Woman’s Own – 26 August 2019

ND

ed

him a message pretending to be her.

Over the next few days, I exchanged

countless messages with Kevin, with him

complimenting ‘Miranda’ on her good

looks. All the while I kept up the pretence

at home that everything was normal.

Secret meeting

It took all of my strength not to scream in

Kevin’s face and when he tried to cuddle

and kiss me, I had to force myself not to

stiffen with disgust. Then, after four days

of messaging, Kevin left for work one

morning and within five minutes ‘Miranda’

received a message. ‘Fancy meeting up

thisSaturday?’he

asked.I wasdevastated.This

wentfurtherthana fewflirty

textsnow.Myhusband

actuallyintendedtomeetup

withanotherwoman.Holding

Oscarin myarms,I sobbed.Kevinhad

destroyedusandtherewasnowayI was

lettinghimgetawaywithit.

Typingouta replyasMiranda,I agreed

tomeethim.ThenI toldMirandawho

agreedtogotothepubandletmeknow

if heactuallyturnedup.Deepdown,

I hopedhe’dcometohissenses,realise

thatwhathewasdoingwaswrongand

callthewholethingoff.Only,onSaturday

night,afterputtingOscartobed,

Kevinannouncedthathewasgoing

tothepubtomeethisfriends.As

soonashewasgone,I phoneda

friendwho’dsaidshe’dbabysitOscar,

thenI drovetothepub.

Caughtintheact

WhenI finallyreachedtheentrance,

I hadtosteadymynervesandtakea

deepbreath.Inside,I spottedMiranda

atthebar,andasshesteppedaside,I

sawmyhusbandsmilingandoblivious.

Butwhenhesawmeatthedoor,his

facewentpale.Hismouthgaping

open,helookedflustered.‘Youreally

arepathetic,Kevin,’I toldhim,marching

over.I watchedbeadsofsweatformon

hisforeheadasI explainedit wasme

he’dbeenmessagingoverthelastfew

days.Hetriedtosplutteroutexcuses,

butcouldn’tgethiswordsout.People

werewatchingandwhispering.Hewas

clearlyembarrassed,butit didn’tcome

closetohowmuchhe’dhumiliatedme.

‘Don’tbothercominghome,’I toldhim,

beforeleavingthepubwithMiranda,

holdingmycomposure.

Butoutside,astheairhitmyface,

I suddenlyfeltsickasI realisedthatmy

marriagereallywasover.

Thatnight,Kevincamehome

andbeggedforforgiveness,

butI’dmademydecision.

Eventually,hegaveuptrying

andmovedhisthingsoutof

thehouse.I wantedOscar’s

lifetobestable,sowemade

arrangementsforKevinto

seehimasmuchaspossible.

Sincethen,I can’tsayit’s

beeneasybutwetrytoremaincivil.Now,

Oscaris eightandthehappiestlittleboy,

butI worryaboutthedayhefindsout

abouthisfather’smisdemeanours.It’s

hardlytherolemodelI wantedformyson.

Beinga doubledivorceeat 47 is not

whereI thoughtI’dbe,butwhenI saidmy

vowsatmyweddingtoKevin,I meant

everysingleword.It’sjusta shamethat

thesamecan’tbesaidforhim.

‘When he

saw meat

the door,

his face

wentpale’

Emmafelt

humiliated

It was a

whirlwind

romance Kevin and Miranda have their say

l KEVIN SAYS: Yes, it cost me my

marriage. I still see my son and it cost

me an awful lot of money. I let myself

down. My self-respect was affected,

my dignity and the hurt it brought

not just to myself but to an awful lot

of people. It has nothing to do with

anybody else, it was done and dusted

between myself and my wife.

l MIRANDA SAYS: When I first

started chatting to Kevin on the

dating site, his profile picture was of

a fire engine. But when he sent me a

picture of himself, I knew it was

Emma’s husband. I double-checked

with a mutual friend before I decided

to tell Emma. She was so grateful to

me afterwards, so I have no regrets.

SHOCK READ

Real life