My Wife Laughed At A Love Letter I Received And Called Her Family To Join In. She Called Me “Damaged Goods” To Her Sisters. Now She Is Begging For Spousal Support While My Lawyer Destroys Her In Court.

What Family Should Be

I moved into the apartment 3 days after the restraining order hearing. The place was small and came furnished with basic stuff that looked like it came from a discount furniture store. Beige couch, brown coffee table, a bed that squeaked when I sat on it. But it was quiet and nobody was there telling me I was worthless.

Caroline texted me that weekend asking if I needed help getting settled. We met at a HomeGoods store and she walked with me through the aisles pointing out things I’d need. Dish soap, paper towels, a decent set of pots and pans. She kept the conversation light and friendly, never once mentioning the divorce or Lisa.

I was checking my email Monday morning at work when Kieran stopped by my desk looking uncomfortable. He showed me his phone with a Facebook post Lisa had written. She’d posted a long story about how I abandoned her after 15 years for a younger woman at work.

The post had dozens of comments from her friends calling me every name you could think of. Cheater, scumbag, loser who couldn’t appreciate what he had. Several people said Lisa deserved so much better than someone like me. I felt my face get hot reading the lies she was telling.

Kieran squeezed my shoulder and said not to respond, that everyone who knew us could see through it. I forwarded screenshots of the post to Jeremy. He called me back and told me to document everything but don’t engage publicly.

Jeremy said, “Judges see this kind of social media campaign all the time and it usually backfires on the person doing it.”

The discovery phase started 2 weeks later and suddenly I was drowning in paperwork. Then Delilah filed a motion demanding access to my work email, claiming I must have evidence of an affair with Caroline hidden there.

The motion used language about how I was clearly hiding something. I read it sitting in Jeremy’s office feeling sick because there was no affair. Jeremy filed in opposition to the email request and we had a hearing about it 3 days later.

Jeremy stood up and pointed out that Lisa had provided zero actual evidence of infidelity, just speculation and accusations. The judge agreed and denied the motion, saying Lisa’s attorney needed to provide some basis for her claims beyond just wanting to look through my private communications.

I found out through a mutual friend from college that Lisa was telling people I’d been violent with her during our marriage. The friend called me sounding worried and asked if I needed help because Lisa had posted in an alumni group about surviving abuse. The lies were so big and so detailed that I couldn’t even process them at first.

Thanksgiving week came and I spent Tuesday evening at my apartment eating leftover pizza. Kieran called asking what my plans were for Thursday. I told him I was probably just going to order Chinese food and watch movies. He said that was unacceptable and his wife insisted I come to their house.

Thursday afternoon I showed up at Kieran’s house with a store-bought pie, feeling awkward and out of place. His wife, Melissa, answered the door with a genuine smile. Then their two kids ran up asking if I was Uncle Kieran’s friend from work.

During dinner, everyone talked and laughed and passed dishes around the table without anyone making cruel jokes or putting anyone down. Kieran’s daughter told a story about her school play and everyone listened and encouraged her instead of finding ways to criticize.

His son spilled his milk and Melissa just cleaned it up saying, “Accidents happen,” without making him feel terrible about it.

I sat there eating turkey and watching this family interact with basic kindness and respect for each other, realizing this was what normal families did. Nobody mocked anyone’s appearance or brought up past mistakes to humiliate them. They just enjoyed being together and treated each other like people they actually cared about.

Desperation and Consequences

The following Monday, Jeremy’s office called saying they’d received correspondence from Lisa’s attorney. It was a three-page letter from Lisa. She wrote that she was willing to forgive everything that had happened and take me back if I agreed to drop the divorce immediately.

She claimed we could work through our problems together with counseling and that she recognized both of us had made mistakes in the marriage. There was no acknowledgement of the years of mockery and cruelty, just this fake concern about my mental state and her willingness to forgive me for leaving.

I told Jeremy there was absolutely no chance of reconciliation and to proceed with pushing for trial.

January came and depositions were scheduled at Delilah’s office downtown. Jeremy prepared me for what to expect. The morning of my deposition, I sat in a conference room across from Lisa while a court reporter set up her equipment.

Delilah started asking questions about my mental health and when I’d started therapy. She asked if I was on any medications and if my therapist had diagnosed me with any conditions. Jeremy objected repeatedly. Delilah kept pushing, asking if I’d had suicidal thoughts or feelings of depression, phrasing everything to sound concerning and unstable.

She asked about Caroline and whether I’d had an affair, trying to get me to admit to something that never happened. Lisa sat there the whole time with this slight smirk on her face like she was enjoying watching her attorney attack me.

When Jeremy got to ask me questions, he kept things straightforward, asking about Lisa’s treatment of me over the years and specific incidents of her mockery and cruelty.

The next day was Lisa’s deposition. When Jeremy asked about the night with Caroline’s letter, Lisa said she might have made some jokes but I was being overly sensitive and taking things out of context. She claimed her family was just having fun and I never indicated their teasing bothered me.

The lies came out of her mouth so easily and naturally that I sat there wondering if she actually believed her own version of events. After Lisa’s deposition, I went straight to my next therapy session feeling completely defeated. Mia listened and then reminded me that Lisa’s version of events didn’t change what actually happened.

She said, “Judges see through manipulation tactics all the time and that’s why we had evidence like the videos and voicemails.”

February arrived. Caroline mentioned during one of our coffee meetups that she was staying home for Valentine’s Day. Caroline and I made plans to get coffee that week like we always did, no different from any other day. And that felt perfect.

The Wednesday before Valentine’s Day, I was at my desk working when someone from reception called saying I had a visitor in the lobby. I walked down thinking maybe it was a delivery and found Lisa standing there demanding to talk to me. Security was already approaching because she’d been getting loud.

I told her she needed to leave because of the restraining order. Lisa started yelling that the restraining order was ridiculous and she just wanted to talk to her husband. Security asked her to leave and she refused, saying she wasn’t going anywhere until I listened to her. They had to physically escort her toward the door.

Skyler came down from HR and documented everything that happened. I called Jeremy as soon as I got back to my desk and he said he’d file an emergency motion. The contempt hearing happened 3 days later in a smaller courtroom.

The judge reviewed the security footage. Lisa sat with her hands folded in her lap trying to look small and sorry. The judge looked at her over his reading glasses and asked if she understood what a restraining order meant.

Lisa nodded and said she did but she just missed her husband so much that she wasn’t thinking clearly. The judge wasn’t buying it. He told her this was her second violation and he was done being lenient. He said one more incident of any kind and he would hold her in contempt with jail time.

He extended the restraining order for another year and warned that any contact through third parties would also count as a violation. Lisa left the courtroom wiping her eyes but I saw her shoot me a look of pure hate when the judge wasn’t watching.