have friends they've been close to for most of their lives.
But at the same time, friends evolve, and everyone finds themselves losing touch with any number of people they at one point considered their friends over time.
Most of the time, this isn't intentional, but just simply happens.
On rare occasions though, people might realize that their friends were not exactly who they thought they were, and didn't like who they revealed themselves to be.
Redditor One-Refrigerator69 was curious to hear stories of people who realized their friends were not exactly the nicest people to be around, leading them to ask:
"When was the moment you realized that your friends are assholes?"
Compared to others...
"When I started hanging out with better people."- Darklink326
All it took was getting my life together
"When I quit drinking ‘cos it was killing me."
"There were people I literally saw every single day who just disappeared as if by magic."
"12 years ago this week, as it happens."
"I’m not anti-drink, far from it."
"Some people, me included, just can’t enjoy it without it becoming a problem."
"Everyone is different."- bigdaftgeordie
A little perspective goes a long way.
"After I realized that other people don't sh*t on each other on every possible occasion in their circle."
"And that it isn't right when a 'friend' uses every known insecurity as an argument against you when you do not behave the way he/she would want you to."- ViscousPlateman
Lack of respect for other people's things
"I let my friend borrow my ps2 when I went to boot camp."
"When I came back, he said he sold it and gave me $50 I think?"
"This was in 2006."- madmike-86
Lack of mutual respect
"When he does sh*t to me and acts like it’s no big deal, then I do the same back and he gets offended."- Primary-Maybe-2749·
Constantly being taken advantage of.
"They only bothered with me when it suited them."
"I'd rather have nobody than have to deal with that."- zombi33mj
When they literally revealed themselves to be criminals
"When they robbed me at gunpoint."- Ok_Student8032
When they stopped liking them after a change of situation
"Fourth grade, when my parents economical situation went downhill and suddenly no one invited me to their birthday party."
"Until Seven years later no one had never invited me to their birthday, or to anything at all actually."- Justalittletoserious
Not being able to get a word in...
"When they tell me to shut up when I say anything."- the_golden_cheese
Violently playing with emotions
"She got a boyfriend and would let him listen to our phone calls and not tell me, even if I was crying about personal stuff that I would only ever tell her."
"Then they both started lying to me about my crush liking me back, forcing both him and me into awkward positions, telling everyone we liked each other so they'd play along, swapping places constantly to make us sit next to each other, pressuring him into giving me a lap dance, making him kiss the prettiest girl in the room, etc, and encouraged me to shoot my shot more and more."
"All the while they knew he didn't like me, he had told them both directly."
"One night I was crying on the phone cause I was so confused why my advances weren't working, and they just kept explaining it away, blaming some other bullsh*t reason and telling me to try again."
"The next day they told me they were laughing throughout the whole call, because I didn't get it and I was so upset."
"I should add I had no dating experience at all and nobody had ever liked me at this point."- Juliemj
It's always sad when our friends disappoint us.
But when our friends proved to be completely different people than we thought they were, it can be devastating.
As the saying goes, one never truly knows who their friends are.
When visiting any foreign country, one should always be familiar with the laws and customs of the land.
After all, what might be generally accepted on your home turf, might be frowned upon, if not illegal, elsewhere.
For that matter, even locals might need a refresher course on what they can and can't do while at home.
A recent Redditor was curious to hear what tourists and locals alike should avoid doing in the USA, leading them to ask:
"In the United States, what should you never do?"
Stay out of the skies!
"Don't fly a drone in Washington, DC."
"The whole D.C. Area is a no fly zone."
"It's a federal offense."
"Just don't do it."- PeytonCarrK
Cops can't be bribed.
"Don't try to bribe cops when you get pulled over."
"I had some Argentinian friends immediately pull out their wallets and start pooling their cash when they got pulled over once.'
"Fortunately someone in the car noticed and told them to put it away immediately."- PeytonCarrK
"Don't pay off the police."
"My dad has friends from several third-world nations where it is common practice to give the police some cash when you are pulled over."
"However, if you try to bribe a police officer here, you'll get into a lot of trouble."- JohnASmiley
Know your rights.
"Everyone, including foreigners, has the right to be silent and have a lawyer when being questioned."
"Don’t say anything."
"Also, even if you speak English fairly well, ask for an interpreter."- WickedLilThing
Enjoy all that nature has to offer... carefully!
"Don't wander off in the national parks."
"It's very real wilderness and you can get lost and die out there."
"This includes going over railings you aren't supposed to, or off trails."
"People have died accidentally falling into a steam geyser that looked like normal water, mauled by animals or left to the elements."- AlphaOhmega
Allow plenty of time!
"Expect consistency at TSA in airports."- WickedLilThing
Some terminology doesn't translate...
"If you’re from England, they’re called cigarettes here."- Yung_Onions
Make sure your license is up to date.
"If you come from a walkable country don’t come here expecting the same."
"There are some areas with good public transportation and bicycle/pedestrian friendly streets but for the most part, especially outside of cities, the areas are designed to accommodate cars more than anything else."
"The reason a lot of Americans drive everywhere is because, depending on where you live, we have no choice."- The_Cars93
Wait for instructions.
"Get out of your car and approach the cop when being stopped by a cop unless told to."- hildrash
Whether your'e waling down a street in a foreign country, or the street you've lived on for your entire life, it's always wise to be on guard and aware of your surroundings.
Not to mention, obey the law.