I have worked pretty hard to keep my dating life private from Mr. Ex.
Depending on the day, I offer different reasons for my secrecy. To most people, I would say that I just don’t want to twist the knife any further than I already have. Leaving him was a deep enough hurt; why add insult to injury?
To those I’m closer to, I will admit to fearing his reaction. It’s not that I think he’ll act out or harm me in any way. But until our divorce is truly final, there’s a small part of me that fears what he would do to muck things up in retaliation for me seeing someone else. This, of course, is a silly fear. After all, his habit of “seeing” others is what led to our divorce. But not everyone believes what’s good for the goose is equally good for the gander.
But there’s another part of me that wants to keep my love life private just as a way of solidifying the separation between Mr. Ex and me. After all, there is really no reason for him to know what I do and don’t do now that he’s out of my life. We don’t have children or shared assets, so why should it matter whether I’m happily coupled or installing a revolving door in Miss FreeAngel’s House of Ill Repute?
Regardless of my reasoning, though, keeping Drama Geek a secret grows more difficult with each day. This town is really too small for me to be spending so much time with one man without it getting back to Mr. Ex or one of his cohorts. And hiding has never been my style.
So I made a decision to be proactive on the subject and tell Mr. Ex myself. Granted, I slipped it covertly into conversation and promptly switched the subject, allowing no time for reaction on his part.
But at least it’s done – and I can pretend it took bravado to do it.