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I am a 30-year-old Asian woman in the middle of a divorce from my husband; we have no children. I have a great career and my master’s degree, and I work with the at-risk children and youth; on paper and to my community, I have a perfect life (just missing the children). In my culture, I am considered a very old woman to not have any children, and the pressure is extremely high when I am at any family gatherings. My mother, sisters, and extended family believe I should be happy and start a family with my husband and stop talking about the divorce. I got married very young — at age…

I need your advice on what to do or how to move forward with my in-laws. I’ve always loved my mother-in-law and thought my husband’s siblings were sweet until this weekend. Let me explain what happened. My husband and I went in on a shore camper with his brother, “Eric.” The camper is right next to my mother-in-law’s camper as well as their aunt’s camper. I was hesitant to buy a camper with Eric, but both he and my husband assured me that he would more than likely use it during the week since he “works from home” and we could have it most weekends. I even got a shared calendar app…

Barb and I were childhood BFFs. Since we graduated high school in 2007, we’ve steadily drifted apart. Around 2015, when we were living in the same city again, I tried to revive our friendship. I invited Barb to events and to meet other friends of mine. She seemed disinterested and often declined. I grieved it, but I accepted that our friendship would take a different form. We continued to text updates and hang out once in a while. In 2020, I was in her 12-person wedding during Covid. I was surprised she chose me instead of two other friends of hers (they were not even invited to the wedding!). In 2021, I…

I have been seeing my boyfriend for about a year now but have known him for about two years. When we met each other, both he and I were in a similar situation. He had emotionally, mentally, and physically checked out of his twenty-something year marriage and I had checked out of my seven-year relationship. He finally moved out of his ex’s home and now lives with his adult children (youngest is 18) – three girls and one boy. He has been in the process of divorce but nothing has been official yet. My concern is that I have already introduced him to my family and friends, especially all my kids ranging…

I’ve been with my husband for three years and married to him for a year and a half. It’s been an adventure, let me tell you, and I’m ready to cut off my in-laws. I’m done dealing with them. I’m done fighting with them. I’m done trying to be accepted. I’m just done. Let me explain why. Reason #1. My husband and I had a small courthouse wedding and invited just his parents, but his mother didn’t come. She said she wasn’t invited, even though we verbally invited her while sitting on her couch, and she said she wasn’t invited because my parents hate her. They don’t hate her – they’ve only…

I know you have been in a successful long-distance relationship, and I’m really hoping you can help me.I have been in a long-distance relationship with a man for nine months. We live three hours apart and see each other three weekends out of the month. It has been an ideal situation, and I would like to say we are pretty happy. We’re both 25 and have had some pretty crappy relationships, so we agreed to take things slowly. We have similar backgrounds in religion, family, and what we want out of life. Day-to-day has been great, but whenever we start to talk about the future, panic mode sets in. We talked for…

I have been a widow for two years and have been dating a man, “Eric,” whom I met by accident, for six months. I have three kids – two in college and one, 13 years old, still at home. Eric is not divorced, but he has been separated and out his house for over a year. I have not met his kids, which has been ok up til now. It is very hard on both of us when he leaves on his weekend to be with his kids. Out of respect we have been waiting for the divorce to be finalized. He has a very difficult wife who can make this process…

From the forums: My best friend of many years is now a single mom. She was married for 10+ years and she and her husband are now divorced. She didn’t win the house in her divorce settlement, but she gets a part of the money once it’s sold. She wants to move back this way and start over, and she has asked to live with me for four months. It would be her, her 10-year-old-daughter, and their dog moving in. She wants to move here to be closer to family, get on her feet, and build up work history once she gets a job because the apartments she has looked into require…

I’ve recently started seeing somebody who lost his best friend and nearly lost his brother in a car accident a year ago today. We’ve been together for about five months and other than the usual hiccups in a relationship we’ve done well. We’ve both promised one another to stick it out through the difficult times to form a strong, healthy relationship. We had a disagreement about five days ago and I’m wondering if his sudden need for space is because of his grief. He was supposed to be in the car with his best friend and brother the day the fatal accident occurred but decided at the last minute not to join…