At age 25, I was divorced. How would I heal from the pain?
When I first met Andy (name has been changed), I was captivated by his charm. He was the quintessential gentleman—responding with “yes, ma’am,” opening car doors, and sending me flowers. He was funny, handsome, and a recently returned missionary. I quickly fell in love and agreed to marry him. Like many young women, I had thought often about how wonderful a temple marriage would someday be. My hope of an ideal marriage with Andy quickly shattered the night of our wedding when the abuse began.
I endured a three-year nightmare of verbal, emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. Andy controlled what I ate and isolated me from friends and family. He blamed me for most of our problems and said, untruthfully, that I was crazy, fat, and irresponsible. Slowly, I began to believe him. I thought that if I only changed myself, he would be happy and our marriage would last. But my efforts were never enough.