There were reasons we got married that I didn’t talk about in the article. Trauma-type things. Those things are known to make you feel in-love feelings that aren’t based on actual love but on the trauma. I’ve asked her if I felt I wasted years of her life, and she told me no. We got amazing kids out of our relationship. I chose to end things when I did in part because I didn’t want to waste any more of her life. What if I had waited until our kids were 18 before I told her these things? It wasn’t fair to either one of us for me to stay any longer. It wasn’t fair to our kids, either, as I was quickly falling into a black hole. It may have been difficult (for both of us), but I feel it was the opposite of cruel and selfless. She’s now free to find someone who truly loves her, and I am free to be happy as well.