My name is Maria, I am 53 years old and I have been married for an incredible 32 years. I have two wonderful daughters, who no longer live with us and are following their own path in life. The first 15 years of our marriage were like a beautiful fairy tale.
Of course there were the usual challenges – small disagreements, some tensions – but overall we were happy, we felt strong and invincible. But in 1995 the shock came: We lost our house due to a bank loan, our home, the place we loved.
With our two young daughters we were forced to move in with my parents – a difficult decision. I tried to stay strong. Three years later my husband moved to France, and I followed him, but leaving my daughters with my parents.
Two years of struggle, and we finally managed to buy a new house – the symbol of hope and our new beginning. But life had other plans. Our house was far from my family, from my parents, whom I needed so much.
So, I stayed in Romania with the daughters, while he stayed in France. Our phone calls became our only connection, and we only met every few months. And then, everything changed. Another woman entered his life, and suddenly the man I knew seemed like a stranger.
He began to change in ways I couldn’t understand. He was lost in her, and the loving and caring man I had married disappeared. He spoke badly about our daughters, who were suffering from the loss of their father. He didn’t want us to visit him, as if he was afraid we would take something from him.
For me, and especially for our youngest daughter, who loved her father, it was an unbearable blow. It was as if the world was crumbling beneath my feet. I collapsed – mentally and physically. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I felt like I was trapped in an endless nightmare.
Years passed and, little by little, I found a small spark of hope. I found a job and began to find myself again. But the pain he had caused me never went away. Then, suddenly, he asked for help.
He had lost his job, his money had run out, and he was faced with the ruins of his choices. And I, in my compassion and despair, took him back. I forgave him – but he betrayed me again. Every time I discovered his infidelities, because he couldn’t hide them.
And then, after years of apparent faithfulness, he traveled to Africa. There, he found a young woman, 24 years old, younger than even his daughters. Another blow. I couldn’t believe it. I tried to remain silent, to calm myself, while my heart was breaking.
Today he lives again in France and comes home only once a month. But even now, despite the fact that I know the truth, he denies everything. A new mistress, 20 years younger than him, and he continues as if nothing had happened. As if he could fool me again.
And now I find myself here. Lost. Angry. Disappointed. What should I do? How should I move forward when everything I believed in has been destroyed? I constantly ask myself if I should keep fighting or if it’s time to break free and find myself again. What should I do?
