Woman says she ended relationship after discovering boyfriend had a family

A Metro reader says she ended a 10-month relationship after learning that the man she had been dating was married and had two young children.

In a dilemma published in the newspaper’s sex and dating advice column on 7 November 2026, the woman said she had believed she had found a partner with the same interests. She described the sex as “out of this world” and said discovering the truth had left her devastated.

The reader said her best friend had been sceptical about the man and looked into his social media presence. The friend then contacted his wife to check her suspicions, according to the account. The wife was civil, the reader said, and told her it was not the first time her husband had cheated.

The wife was also reported to have said that she would have asked him to leave long ago if she did not have young children. The reader said she had not known he was married or had children while they were together.

She said the man had never invited her to his home, telling her it was a long way away and that he had an annoying flatmate. After finding out about his family, she said, she ended the relationship. She added that she had experienced other relationships she considered disastrous and had hoped this time would be different.

The advice response was written by Laura, whom Metro identifies as a counsellor and columnist. She questioned whether the reader’s desire for a committed relationship had made her overlook warning signs, and encouraged her to build confidence and value her life independently of being in a relationship.

Laura suggested counselling, social activities, work and volunteering as possible ways to focus on other parts of life. She described the end of the relationship as a grieving process, saying the reader had lost the person she believed her partner to be. She also said the shared interests might have been part of his effort to appear to be the person she wanted him to be.

The columnist said the reader would eventually move on and called the breakup a lucky escape. The column presents the events through the reader’s account and her report of what the wife told her.

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