There's a huge breach of trust at work here, and one that also involves a little gaslighting. Ladies, if a man ever makes you doubt your trust in yourself....run the other way.
u/mizpinkie13 told Reddit her tale:
Found out my (28F) boyfriend (33M) was still married for most of our relationship
RelationshipsMy divorce was finalized last year. My boyfriend said his divorce was finalized a few months before mine was.
We're having some other issues currently, so I decided to do some digging because things just weren't adding up. Low and behold, on the county clerks website, their divorce final hearing was at the end of May and the judge didn't sign the decree until June.
We've been together for a year. He was married for 10 months of that.
I found out about 6 months ago that she actually lived next door to him, which he also lied about.
Am I overreacting? Is this a big deal or no?
tl;dr Boyfriend was still legally married to his ex during our relationship.
So some Redditors came to the rescue with answers:
One
Giphy
My partner and I have been together 2 years next week. He got divorced 11 months ago. I got divorced 2 weeks ago.
We were both absolutely clearly separated from our exes, we both separated from our exes like 8-10 years ago. We don't speak with them, and we live a long way away from them.
Neither of us were bothered that the other was still married because we both felt the same way about divorce - it was just a piece of paper.
The difference here, is that we both told the other that we were still technically married as we hadn't finalized our divorces.
Your boyfriend lied to you.
You need to get to the bottom of that in order to decide if it is a gigantic issue or not.
Maybe he filed, and thought that was close enough to divorce to say it. Maybe he deliberately lied because he knew you wouldn't date him otherwise. Find out why he lied, and you'll have your answer.
Two
Giphy
It wouldn't have been a big deal had he said "my hearing isn't until May. How do you feel about that?" Under the current circumstances, it's a VERY BIG DEAL.
Three
Giphy
It would have been nothing for him to be up front and say hey, we're in the middle of a divorce but it won't be final until xx date. There was zero reason he needed to lie about that. Divorce takes time, and plenty of people move on relationship-wise in the meantime.
What IS a big deal is that he felt the need to lie about it. This is not some little, white lie. This is a HUGE lie. It IS a big deal. You can't start a relationship on a lie like that.
Four
Giphy
Well, yeah. But at least you now know how he's going to treat you in the future when he meets his next partner. Seriously, this is the red flag you snatch off the pole and run away waving as you leave him in the dust and never look back.
And my *ss he didn't know. It's a f-cking divorce. You definitely know if it's final or not, plus how did he miss the now ex-wife living next door to him?
Nah, he pulled the old bait and switch on you. He's counting on you now being emotionally invested enough in him you'll let it slide and he can continue to lie to you.
Five
Giphy
Your boyfriend is a liar. It's a big deal. You can't trust his word, and without that, you have nothing.
Six
Giphy
I'd be really annoyed and would have a hard time trusting him after a lie like that. You know him best though and you know what you will put up with so ultimately the choice is yours. But you're not overreacting in my eyes, your feelings are very valid!
Seven
Giphy
The issue is that he lied to you and hid crucial details about his marriage from you. I dated a guy for a year who was legally separated, but not divorced, throughout most of our relationship. He was clear from the get-go that he was still married because they had to be legally separated for a year before being able to file for divorce and he never hid it from me. She had moved out to live with her new boyfriend and he remained in their house with the pets. All his friends confirmed it when they hung out with us by making casual remarks about his soon-to-be-ex-wife. In my case, it was not a big deal because he was honest with me. In your case, yes, it is a big deal and you are not overreacting. If I were you, I would have immense difficulty trusting him moving forward.
Eight
Giphy
Divorce lawyers heavily suggest you do not start a relationship until everything is done and settled. This is one of the reasons why.
On the flip side of the coin, many times when the divorce actually happens the person is actually checked out years before hand, and the divorce is just a formal acknowledgement. Following the lawyer's advice essentially condemns you to an interpersonal desert for 1 to 2 years. Imagine two years of not being able to get close to anybody at all. That is why some people ignore the lawyer's advice.
I'm not saying what happened was right or wrong. What I am saying is try to see it from the lawyers point of view. Then try to see it from his point of view and how desperate he might have been for human contact. Especially if the marriage ended in a dead bedroom of several years followed by two years of essentially social isolation. At that point you get desperate just to connect with somebody, anybody. And that would lead you to lie.
Nine
Giphy
I left my wife in 2010. Had a gf from 2010 to 2011, then another from 2011-2012. We finalized our divorce in 2014.
For the first few months, it was due to not being 100% sure. We both dated, though our partners knew our situation. After that, it was that neither of us wanted to cough up the hundreds for court fees. We had no disputes. We'd already peacefully divided assets. And we stayed friends.
Hell, after our final hearing my ex and I got lunch. (We stayed friends, but don't know about your bf)
It's.....paperwork.......legalese.....
I dunno why he lied, but unless he was involved with her, I'd say let it slide.
Ten
Giphy
This happened to me. Met my husband Aug 2014. His divorce was finalized Dec 2016. For the whole relationship, all 3 of us thought they were divorced. It wasn't until his ex found out that they were still legally married.
We married February 2017.
I once had a customer complain I didn't read the menu to her.
Not make suggestions, but literally read the menu to her.
"you guys have a great day"
Giphy"Working in retail I once said 'you guys have a great day' I was reported by an elderly women who objected to not being addressed as 'ma'am'."
"She also objected to 'have a great day' because she had come into the aquarium store because her fish was dead and she was upset that someone would tell her to 'have a great day' when her fish had died."
A measly grand?
"I got sued in small claims court by a mentally ill man who said I stole $1000 worth of roast beef and 2 sun tanning lights from him."
"It got continued twice and by the time we had our day in court, he forgot what he sued me for and just went off on a tirade about me being an a**hole."
On Camera
"I once had a complaint filed against me for calling someone a slur in the elevator. My boss called me in, and we watched the camera footage from the elevator."
"Me and the other person were talking and having a good conversation and laughing with each other. My boss just said 'yeah I watched it earlier and I have no idea what they are talking about'."
"So someone tried to get me fired for no reason."
(manager and up)
"I once was told there was a high-level (manager and up) meeting being held about me… on account of my emails being written too well. :/ "
"I can write quick, well-worded emails, and someone in upper management thought that I must have been spending too much time writing my emails, possibly as a means of appearing to be superior to others."
Closed
Giphy"I worked at McDonalds. A man put a complaint in because I wouldn't let him in after we'd already shut."
Yeah, closed means closed.
You had time to get there during open hours. See you tomorrow.
We have lives too.
No thank you...
Giphy"Got a complaint filed against me by a customer for unnecessary rudeness because I turned down a guy's offer to take me out on a date."
"He asked me (repeatedly) while I was working. Dude was at least in his mid 40s; I was 16."
a scarlet letter...
"When I was a teenager working at an ice cream store, a secret shopper wrote that I was 'friendly but did not smile'."
"This write up was posted on the bulletin board like it was a scarlet letter of shame and the manager talked to me about smiling more."
"30 years later, I am still friendly but unsmiling."
A Little Off
"I had a coworker from a different department call me this morning and threatened me for something his boss had done regarding something I have no control over."
"I eventually got him to sheepishly admit that there was nothing I had control over in the situation and he was mad his boss had made the decision without consulting him first."
"Government work attracts some odd balls."
I hate retail!
"I was working in a lighting store (ceiling lights, chandeliers, etc). Secret shoppers would get sent over to us every so often and they were usually pretty obvious."
"This guy claimed he needed ceiling fans for his home so I go through the whole thing finding fans that work in his rooms, suit the design of his home, airflow needs, etc. But obviously without a specific need to buy something requiring electrical wiring this guy left without purchasing."
"He wrote that I was excellent in every way but didn't try to upsell him anything."
"At the next staff meeting the manager read this out, tried shame me in front of everyone and stressed that we need to try and sell people crap they don't even need."
"How the heck do I upsell a damn ceiling fan? 'Hey would you like a $2000 crystal chandelier with your fans? How about a set of garden lights?' I hate retail."
Stay Literate...
Read Friends Tv GIFGiphy"I once had a coworker file an HR complaint against me for reading books at lunch."
"I told HR that he's probably just offended I'm not reading hardcore pornography magazines on the clock like he does."
I'm so glad I work at home with only dogs and a cat.
And when I go outside I avoid eye contact for all of these reasons.
Find some inner peace folks.
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Farewell
Giphy"Say goodbye to all my friends, go outside and take my dog on a long walk and then back home to have pizza and await my fate."
Eat Wherever
"Eat McDonald's at a Burger King. What they gonna do, send me to jail for life."
"I'd buy two large fries and two large cokes at Mcdonald's and take them over to Burger King and order two whoppers for lunch."
"I know this is satire, but a buddy of mine once got kicked out of a McDonald's lobby for bringing in KFC. We were all in high school and meeting to do homework but instead we all ended up leaving."
You've Got Mail
"Send out a chain message to everyone I know saying that if you don't share this with 10 people, the person you received this message from will die tomorrow."
"Plus add on that if the people they share it to don't share it to 10 other people, they will die themselves."
- Jhawk163
Go Big!
"If I'm guaranteed 24 hours alive I will do a ton of extremely dangerous crap because I can't die until the 24 hours are up."
"You could get badly injured and live your last hours suffering in a hospital sooo..."
"Morphine drip is how a lot of us go anyhow. Doesn't seem so bad."
Bank robber?
Well that should keep the time lively, but I don't understand doing things that could cut short what little time there already is.
To each their own, I guess.
Out & About
Giphy"If I'm gonna die, then they might as well know. I'm coming out, doing what I want for once and having the most comforting day in my life."
Expose it All
"Tell everyone I love how I feel and then get all my passwords and crap in order so people can close out all my online activities. Then go hold my wife until I die... well, probably I'll go sit in the emergency room to die so my wife doesn't have to remember me dying in her arms the rest of her life."
Free $$$
"Rack up as much debt as I can buying expensive things and hiding them for my family to find later (after the estate has been sorted out)."
"Makes me wonder if I have 50k in CC debt and 75k in the bank, does my family get all 75 or will the bank be legally entitled to get 50k back?"
"The banks get 50k and your family gets the leftovers. If you don't have enough money then your estate is dissolved and your family gets nothing, the debt goes away (unless someone tricks your fam into paying the debt with their money)."
- OHYAMTB
Send the Message
"Spend the 24 hours with my kids and family cultivating a few last precious memories for them. Also a few hours staving off sleep recording messages for them to be able to listen to when they are older - things they aren't old enough to hear, but I would like them to hear from me when they are ready for the message."
I don't know anymore...
"Well, I wouldn't live long enough to face the consequences for whatever I do, so I'd do some things I see as bad ideas at the moment:"
"I'd cuss out my most hated person in the world. Forget that guy."
"I'd tell my best friend (former best friend? I don't know anymore...) how I feel about them, and apologize for hiding it."
"Other than that, I dunno what I'd do, maybe spend time with friends or family or panic. Make sure to let everyone know that I wouldn't be around much longer."
Where to Begin?
Giphy"Fix my will, delete all electronics, call a firm to take my stuff to goodwill, call a real estate agent and put apartment for sale, give my organs to hospital. And if time, I reckon a good nap and massage would be nice too."
Is there really a best way to spend your last 24 hours?
You can't travel, that's time consuming. There will always be so much more to do.
Que será, será, I suppose.
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