“I cannot believe how much it destroyed me.”

I'm a Southern California-based writer on the Lifestyle team who likes to try and rank viral foods and read and recommend awesome books.

"Afterward, I realized our worldviews and values were different and that I wasn't happy being married to him. We're still married, but I have to stifle myself a lot so we don't fight. Also, I'm dealing with the guilt of hurting my former spouse, who I love. Fortunately, we have a good relationship and still cooperate to help our now-adult kids. Still, I am so ashamed of myself."

"I'm very fortunate that one of those work acquaintances blossomed into a deep and meaningful friendship that finally helped me see my value and worth. It extinguished some of the 'friendship anxiety' that I had from toxic friendships, but it saddens me that I spent so long in a lonely hole of my own making — all while telling myself I was 'just fine.'"

"Oh, and my brother got our dad to transfer the house title to him after our mom passed, too. They wonder why I don't want to speak to them again!? I'm 65 and unmarried with an adult kid with high support needs. Mom was right; I should have worried about myself first. My son would've been taken care of, and I could've retired! Instead, I have a rich stepmother younger than me who can't wait for my dad to die."

"While waiting for him to return with the truck, I realized all his belongings were gone. Some of his mail had been left behind, so I looked through it. I discovered he'd been living on a small pension for a back injury. Mind you, I'd seen him lifting heavy before, so there was no way he had any sort of injury. Then it hit me: I'd been taken by a con man. Because of him, I went into credit card debt and defaulted on a loan because he'd borrowed so much money that I thought would be repaid. With no place to go, my things went into storage, and I lived out of my car with my dog and two cats for over a month before I could get back on my feet. I started renting a crappy apartment and began rebuilding my life. I was in my early 30s at the time, and although there were red flags, I didn't want to admit to myself that I was dumb enough to have been fooled by a con man. I never saw him again."

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.