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Recently, I caught my wife of two months (partner of 14 months) in a few devastating lies. “Sarah” and I have known each other since we were five years old. We lost touch after the 8th grade and both found each other early last year after our respective divorces. While we were in the dating phase of our relationship, Sarah was very self-conscious about her weight. She assured me that she would lose the weight which she claimed she gained while taking medication to help conceive a child. Sarah showed me multiple photos of what she used to look like. Although I had no issue with the way she currently looked, she…

“Sandra’s bridal shower is coming up (a big shower with lots of girls) and I RSVPed that I was going, but my husband made plans with his family…”

It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question I’ll give my advice in just a few sentences because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great that being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go.

Advice for a woman whose partner wants kids but she isn’t sure she wants them.

I am a 38-year-old female in a wonderful relationship with my fiancé for the last 4 years. We live together in Melbourne, where we bought a house, and are planning to get married next year. I have no complaints about my relationship with him and am quite happy. The trouble is that I am an only child, and my parents, both in their 70s, live  in India, and I see them for just a few weeks every year. I also have a 6-year-old god-daughter who is the light of my life and is very close to me. Of late, she has been missing me a lot and asking why I can’t live…

“Recently, my girlfriend and I split up. Since then, I’ve written sweet notes to her, praying she’s alright and telling her how much I missed her and her son.”

“I’ve been dating this guy for like a week, and he is expecting a kid with his ex. They had a night thing and she got pregnant.”

I’m 24 and my boyfriend is 25. I’ve known him for over five years, we’ve been together for 1 year and 7 months now, and we have a six-month-old son together. My boyfriend is very caring — he loves me a lot and he’s loved me since we were just friends. We live together and he pays all the bills and I’m a stay-at-home mom. We used to constantly fight because he wouldn’t want me to go shopping or anywhere else with my mom and sister, or go anywhere alone. He works all morning, he gets home around 4:30 p.m., and, if he didn’t find me at home when he got there,…

“My boyfriend of a year and a half is divorced and he and his ex-wife share no children. It was a mutual separation and they remained friendly.”

I have been in a relationship with a guy for 10 months now. Four months ago his brother went to jail for protesting against the government. He is still detained. My boyfriend has changed completely since then and it’s getting worse. He started off by saying that he doesn’t want to be in a relationship anymore. He no longer talks to his friends. He has been socially withdrawn by all means. A month later he told me he doesn’t know whether he doesn’t love me anymore or if he’s just confused because by what’s happening in his life. I told him that his feelings were appropriate given what he’s going through and…