Married women will hate me... but I am the other woman. And I'll tell you that Christmas is hardest on us mistresses - even if your husbands buy us pricey gifts!
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It's that time of year again. The time when the world rejoices, families come together – and lovers carve out that little bit of special time alone. What woman doesn't enjoy the seasonal gifts and cosy meet-ups, the touching gestures and all those social invitations that really validate a relationship.
![[I learned this the hard way, spending the most desperate Christmas of my life as the tier-two partner, shoved to the shadows just when it really mattered. (Pictured: Izzy Anaya)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/16/93212835-14199377-image-a-3_1734625008086.jpg)
Unless, that is, you are the other woman. The one who's not meant to be there at all. For those poor creatures, this is the very loneliest time of the year – a festival of heartache, painful reminders and rejection. I learned this the hard way, spending the most desperate Christmas of my life as the tier-two partner, shoved to the shadows just when it really mattered.
![[When Christmas rolled around, I hoped above all that he would invite me to spend it with him and his children, or at least make time to come and see me. That's when the excuses started.(Pictured: Izzy Anaya)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/19/93252531-14199377-image-a-28_1734635204052.jpg)
I know there are plenty of married women out there who'll hate me for dragging all this into the open. And I suppose I have only myself to blame, although never in my life had I dreamed of becoming someone's dirty little secret. I first became the other woman 13 years ago, when I met my then-boyfriend at a party in Manhattan. I was 29 and he was older and more experienced at 45.
![[He knew I was unhappy, of course, and tried to make it up to me with a stream of flowers and presents. He sent me jewelry – a lot of jewelry – including a beautiful black-diamond ring.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/16/93282335-14199377-image-a-1_1734625007803.jpg)
To cut a long story short, I had no idea he was married. There was no ring, no obvious sign – and he certainly didn't tell me. I first became the other woman 13 years ago, when I met my then-boyfriend at a party in Manhattan. I was 29 and he was older and more experienced at 45. (Pictured: Izzy Anaya).
![[Mistresses at Christmas (like the infamous Mia from Love Actually, pictured) have long been maligned, but for those poor creatures, this is the very loneliest time of the year – a festival of heartache, painful reminders and rejection.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/19/93329513-14199377-image-a-29_1734636595644.jpg)
