Hello everyone:

We have a new soon-not-to-be-a-couple on Suddenly Single, Culpable Cal and Gullible Gal. I hope you can add to their adventures over the coming days. This edition of their adventures comes from stories that divorced gals have told me. The names have been changed to protect me from being sued and to prevent the gals from being embarrassed by their naive approach to life.

CC is the kinda guy who grew up with Dastardly Dad, who taught him to always hold something back from his wife (in the monetary department). That is, he should pad the bills when he told his wife how much something cost, so that he could build a nest egg for a future without his wife (hey, he might get tired of her, after all!). Dastardly Dad had plenty of experience at that, having been a failure at marriage four times.

CC learned his lessons well. If an electric bill cost $350, he told Gullible Gal it was really $500. If the insurance bill ran $250, he made sure that she thought it was $400, and the like. When household repairs needed to be made, he made certain she thought they cost two or three times the actual cost. Whenever she got too close to finding out how much a bill really was, he waved it in her face, making it impossible to read. Then came the famous words, “Don’t you trust me??” Things added up over the years, and when he got tired of his wife, he had plenty of money to spend on someone else.

Ladies, while it is important to trust your husband in a truly loving relationship, it is, like Ronald Reagan said, vital to “trust but verify.” Please make sure that you sit down with your hubby while he is still around and go over the bills, noting how much they usually run and when they are due. This will aid you, if you do become “Suddenly Single,” since this is statistically likely to happen. BTW, whenever you hear the words “don’t you trust me,” you probably shouldn’t.

What stories can you share with us? (Please use the names I have provided herein, to protect everyone, including the guilty ones!)

Best,

Dr. Sheri