Life Advice
/Health
High School Teacher Considers Fling With Former Student
DEAR ABBY: I am a 50-year-old single mom who is extremely close with my 20-year-old daughter, who is away at college. I haven't dated for 12 years, partly because I did not want distractions from parenting.
Recently, a young man has contacted me for a casual relationship. These are my issues: He's 21. My daughter would be disgusted, and I could...Read more
Inmate Suspects Girlfriend Of Affair With His Brother
DEAR ABBY: I have been incarcerated for 21 months. I stay in contact with my immediate family, except for my brother. I suspect that he slept with my girlfriend a couple of weeks before I came to prison, although I'm not 100% sure. He tells our family members that it isn't true and that he wants me to reach out. But I don't know if I can until I...Read more
Man Hopes Statement Of Affection Isn't Taken The Wrong Way
DEAR ABBY: I recently reconnected with a woman I dated briefly in the 1980s and haven't seen since. She's around my age. We both were married one year apart, had daughters one year apart, and got divorced after 20-year marriages. She spotted me on a social media site and suggested I call her to "catch up on things," which I did.
This led to an ...Read more
Move Closer To Family Creates Distance Instead
DEAR ABBY: I made a terrible mistake moving 2,000 miles across the country to be closer to my grandchildren. In the past, I have always noticed my son and daughter-in-law treated the other grandparents better. They roll out the red carpet for my daughter-in-law's parents. They arrange outings with them, take photos and post the special ...Read more
Widow Is Tired Of Being Alone After Four Months
DEAR ABBY: My husband passed away four months ago. I miss him terribly, but I'm ready to move on. I want to begin dating, but I don't know how to go about it. Some may say it's too soon, but I couldn't care less what people think.
I have my eye on several men I think may be interested, but they're not paying much attention to me. I think they'...Read more
Son's Parents Want Nothing To Do With His Girlfriend
DEAR ABBY: My son is 20 and a senior in college. He's a baseball player and is about to ask the girl he's been dating for a year and a half to marry him. My wife and I don't get along with her at all. She has a myriad of health problems and takes eight prescriptions a day. Because of her conditions, she rarely has the energy to do anything but ...Read more
Husband's About-Face May Have Come Too Late
DEAR ABBY: For nearly 30 years, my husband and I shared a close, trusting marriage. Months ago, I caught him lying about meetings he was having with a 35-year-old colleague. Then I discovered months of ongoing texts. When I asked for an explanation, he became angry and defensive. His explanation was it was work-related, that I was too ...Read more
Woman Wants Surprise Party To Be Drama-Free
DEAR ABBY: My husband has four grown children -- one from his first marriage; three with his late wife. Talk about drama! Who talks to whom? Who can't stand whom? Who gets annoyed when one of them comes to visit us? They could be BFFs today and tomorrow stab each other in the back.
Recently, my husband has been saying he'd like to see his four ...Read more
Son's Interests And Appearance Have Changed
DEAR ABBY: Our 23-year-old son, "Ed," was clean-cut, into working out and staying healthy, watched his diet -- he even joined a gym and was going every week. Ed has been dating a girl, "Emily," who is the complete opposite. She's probably a hundred pounds overweight. She's also dirty, (when she comes here, there have been days she doesn't take a...Read more
Grandparents Overtaxed With Child Care Every Weekend
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I love our 7- and 2-year-old grandchildren very much and enjoy spending time with them. The issue is, we feel we are being taken advantage of. Our daughter and her husband are still married but lead separate lives. He works out of town and comes home most weekends. Her weekends usually begin on Friday when she "has to" ...Read more
Squabbling Parents Share Too Much Information
DEAR ABBY: My parents got into an argument because my father saw my mother looking at an old photo of herself from when she was younger. (It had been sent by her cousin via text.) In it, she was sitting next to "an ex-boyfriend or friend." My father thought it was disrespectful, but my mother didn't agree.
Mom thought it was trivial for him to ...Read more
Bullying Son-In-Law Turns Grandmother Away From Family
DEAR ABBY: My daughter has been married to her high school sweetheart for 15 years. Their marriage has been rocky from the start due to her husband's "God" complex. He's a spoiled brat and a compulsive liar. He has not only caused mayhem in his own family but has nearly destroyed ours. He was extremely disrespectful to his late parents, and ...Read more
Clingy Girlfriend's Behavior Could Be A Marriage Red Flag
DEAR ABBY: I am a 47-year-old male who is 20 days from being divorced. For the past three months, I have been dating a woman I've known for 26 years. We love each other and plan to be married. We have great times when we are together but struggle on the phone or with texting. I'm not sure why this is, but she says it's because we need to be ...Read more
Chance Encounter Still Burns In Divorced Neighbor
DEAR ABBY: I am a divorced man in my 60s. Twelve years ago, a neighbor woman who I'm attracted to popped into my house to have a smoke break out on my back deck. When she arrived, I was in the shower. She came in like she always did (she had permission) and walked over to the fireplace. As she turned, she took two steps and froze because at that...Read more
Co-Worker's 'Raging Crush' Must Be Tamed
DEAR ABBY: After six years of working closely together, I have developed a raging crush on my co-worker and project partner, "Brett." It's a full-on, face-flushing, daydreaming kind of situation, and it's super annoying. I know this crush is inappropriate and unreciprocated, and I have no intention of acting on it. We are both married, and I ...Read more
Lying Husband's Unexpected Announcement Leaves Wife Devastated
DEAR ABBY: I became ill a few months ago and spent 10 days in the hospital before moving to a rehab center to recover. My husband worked at the facility where I became a patient. Two weeks into my rehab, he announced that when I went home, he would not be there, and that he was filing for divorce. He refused to give me a solid reason why. Our 30...Read more
Wife Blames Mother For Her Own Infidelity
DEAR ABBY: When my daughter, "Trish," and her husband separated, I reached out to each of them for occasional check-ins. Trish left him after confessing to infidelity via email. He messaged me with a copy of what she'd written, which included some damning things about me -- that she was "like" me and that I am "not a good person." She never ...Read more
Third Party's Arrival Leads To Friendship's Demise
DEAR ABBY: After moving into a 55-plus community seven years ago, I became close friends with my neighbors, "Iris" and her husband. She was widowed five years ago, and I began a relationship four years ago, but my boyfriend and I always included Iris and my other girlfriends in our activities.
Iris became friendly with "Barb," a woman at her ...Read more
Selfish Mother-In-Law Is Playing For Keeps
DEAR ABBY: I am married to a man who is incarcerated. As you can imagine, it's been hard on our family. I have two kids with him. I was pregnant with our youngest when he was arrested. According to his mother, since my husband went to prison, I can't do anything right. She yells at me that she has it worse than I do regarding my husband. Her ...Read more
Husband's Gaslighting Has Reached A New Level
DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my husband for nearly 20 years and lived with him for three years before marrying him. How do you deal with a narcissistic husband? I am tired of the manipulation -- the fights he has caused and then made to look like I was to blame.
The worst part is how he has "punished" me. He often gives me the silent ...Read more