I set things straight from the beginning, he cheated with a younger woman. So that avoids other questions.
As for damaged goods, yes we are, our heart somehow is broken, something is broken. Marriage is a commitment and if went wrong, means we did the wrong choice, therefore we are not capable of choosing right. So, join the club, date someone who is divorced, who can understand you and not hold you sccountable or think you are weird.

I am almost tempted to tell people that I am a widow and that I killed him and got away with it..Just kidding..

I am not going to worry about what other people think about me being divorced.

I admit it makes it easier to say that he took up with a woman 17 years younger than himself and 3 years older than his son. It makes him look a little pathetic. It would suck to say he cheated on me with a woman within 5 years of his age. I got off easy that way. But honestly our marriage was suffering before she came into the picture.

Geez some of these things that have been said to people are so rude. I haven't experienced it yet. But I have to get over the stigma myself. I don't like the fact that I will be divorced. I didn't want it, I didn't plan it, and I married for life. I still feel shame it didn't work, and have a stigma on myself.

sunbrite--i feel that way, too. i am my own worst judge when it comes to my marriage--i feel like a failure, even though i KNOW I did everything in my power to save this marriage and i also know it probably should have been put to rest awhile ago...

so far i truly hate being the person without a spouse at gatherings...it feels icky and weird and i have had the married husbands flirt with me (eeeewwwwww). i hate when ppl ask what happened? None of your damn business!

Awww Heave

You do sound like a catch. If I were in VA, Id be all up on you.

I've had women ask what happened to my marriage, but none have dared ask what I did.

I've never been married so I've never been divorced. I have gotten the questions though when I talk about my ex..."What did you do?" So I can sympathize with it because I really didn't do anything and it hurts to feel like you're being accused.

Soon, you are lucky because you are in an entirely different area. Northern Virginia is much different than the Northern Neck of Virginia. Where I am the dating pool is incredibly shallow. There is very little to choose from.

It isn't just dating though. If people don't know me that well they ask about the divorce. My response is "I know that I did things wrong in my marriage, but she did also, and I never gave up on it while she did."

It is funny but I have forgiven her for many reasons. Forgiveness is easy, but I will never forget what she did to me and the hell I have been through. I do not hate her. Part of me will always have feelings for her but never as strong as they once were. I wish that this had never happened but I didn't have any control over this situation.

There is somewhat of a stigma attached to being divorced. It is usually based on some old fashioned views that are still hanging on. It isn't as strong as it use to be because I believe that divorce is getting more and more common (people are getting too lazy to work on relationships and they would rather replace something than to put in the effort to fix it).