A Little Too Much Love

I have had to keep this story a secret for years. I have only told one other person because my husband is embarrassed by this story and so am I.

When my husband and I were still dating, we of course talked a little about previous relationships and he mentioned he dated one woman who was about 20 years older than he was. I didn't ask too many questions because I didn't really care. Over the years he kept mentioning an older woman he used to work for and finally I asked him if that was the woman he dated, and it was. Again, I left the topic alone because what am I going to say about it?

I had a near death accident that made it impossible for me to work as a barista, so my husband suggested we contact her and see if she has an opening at her small business. I ended up taking the job because I didn't have any other prospects while recovering from my accident. At this point I still didn't know the extent of my husband’s relationship with this woman. I still didn't care until she started dating my father-in-law.

It turns out while my husband was working for her, she came onto him during a meeting at his home. The relationship was mostly physical but she did come over to his home, which was his parent’s home, fairly frequently. My husband was just out of college and didn't know what to do about this exciting new relationship with an older woman. He was also confused but ended up ending the relationship months later after she broke her hip during sex. She had to have surgery and physical therapy.

After learning this, I realized why he didn't tell me about their relationship but I felt so stupid working for her and not knowing some of this information. I tried not to let this effect my job but then she got more distant and wouldn't even talk to me most days. I realized she was dating my father-in-law when I saw her wearing a bracelet that he typically got his soon-to-be ex wife. Neither of them told my husband or me about the relationship and didn't confirm their involvement for months.

I quit that job after eight months and at that point she would only talk to me for a few minutes once of twice a week. Her business has also closed because she took on too much and didn't treat her staff well. They have broken up and gotten back together and now live together in a house he bought. She had taken over decorating his home with her things and expects my daughter to call her “Gammy”. She is still married and has been talking about getting divorced for ten years but still hasn't done that. She has two teenagers that have taken over the room that was suppose to be my father-in-law’s gym. One of the most annoying things she does is constantly inserting herself into conversations that my husband has with his dad. I can’t stand how she treats my father-in-law. He used to seem so happy and I put my feelings aside but now he doesn't seem that way anymore and recently she has tried to get him to break up with her because she wanted a man who makes more money. They are trying to work things out but it seems like they are putting band-aids on their relationship that isn’t built to last long term.

Recently, my husband has started talking to her more because she is helping him with his resume and they are talking more often and that bothers me too. I don't think she is actually helping him because he already has a strong resume. I really don't like that they are talking and texting more regularly. I don't think she would try anything with my husband but I really can’t stand her and how she always makes things about her and inserts herself into my family’s business. At this point, I don't know how much longer I can keep my feelings to myself about how uncomfortable I am with having this woman around my family.