What I'm really thinking: the jilted wife

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/10/what-really-thinking-jilted-wife

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People are so kind to me, now that my husband has left me for another woman. We were married for 25 years and nobody expected us to split up. Perhaps in an effort to console me, several friends have since told me that they never really liked him and they knew all along he was a nasty piece of work. Despite this, they look surprised when I tell them that he has asked me to take him back, and that I have refused. Maybe they think I am too hurt to forgive him.

I enjoy their sympathy, but they never seem to believe me when I tell them that I'm fine. That I'm actually quite relieved, because I, too, realised long ago that he wasn't a nice person. They think I'm being brave, and I suppose I must look that way: yet another middle-aged woman who has unexpectedly found herself single again.

In reality, I feel as if a massive burden has been lifted from me. I no longer feel terrified at the thought of spending the rest of my life with my critical, selfish husband. Instead, I'm enjoying spending more time with my friends, and in particular with a single male friend. Instead of fretting about the break-up of my marriage, I daydream about my potential new love. Unlike my husband, he is kind, caring and sensitive, and I suspect he is waiting for the dust to settle before starting a relationship with me.

I would never have left my husband, but I am truly grateful that he has left me.

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