General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)My now-ex told me he wanted many children. I wanted at least 5 kids, and I wanted to be young when I started and I was very upfront about wanting a big family. I talked about it constantly. He knew exactly what he was getting in to and always told me he wanted the same thing, at least 5 kids and he wanted to start while we were young because he had older parents that weren't very involved and he wanted to be involved.
I found out later, after we had 4 children, after he left me for another woman that what he told me about wanting kids was a lie. He never wanted so many kids. He said he never really enjoyed family life and that he just said that he wanted lots of kids because, and I quote, "I was young, I would've said anything to get you in bed." (found out later he's likely a sociopath or a malignant narcissist)
I'm currently raising those 4 kids on my own. My ex sees them 1 weekend a month. Luckily, he has no issues paying for them, but he's not involved at all. Had I known the truth, I never would've stayed with him and had children with him. I feel like those years were totally wasted. I only had children with him because he told me he wanted the same things and that he valued family life etc. So sometimes, even when you do discuss this stuff beforehand, you can get burned as you have shown with your college friend. Why they wouldn't get a divorce is beyond me. Now that I know the truth, how my whole relationship with my ex was a lie, I cannot imagine still being with him. I don't get why anyone would want to live with that. ugh.