My Husband Told Me His Mistress Is More Important Than Our Children. He Didn’t Know I Was Recording The Whole Conversation. How Do I Make Sure He Never Sees Them Again?

She helps me move my clothes and books, picture frames and dishes—all the personal items that make a house feel like home. Lance never noticed the gradual emptying of our shared space because he’s too busy with Gloria.

Friday night, Gloria hosted a dinner party at our house for her art teacher friends. She sent out invitations and planned the menu without asking me.

Six people showed up carrying wine bottles and acting like this is Gloria’s home. She introduces Lance as her partner while I’m standing right there in my own kitchen.

The guests looked uncomfortable, glancing between Gloria and me with confused expressions. One woman asks how long Lance and I have been separated and Gloria laughs, saying they’re working on that part.

I smile politely and serve appetizers, making mental notes about how Gloria is already acting like a wife in front of witnesses. I take photos of the party, of Gloria playing hostess in my home, and of Lance with his arm around her while she shows off her artwork on my walls.

Everything goes into the file for Jillian. One of Gloria’s art teacher friends finds me in the kitchen while I’m refilling wine glasses.

She touches my arm gently and leans in close. She tells me she’s really sorry about what I’m going through.

She says Gloria has always been selfish, even back in college when they roomed together. She mentions that Gloria went after her boyfriend once and didn’t even feel bad about it afterward.

She says she’s not surprised Gloria would pursue a married man with kids because Gloria only thinks about what makes Gloria happy. I thank her quietly and ask if she’d be willing to share that information with my lawyer if needed.

She nods and writes her phone number on a napkin, telling me to call anytime. She says someone needs to stand up for those kids because they deserve better.

I fold the napkin carefully and put it in my pocket, adding it to my mental list of evidence for Jillian. Three days later, I’m at home when Jake’s soccer coach calls my cell phone.

His voice sounds worried as he asks if I can come to the field right away. I drive there in 10 minutes, my stomach tight with fear about what happened.

When I arrive, Jake is sitting on the bench with tears running down his face while the other kids practice drills. The coach pulls me aside and explains what happened.

Jake saw his dad’s car pull into the parking lot during warm-ups and got so excited he ran toward it. But Lance was just dropping Gloria off at the gym next door and didn’t even look at the field.

Jake stood there watching his dad drive away without acknowledging him; then Jake broke down crying right there on the field and couldn’t stop. The coach had to pull him out of practice because he was too upset to play.

I sit next to Jake on the bench and put my arm around him. He buries his face in my shoulder and sobs.

I explain to the coach quietly that we’re going through a difficult divorce and his father has been prioritizing other things over the kids. The coach nods with understanding and concern in his eyes.

The coach walks with us to my car after Jake calms down enough to leave. He mentions that he’s noticed big changes in Jake over the past few months.

He says Jake used to be one of the most excited kids on the team, always first to practice and giving maximum effort. Now, Jake barely participates and seems sad most of the time.

He says Jake’s performance has dropped significantly and his enthusiasm for soccer has basically disappeared. The coach asks carefully if there’s anything he can do to help.

I tell him honestly that I’m building a custody case and any documentation of how Lance’s behavior has affected Jake would be helpful. The coach says he’ll write a detailed statement about the changes he’s observed in Jake’s behavior and attitude.

He mentions specific examples of Jake’s declining performance and emotional state during practices and games. He says he’ll email it to me by tomorrow because kids shouldn’t have to go through this kind of pain.

I thank him with tears in my eyes and drive Jake home. The next morning, I call Jillian’s office and schedule an appointment for that afternoon.

I spend two hours organizing everything into folders. I have Curtis’s psychological assessments of both kids with detailed notes about their anxiety and depression.

I have the coach’s statement about Jake’s declining performance and emotional breakdown. I include my documentation of every incident, every missed game, and every cruel comment Gloria made.

I include the recording of Lance saying Gloria is more important than the kids. I have photos of Gloria throwing out the kids’ artwork and taking over our home, plus screenshots of texts and emails.

I have the contact information for Gloria’s friend who witnessed her selfish behavior for years. I put everything in a large envelope and drive to Jillian’s office.

She greets me in the conference room and I spread everything across the table. She picks up each piece of evidence carefully, reading through Curtis’s assessments first.

Her expression gets more serious as she reviews the coach’s statement and listens to the recording. She looks at the photos of the kids’ artwork in the trash and Gloria’s dinner party at our house.

She reads through my detailed timeline of events with dates and times. When she finishes reviewing everything, she sits back in her chair.

Jillian tells me we have a really strong case for primary custody with limited visitation for Lance. She says the combination of professional assessments, witness statements, recorded admissions, and documented patterns of neglect creates a picture that family court judges take very seriously.

She explains that Lance prioritizing his mistress over his children’s emotional well-being, combined with Gloria’s cruelty toward them, gives us solid grounds for requesting supervised visitation only. She says we can also request a restraining order keeping Gloria away from the children during any visitation time Lance does get.

She starts drafting divorce papers right there while I wait, typing quickly on her laptop. She includes requests for full physical custody, child support based on Lance’s real income, and specific provisions protecting the kids from Gloria’s influence.

She prints everything out and shows me each section, explaining what it means and why it matters. She says she’ll file the papers this week and have Lance served.

She tells me to prepare for him to react badly but to stay calm and document everything he does. She reminds me that his behavior will only help our case.