170 - I came home and my husband was gone

My (anonymous) guest on the show this week was with her husband for 18 years. One ordinary day, seven years ago, she got home from work early and discovered that all his clothes were gone. He didn't respond to any attempts she made to communicate with him. He had vanished into thin air. Almost a week later she was walking through the shopping centre when she ran into him. He completely gaslighted her and called her crazy. My guest describes her experience like her husband being alive one day and dead the next (only he wasn't dead). In this episode, my guest shares her story. She also shares: how, in hindsight, his behaviour had changed over the 12 months prior in that he was going out regularly until the early hours of the morning and caring more about his appearance, how one day she got home and he had just moved back in, discovering his new relationship, realising how abusive he was after the relationship ended and how he had constantly gaslighted her, the continuing abuse and death threats that continued even after the relationship ended, child support issues, the importance of teaching her children self-respect, having to get an AVO out, and how, ultimately, she is grateful for the experience because it has made her the woman she is today, and it's made her kids the people they are today.  This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. Part 2 will be released next week.   Links mentioned in the episode: To contact Julia, email: [email protected]. Visit us at Single Mother Survival Guide.  Or connect with Single Mother Survival Guide on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.