Why I bitterly regret leaving my wealthy ex: Andrew was boring so I left him for handsome Mark. It's only 25 years later when he calls me that I realise my catastrophic mistake: JOAN SMYTH
Share:
Today my ex-boyfriend called me on my birthday for our annual catch-up – or, as I see it, his yearly opportunity to rub my nose in it. I genuinely enjoy hearing all his family news: his kid's progress at university; his older brother's endless quest for love.
But when he moves on to his wife's latest expensive hobby (most recently tennis lessons), there's more than a flicker of envy. After all, thanks to marrying a man with vast inherited wealth, she has no need to work and can pay other people to carry out the domestic drudgery the rest of us are lumbered with.
By the time my ex, Andrew, is talking me through their skiing holiday in Verbier and the month they spent in Tuscany last summer, I'm seething with jealousy. We went on endless trips when we dated, for ever jumping on a plane for last-minute sun in Europe or a Far East adventure. These days, for me it's always a fortnight in a Cornish holiday let with my husband and our teenage sons, often with one of their girlfriends in tow. So, as I put the phone down, I can't help but think about what might have been had I not ended our relationship 25 years ago.
Andrew was my safe, dependable – and spectacularly well-off – boyfriend for six years, from my teens into my early 20s. I rather heartlessly ditched him for Mark, a bit of a cad from work whom I went on to marry and have two children with. A classic case of choosing lust over lifestyle. The decision, I now realise, of a young woman yet to realise the crippling cost of childcare or wince as she opened a utility bill.
Share:
More for You
Top Followed
Trending
You Might Also Like
