Would You Rather Be This Guy's Ex Wife or His New Wife?

I ran into a woman recently who has been divorced for several years and has three children. We asked each other the usual questions you ask when you haven’t seen someone in awhile: “How are things,” “How are the kids?” “How’s the job?” “How’s the love life?” and of course, “How are things with your ex?” Her answer to that question was shocking. She told me that her ex moved to another state, got married, had two children with his new wife, and has not spoken to or seen their children in a couple of years. He has also not paid any child support.

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While my gut reaction was to feel very sad for the kids and the woman, something occurred to me: What is the new wife thinking?!

Here’s what I mean by that. Could you honestly love, marry and have children with a man who had no contact with his children from his previous marriage? I mean really. Doesn’t that say everything you need to know about the guy? What is lovable about a person who abandoned his children, both emotionally and financially? How could ANY man or woman leave their children? It baffles me.

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Now, please keep in mind that I realize I only heard the ex-wife’s side of the story, and that I know nothing else about nor have never met her ex-husband or the new wife. That said, facts are facts. This man is GONE. Birthdays, holidays…he’s out. The kids never spend ANY time with him. They are growing up without one of the two most important people in a childhood. It is truly heartbreaking.

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I bet if I asked the guy, “Why did you move out of state and leave your children hanging emotionally and financially?” his answer would be something like this: “My ex-wife made it impossible for me to stay. She has alienated our children from me.” He would likely play the victim and insist he was forced out. And, that might really be the case. I do believe in parental alienation syndrome, (it is a real thing and it’s really sick). What I have a hard time understanding is, why would he give up? And, in this guy’s case, why would he move out of state? I guess it’s more convenient and easier to play the victim.

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So, back to the new wife issue, I was thinking, if I was the ex-wife,? would I rather be me or the new wife?

The answer hands down is the ex-wife. Think about it. The new wife has her cute little family right now, but in the back of her mind, she will always know she is married to a man who left his family and didn’t look back (both emotionally and financially). Try living with that. Isn’t the guy’s guilt going to eventually catch up with him? When he realizes that he loves his kids more than he hates his ex-wife, will he regret what he did?

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This isn’t the only case where I feel like I would choose being the ex–wife versus the new wife. How about people who got divorced because of cheating? Or addiction issues? Don’t you think your ex is going to act the same way with his or her new spouse? Do you think he or she is going to be different? If he/she is a cheater, they are a cheater. If he/she is an addict, they are an addict. Period. The new wife (or husband) is getting the exact same thing as you had, sometimes worse. Sure, everyone is on their best behavior for the first couple years, but after that, people show their true selves, and if they haven’t done anything to work on themselves–via therapy, addiction treatment, etc. they will reveal the real them, maybe even worse.

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It remains to be seen whether or not my friend’s ex’s new marriage and family will survive. Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that his abandonment of his children will always be staring them in the face, every minute of every day. They might ignore it for now, brush it under the rug, but time will catch up with them. When the infatuation wears off,? they will no longer be able to ignore the truth. And that will cause issues eventually. So so very sad.

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So, a great way to coping with divorce is to ask yourself, “Would I rather be the ex-wife or the new wife?” If you are really honest with yourself, you’ll pick you. Why? Because what you have in front of you is very different than what the new wife has. You know what SHE/HE has. You had it. It didn’t work. And now, you have the potential for something or someone amazing to happen to you that could work. And that person will not have left his ex-wife and three kids in another state. That’s a pretty easy choice, isn’t it?