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She Left Me During the Pandemic… But I Chose to Fight for My Kids | Wistaloom
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May 27, 2025
She Left Me During the Pandemic… But I Chose to Fight for My Kids | Wistaloom Hey Wistaloom family, Today’s video is one of the most personal stories I’ve ever shared. I’m a disabled veteran, a full-time dad, and a man who was left to rebuild his life after betrayal. During the pandemic, I lost my job—and soon after, I lost my wife to an affair. But I didn’t give up. I chose to fight for my kids, for my healing, and for a better future. 💔 This story is about heartbreak, resilience, and the deep bond I share with my children. 🛡️ If you've ever been betrayed, abandoned, or underestimated—you’re not alone. 🎙️ Join me as I open up about single fatherhood, healing from PTSD, and learning to love myself again. If this story touches you, leave a comment. Share your experience. And don't forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more stories that matter. Tags: #VeteranDad #SingleFather #FamilyBetrayal #RealLifeStory #HealingJourney #ParentingThroughPain #Wistaloom #Storytime #FathersLove #mentalhealthawareness #wistaloom @wistaloom People Also Search For: veteran story, single dad, dad vlog, betrayal story, family separation, co-parenting, PTSD recovery, parenting after divorce, real life story, heartfelt storytime, storytime youtube, heartbreak recovery, resilient parenting, pandemic breakup, military dad story THANKS FOR WATCHING :)
View Video Transcript
0:00
hey everyone welcome back to
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Wistaloom if you're new here I'm so glad
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you're joining us today this is a space
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where we dive into real stories raw
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emotions and the messy beautiful journey
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of life so grab a coffee get comfy and
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let's talk about something deeply
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personal today a story of heartbreak
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resilience and the unbreakable bond I
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share with my kids
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this is my journey as a disabled veteran
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navigating betrayal separation and
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finding strength for my
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children let's get into it life has a
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way of throwing curveballs when you
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least expect it for me that curveball
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came during the pandemic i'm a disabled
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veteran and like so many others I lost
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my job when the world turned upside down
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my wife was still working so I stepped
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up at home taking on all the household
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responsibilities cooking cleaning
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laundry you name it we had a 1-year-old
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son born just before CO hit and a
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9-year-old daughter from my previous
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marriage my days were filled with
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helping with schoolwork preparing meals
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and keeping the house running smoothly
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it wasn't easy but I wanted to make sure
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my kids had the stable loving home I
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never had growing up my ex-wife and I
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both had tough childhoods and we were
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determined to give our kids something
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better a home filled with love support
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and
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opportunity but our marriage was
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struggling long before the pandemic in a
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lastditch effort to save it we had our
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son i supported her decision to work
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longer hours for extra income thinking
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it would ease our financial strain but
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when the pandemic hit things got worse
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we couldn't afford our place anymore so
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we moved in with my mom to save money
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and reduce my wife's workload i thought
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we were in this together but I was wrong
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in March I started noticing
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changes she was distant always on her
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phone which was suddenly face down all
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the time by April I had a gut feeling
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something was off by my birthday in May
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I was sure she'd been seeing someone
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else a colleague since March the woman
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I'd loved for 14 years the mother of my
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children was building a new life behind
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my back on my birthday she didn't even
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acknowledge me no card no hug nothing
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that's when it hit me the woman I
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thought I knew was gone the betrayal cut
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deep by the time I confirmed her
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infidelity she'd already moved out to
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live with her boyfriend leaving me and
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our kids with my mom
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i felt like I'd been walking beside
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someone sharing my heart only to turn
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around and find them
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gone 14 years of love sacrifice and
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memories felt like they'd vanished
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overnight my daughter who's always been
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close to her mom started pulling away
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from her my one-year-old son didn't even
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ask for her not for milk not for
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anything it broke my heart to see my
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kids hurting but it also showed me how
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strong they are they were moving forward
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even if I was still stuck in the pain
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loneliness became my constant
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companion i'd lie awake at night
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replaying our life together wondering
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where it all went wrong but I couldn't
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let myself drown in that my kids needed
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me and I had to keep going for them so I
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threw myself into being the best dad I
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could be i organized drawing evenings
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movie nights and daily walks with my son
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while my daughter was at school
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i helped with their schoolwork taught my
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son new words and even started teaching
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him breathing exercises to help with his
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separation anxiety an anxiety that
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flared up every time his mother made a
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brief appearance after weeks of absence
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to cope with my own pain I turned to
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physical
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activity i started training hard and I'm
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proud to say I finally dropped below 200
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lb after years of trying that was a huge
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win for me a reminder that I could still
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achieve something for myself
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i also started writing poetry not
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something I ever thought I'd do but it
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became a way to process the anger and
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hurt every word I wrote was a step
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toward healing a way to reclaim my voice
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but healing wasn't
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straightforward my ex kept reaching out
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acting like nothing had changed sending
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messages as if we were still a team at
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first I tried to respond politely
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sending her photos of the kids hoping
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she'd see what she was leaving behind
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but her responses were cold and it
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became clear she wasn't interested in
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being a mother she was too caught up in
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her new life when I learned she was in a
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psychiatric hospital I was torn part of
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me hoped for her recovery but another
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part was angry angry that she'd chosen
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her colleague over our kids angry that
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she'd left me to pick up the pieces
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angry that she didn't seem to notice the
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pain she'd caused especially in our son
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who was struggling with her absence i
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wanted to support her but I had to
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prioritize my own recovery and our kid's
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well-being her brief visits were doing
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more harm than good especially for our
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son who'd cling to me after she left
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confused and anxious our daughter on the
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other hand still idolized her mom
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despite the distance growing between
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them it was hard to watch her admire
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someone who wasn't showing up for her i
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tried to stay neutral to not speak ill
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of my ex in front of the kids but it
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took everything in me to keep that
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facade i started looking for a lawyer to
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navigate the separation but the costs
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were overwhelming and my mom was
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hesitant to trust just anyone my brother
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and mom have been my rock through all of
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this offering support when I felt like I
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was falling
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apart i also started therapy for myself
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and my daughter which has been a
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lifeline we're working through the
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trauma and I'm determined to make sure
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my kids come out of this stronger one of
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the hardest parts was realizing how much
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I'd been taken advantage
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of i'd supported my ex's career stayed
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up late helping with her work even gave
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her foot massages after long days i
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thought I was being a good partner but
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in the end I felt worthless like my
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efforts meant nothing i started
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questioning everything my kindness my
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trust my belief in people i came across
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a book called Stop Being Mr nice Guy
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which talks about the white knight
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syndrome always putting others first
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even at your own expense i saw myself in
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those pages i'd spent so long trying to
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fix things to make her happy that I'd
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lost sight of my own worth that
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realization was a turning point
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i decided I deserved better than being
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someone's backup plan i stopped
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responding to her messages maintaining a
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month of no contact it wasn't easy her
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boyfriend even tried reaching out on
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Facebook which I shut down immediately i
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was done letting their drama interfere
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with my
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life my focus shifted to my kids and my
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own healing i started kickboxing kept up
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with therapy and even dipped my toe into
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the dating world through apps like
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Bumble i wasn't ready for anything
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serious but it felt good to remind
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myself that I'm still here still capable
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of connection as the divorce process
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dragged on things got more complicated
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my ex filed for divorce in June and I
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responded but the court delays left us
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in limbo she's been in and out of the
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hospital dealing with mental health
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struggles and while I genuinely hope she
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gets better I can't trust her intentions
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she's expressed a desire to be more
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involved with the kids but her actions
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don't match her words she's visited only
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a handful of times and our daughter has
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started showing signs of distress even
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mentioning self
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harm that was a wake-up call i got her
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into therapy immediately and we're
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working together to make sure she feels
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supported my son now two still asks
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about his mom i tell him she's at work
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trying to keep things simple but it
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breaks my heart he's learning new words
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every day and we have this beautiful
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morning routine of reading and singing
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together watching him grow brings me so
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much joy but I'm terrified of the
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long-term impact her absence might have
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i'm teaching him soothing techniques
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like breathing exercises to help with
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his anxiety but it's a lot for a
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2-year-old to carry recently my ex has
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been pushing for
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reconciliation she asked me out on a
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date saying she's in therapy and taking
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medication she claims she's no longer
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with her affair partner and wants to
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rebuild our family part of me the part
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that remembers the woman I fell in love
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with at 18 wants to believe her i miss
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her wit her sarcasm the way she said my
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name i miss the mother she used to be
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the one who'd light up our daughter's
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world but I can't ignore the red flags
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she hasn't apologized for the betrayal
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only for seeking confirmation
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elsewhere that's not enough for me i've
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made it clear if we were to reconcile it
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would be after the divorce is finalized
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and only if I have full custody of our
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kids that's non-negotiable
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i won't be manipulated into raising
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someone else's child and I won't let her
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disrupt the life I've built for our
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kids she's agreed to couple's therapy
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which is a step but I'm proceeding with
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caution my daughter's well-being is my
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top priority and I'm worried about the
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example we'd set if we got back together
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if she leaves again it could devastate
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our daughter even more legally I'm at a
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crossroads in my state if a parent
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doesn't contact their kids for a year it
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can be considered child abandonment my
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ex has barely been involved and I'm
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leaning toward consulting a lawyer to
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file for sole custody i want to protect
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my kids from further trauma but I also
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wonder if I'm being too harsh she's
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trying to get better but her track
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record makes it hard to trust her should
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I wait for the court to move forward or
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take the initiative now it's a question
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I'm still wrestling with despite
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everything I'm finding moments of light
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my life with my kids is good we have
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movie nights daily walks and little
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rituals that make us
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smile i'm in therapy for my PTSD working
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out and even practicing kung fu i've
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grown so much since she left and I'm
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proud of the dad I've become i'm not
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perfect but I'm showing up for my kids
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every day and that's what matters so
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here's where I'm at i'm a dad a veteran
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and a man trying to rebuild after
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betrayal i'm learning to trust my
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instincts to value my worth and to put
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my kids
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first i don't know what the future holds
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whether it's reconciliation sole custody
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or something else entirely but I know
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I'm not giving up i'm fighting for my
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kids for myself and for the life we
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deserve if you've been through something
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similar I'd love to hear your story how
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did you cope with betrayal how do you
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balance co-parenting with protecting
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your heart drop a comment below and
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let's start a conversation your
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experiences mean so much to me and this
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community before I go I want to say
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thank you to my mom and brother for
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being my rock and to all of you for
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listening if this story resonated with
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you please give it a thumbs up share it
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with someone who might need it and hit
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that subscribe button for more real talk
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on Wistaloom until next time keep
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pushing forward and remember you're
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stronger than you know this is Wistaloom
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signing off stay strong stay kind and
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I'll see you in the next
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