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I Gave Her Everything… And She Gave Herself to Someone Else | TRUE STORY
Some people love you. Others love being admired.
After four years of marriage, I realized I didn’t have a wife — I had a performance partner. A woman addicted to attention, validation, and the sound of her own name in other men’s mouths.
This is the story of how I met Jessica, how I ignored the warnings, and how my grandfather’s words came true:
“Beauty is skin deep. But ugliness goes to the bone.”
From love at first sight to betrayal I couldn’t ignore, this is a ride through trust, truth, heartbreak, and healing.
⚠️ Based on a true story.
🎧 Grab a drink and settle in. You’re going to feel this one.
💬 Share your story in the comments. Have you ever ignored your gut?
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0:00
Some songs are more than just music.
0:02
Their memories set to a rhythm. The one
0:04
that played on the obscure FM station as
0:06
I drove from Denver to Santa Fe was one
0:08
of those.
0:10
It was a 70s track, a melancholy anthem
0:13
about a beautiful woman and the men who
0:15
coveted her. When you're in love with a
0:17
beautiful woman, it's tough. The lyrics,
0:20
a truth I had learned the hard way. It
0:23
was a truth I had heard from my
0:24
grandfather years before. a truth I had
0:27
foolishly believed didn't apply to me.
0:30
Now, with the Colorado Rockies receding
0:32
in my rear view mirror, and the endless
0:34
desert stretching out before me, I knew
0:36
he had been right all along. I was
0:38
Thomas Rexford, but everyone called me
0:41
Jaxi, a relic from my three years as a
0:43
lumberjack in the Pacific Northwest.
0:46
That time had given me more than a
0:48
nickname. It had given me a resilience
0:50
forged in the rugged, unforgiving
0:52
wilderness.
0:53
It had also given me a a love for the
0:56
open road and the raw power of my
0:58
Harley-Davidson Greta, a 2005 soft tail
1:01
standard that was as perfect as the day
1:03
I bought it. My ex-wife and I used to
1:06
ride it often, the wind whipping through
1:09
our hair, the world a blur of color and
1:11
speed. Those days were gone. My life was
1:15
in Denver. My friends, my family, my
1:18
company, a successful investment firm
1:21
with six offices. Santa Fe was a strange
1:24
new world. The new office, a small space
1:27
near Presbyterian Medical Center, was a
1:30
strange new beginning for me, a
1:32
Methodist turned agnostic who had just
1:34
been handed a one-way ticket to a
1:36
different life. It was here in this
1:38
quiet, dusty town that I was supposed to
1:41
heal, to rebuild. But before I could do
1:44
that, I had to understand what had gone
1:46
wrong. I had to go back to the
1:49
beginning, to the night I first saw her
1:52
again, the night I should have listened
1:54
to my gut.
1:56
I had known Jessica Remington in high
1:58
school, but we were two different
2:00
worlds. I was a hockey player, rough
2:03
around the edges, with a vocabulary
2:05
peppered with damn and hell. She was a
2:08
star student, a soccer player with
2:10
blazing green eyes and deep red hair
2:12
that seemed to catch the light.
2:14
3 years after I returned from Oregon, a
2:17
more rugged, confident man, our worlds
2:19
collided at a men's hockey game. She was
2:22
with my goalie's girlfriend, a fish out
2:25
of water in the chaotic, smelly world of
2:27
the rink. "Hey, Thomas, great game," she
2:30
said, her voice a melody in the loud,
2:32
echoing hallway. "Aren't you going to
2:34
say hi to an old school friend?
2:37
I had a hockey player's social grace,
2:39
which is to say none at all. I was
2:41
polite, but distant. She was stunning,
2:44
and I was on guard. My friend Beamer, a
2:47
walking encyclopedia of bad advice, saw
2:50
the potential. "You might have a chance,
2:52
bro," he whispered in my ear. "Don't
2:55
mess it up." That night at a local pub,
2:58
we talked for hours. It was just the two
3:01
of us, a bubble of easy conversation in
3:03
a crowded room. She told me about her
3:05
life, marine biology, surfing, and the
3:09
mountain home she had returned to. I
3:11
told her about my life, the lumberjack
3:14
days, my investment company, and my love
3:17
for the open road.
3:19
When she asked to ride Greta, my heart
3:21
skipped a beat. I waited two days to
3:24
call, a strategic move to appear
3:26
nonchalant.
3:28
When I did, she hung up on me. A playful
3:30
screw you and a figure it out, Jacker. A
3:32
new kind of challenge. Our first date
3:34
was a ride to a music festival in
3:36
Leadville.
3:38
The Colorado summer was perfect, the
3:40
mountains a breathtaking backdrop to our
3:42
fledgling romance. But even then, there
3:45
was a flaw. Men ogled her, a constant
3:48
stream of attention. She seemed to soak
3:50
up with a smile and a wink. It bothered
3:53
me, a tiny crack in the foundation of my
3:56
trust. But I pushed it down. She was
3:59
just being friendly, I told myself. She
4:02
was a beautiful woman after all. 4
4:05
months later, we were exclusive. We met
4:08
each other's families, a whirlwind of
4:10
holidays and introductions. And that's
4:12
when I called the war council.
4:14
My dad, my brother Mikey, and my grandpa
4:17
Rexford, three men I trusted implicitly,
4:21
gathered on my porch with a bottle of
4:22
15-year-old Glenn liv. Mikey, ever the
4:25
academic, gave a mathematical analysis
4:27
of our relationship. It was a good
4:30
foundation, but he recommended a slower
4:32
approach.
4:34
Dad, the voice of reason, agreed. He
4:37
spoke of the importance of courtship, of
4:39
knowing each other through a few
4:40
breakups. Then Grandpa Rexford, the wise
4:43
elder statesman, delivered the most
4:45
chilling and preient advice of all.
4:48
"Beauty is skin deep," he said, his
4:51
voice a low rumble. "But ugliness goes
4:53
to the bone. He saw the flaw I had been
4:56
ignoring, her need for constant
4:58
attention, her narcissistic streak. He
5:01
spoke of a Bob Seager song, Hollywood
5:04
Nights, and the line that had stuck with
5:06
him for decades. She was born with a
5:09
face that allowed her to get what she
5:10
wanted. He warned me that her beauty was
5:13
a power she knew how to wield, and he
5:15
feared she would continue to flirt, to
5:18
seek validation even after we were
5:20
married. His advice was a brutal, honest
5:23
assessment of the woman I was falling in
5:25
love with. Take her to Oregon, to a
5:28
place where she knew no one and see if
5:30
she could survive without the constant
5:32
agilation.
5:34
I didn't take all his advice, but I took
5:36
the spirit of it. I decided to slow
5:39
things down, to spend more intentional
5:41
time together.
5:43
We had long conversations about our
5:45
past, our future, our fears.
5:48
I thought we were building a strong
5:50
foundation, a fortress against the
5:52
outside world.
5:54
But I was wrong. The flaw was still
5:56
there, waiting for the right moment to
5:58
expose itself. It happened at a local
6:00
pub, a place with live bands and a
6:03
relaxed atmosphere.
6:05
We were dancing, laughing, our
6:07
relationship feeling as solid as ever.
6:10
But when I went to the men's room, I
6:12
returned to find Jessica flirting with a
6:14
guy I recognized from high school. A
6:16
rich kid named Wayne, who hadn't
6:18
attended our school, but knew who I was.
6:21
He was standing too close, and she was
6:23
giggling, touching his arm, a clear
6:26
violation of the unspoken rules of our
6:28
relationship.
6:30
I stood back, watching the scene unfold,
6:33
the words of my war council echoing in
6:36
my mind. She didn't miss me. She didn't
6:39
acknowledge my presence. When she
6:41
finally introduced me, her guilt was a
6:43
fleeting flicker in her eyes. "Wne, why
6:47
don't you join us?" she said, never once
6:49
asking if it was okay.
6:52
Then the final unforgivable strike.
6:55
Wayne, why don't you spin me around on
6:57
the dance floor?
6:59
She asked him, not me. She didn't look
7:01
at me. She didn't care. I didn't say a
7:04
word. I simply left the moonlight ride
7:07
home on Greta. a cold, silent bomb for
7:10
my wounded pride. I had given her three
7:12
strikes, and she had struck out. The
7:15
call started an hour later, a torrent of
7:18
angry, demanding messages. "Thomas,
7:21
where are you? You son of a cow. Come
7:23
back and get me now." The next morning,
7:26
she burst into my apartment, a whirlwind
7:28
of righteous fury. Her face was red, her
7:31
nostrils flared. "You son of a cow,
7:34
Thomas! How dare you leave me like
7:35
that?"
7:36
But I held my ground. I didn't yell. I
7:39
didn't back down. I laid out the facts,
7:42
the cold, hard reality of her
7:43
disrespect.
7:45
"I won't compete for you, Jessica," I
7:47
said, my voice calm and steady. "We're
7:50
past that stage. I'm yours, and you
7:53
should expect love, respect, and honor
7:55
from me, just as I expect the same from
7:57
you." She broke down, her anger giving
8:00
way to a torrent of tears.
8:03
"I'm so sorry, Thomas. I didn't think it
8:06
was horrible of me. I love you and I
8:08
want to be with you. Please forgive me.
8:11
I forgave her. I loved her. 5 months
8:14
later, we were married in a beautiful
8:16
ceremony near Breenidge, surrounded by
8:18
family and friends.
8:21
We took a wonderful honeymoon to Cabo.
8:23
We had long honest conversations.
8:26
We went to a therapist. I truly believed
8:29
we had built a life together, a
8:31
partnership based on love, respect, and
8:34
honesty.
8:36
4 and 1/2 years later, I was divorced,
8:38
alone again, and driving to Santa Fe. I
8:41
had followed the advice. I had tried to
8:44
build a strong, honest relationship, but
8:47
Grandpa Rexford had been right.
8:49
Jessica's inner ugliness ran deep. A
8:52
selfish streak she couldn't or wouldn't
8:55
change. The final act of her betrayal
8:57
began with a man named Dr. Charles
8:59
Welbborne. To me, he was a Barry
9:01
Melrose. Nice but unimpressive. But to
9:04
Jessica, he was a legend, a mentor, an
9:07
inspiration.
9:09
She talked about him constantly. Her
9:11
work now a world she rarely invited me
9:13
into. I noticed that 90% of our
9:16
conversations were about her job and 75%
9:19
of those were about him. a firsttime
9:22
husband, I dismissed it as enthusiasm.
9:26
Then my mom called, her words a gentle
9:28
nudge toward the truth I was trying to
9:30
ignore.
9:32
She's always talking about herself and
9:34
her work, Thomas. I've never heard her
9:36
brag about you or ask about your work.
9:39
That strikes me as odd.
9:41
My own anxieties, which I had been
9:43
suppressing, began to surface. I started
9:46
keeping a simple record, a spreadsheet
9:48
of our conversations. The numbers didn't
9:51
lie. I planned a weekend getaway, a
9:53
chance to reconnect, to get back to the
9:55
intimacy we had once shared. But Jessica
9:58
canled, citing a mandatory faculty
10:00
meeting. Her tone wasn't apologetic. It
10:04
was annoyed. "Charles has a mandatory
10:06
faculty meeting," she said, using his
10:09
first name. A subtle shift that didn't
10:11
escape me. "You should have consulted
10:14
with me first." My anger, a cold, hard
10:17
nod in my stomach, finally exploded.
10:20
Damn it, Jess. You work for him. He
10:22
doesn't own your weekend.
10:24
We fought.
10:26
I rode Greta for 3 hours, stopping at a
10:29
pub to cool down. When I got home, the
10:32
air was thick with a cold silence. I had
10:35
canled the cabin reservation, a small
10:37
loss that felt like a huge one. Later, I
10:40
saw the new entries on our shared
10:42
calendar. The mandatory meeting, a math
10:44
conference in January, and two girls
10:47
nights out. The following Saturday,
10:49
Jessica surprised me with a kiss and a
10:52
casual non-apology.
10:54
I hope we can talk and make up today,
10:56
she said, her smile a familiar weapon. I
10:59
understand your disappointment, but I'm
11:02
sure we can work things out.
11:04
The words were a bitter echo of the
11:06
past, a repetition of a pattern I now
11:08
understood all too well, a face that
11:11
lets her get her way.
11:14
That day, I went to Mick's hardware
11:16
store to buy oil for my creaking porch
11:18
door. There, I saw Mick V, a high school
11:21
friend who also taught math at Jessica's
11:23
school. "Heard you had a goal and two
11:26
assists on Thursday," he said, a
11:28
friendly greeting that was about to
11:29
shatter my world.
11:31
I thought Wellbborne had a faculty
11:33
meeting today, I said. A deliberate
11:35
test. He's arrogant, but not that
11:37
stupid. Mick laughed. He didn't schedule
11:40
a meeting for today. Distrust, a cold,
11:43
venomous thing coiled in my stomach.
11:46
I drove past the school. The parking
11:49
lots were empty. The lights were out. My
11:51
mind, trained in the methodical world of
11:53
finance, began to put the pieces
11:55
together. I needed facts, not just
11:58
suspicion. I needed proof.
12:01
I called my insurance agent and hockey
12:03
teammate Pat Cookie Cook. Jaxi, he said,
12:07
"Did you break your leg trying to
12:09
improve your skating skills?" "Not yet,
12:12
Cookie," I replied. The seriousness of
12:14
my tone making him agree to meet me at
12:16
his office. "There," I laid out my plan.
12:20
"I think Jess might be having an affair,
12:22
and I need to find out." Cookie, a good
12:25
friend, didn't hesitate. I don't have a
12:27
boyfriend, but I know a top-notch
12:29
investigator. She's almost invisible,
12:31
tough as nails, and always gets results.
12:34
Her name was Ella Compton, and she was a
12:36
force of nature in a small 5-ft tall
12:38
package. I explained my situation, and
12:41
she gave me her price. "I need $1,500
12:45
upfront," she said, her voice all
12:47
business. "This is confidential, right?"
12:50
I paid her, a sick feeling of betrayal
12:52
and dread in my gut. I had to maintain
12:55
the facade.
12:57
At home, I kissed Jessica on the cheek,
13:00
telling her I had tickets to an
13:01
Avalanche game. I lied, telling her I
13:05
was sorry for my overreaction, that I
13:07
loved her, and that we would take a
13:09
weekend trip soon. She gave me the same
13:12
non-apology she had always given me, a
13:14
hollow promise that now rang with a
13:16
sickening falseness.
13:18
"I understand your frustration," she
13:21
said. "We'll go soon, just the two of
13:24
us." The next six weeks were a living
13:26
hell. Christmas was a blur of fake
13:29
smiles and forced affection.
13:32
New Year's Eve, a night meant for
13:34
celebration and new beginnings, was a
13:36
nightmare of physical intimacy that felt
13:38
hollow and empty. We were two strangers
13:41
living a lie. And the clock was ticking.
13:44
I was no longer the confident, hopeful
13:46
man I had been. I was a man with a
13:49
secret. A man waiting for a detective's
13:51
report that I knew deep down would
13:53
confirm my worst fears.
13:56
My grandfather's words echoed in my
13:58
head. A final painful truth. A face that
14:01
lets her get her way will eventually get
14:03
what it wants. And what she wanted, I
14:06
realized with a heavy heart, was not