I Signed a Prenup Unaware I’d Find Myself Homeless with a Baby in My Arms – My Story

My name is Juliet and this is NOT a romantic story. In fact, this is the story of how love and marriage can go horribly wrong when you blindly trust people. I signed a prenup, not realizing I'd be homeless with a child in my arms one day.

The line between acting from the heart and being stupid is a very fine one. When you're in love, that line keeps blurring more and more as your trust in your partner strengthens.

Sometimes, we ignore the most visible red flags. Because love is supposed to be beautiful, faithful, trustworthy, and loyal, isn't it?

I used to believe so, too, until I realized how foolish I had been to trust my husband.

Hi, I'm Juliet, and my husband was a Romeo in every sense when I first met him.

"A coffee date?" he had suggested when we exchanged numbers for the first time.

I had never liked coffee. In fact, I hated it. But when I looked into his eyes and had the first sip, it was the best thing I had ever tasted.

A week after this, we were lying in his bed in his studio apartment, and his touch was the second-best thing I had ever experienced.

"Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you," I was telling my parents a month later when he proposed and I said yes. "I want you to meet my fiancé, Roman."

Mom and Dad were happy to meet him. They invited him home for dinner, and we had a lovely time—or so I thought.

"He's not right, hun," Mom told me after Roman left. "Something about him doesn't feel right."

"Come on, Mom," I said, dismissing her concerns. "He's a nice guy! And I love him!"

"After dating him for one month?" Mom asked me. "Don't rush things, honey. Roman might not be a bad man, but he isn't the best either."

I still remember how that conversation turned into an argument when Dad objected to our relationship too. In a rage, I left home and moved to Roman's apartment. I stopped talking to my parents, and I didn't need them anymore. I had Roman, who loved me and understood me.

Alas, what a fool I was!

"Stupid woman!" he then said with a smirk. "NOTHING! You'll get nothing! Did you forget about the prenup?"

After we graduated college, Roman got a good job, and I decided to become a homemaker. It was his idea that I make our house a home and become a homemaker. I didn't object because, of course, I loved him!

Everything was going fine. Roman and I had become closer than ever, and we were soon married. Then a year later, we had our first child, a baby girl, and we decided to give her the best home.

For the first few years of our daughter Angela's life, Roman kept our promise. We took out a loan and moved into a new, bigger home. I felt as if I'd been blessed. I had a wonderful home and family.

But everything changed one night...

I hugged Roman tenderly as he returned home from work, but he didn't return the hug. He had never behaved like that before, and it made me feel strange.

"Hey honey, is everything ok?" I asked him.

He slumped on the couch after tossing his office bag on it. "Can you stop acting like a detective and questioning me, Juliet?" he said harshly. "Stop acting like you care!"

"Roman!" I was shocked. "I do care. What's wrong? Did I do something wrong to upset you?"

Yes, that is how it starts. "Did I make a mistake? Did I do something wrong?" Don't we women blame ourselves for everything? We are terrified that if we don't fix things, if we don't fix ourselves, our home, our loving place, will fall apart.

"Everything!" he yelled. "You piss me off, Juliet! Why can't you just get lost? Why do I have to see your sick, tired face when I get home? You don't smell like roses and love anymore, Juliet! You smell like kitchen spices and dead lettuce, and I don't want to even get close to you."

"I hate it when you hug me. I hate it when you get close to me! So let's call it quits! WE ARE OVER!"

I was in tears that night. Angela crawled out of the room when Roman was shouting, and I didn't want her to see her Mommy and Daddy like that, so I didn't say anything and just walked away.

Sadly, things only got worse from there. Roman and I got more and more distant, and we even stopped sleeping in the same bed, in the same room. But none of it hurt as long as we were under the same roof. At least Angela had both Mommy and Daddy's love.

But one day, Roman destroyed that too.

"I'm divorcing you!" he said, tossing an envelope on the floor. "And I don't want Angela's custody, so you can have her."

"I won't sign those papers, Roman!" I said. "Angela needs her father."

"What?" he asked. "Don't be stupid. I've found someone better, Juliet, and I don't want you or your little kid in this house! OUT!"

"My kid?" I was crying. "She's OUR daughter, Roman!"

When Roman had suddenly changed, I had suspected him of cheating, but I had no idea he'd admit to it like that.

"Yeah, whatever… I don't want her anymore, so you can have her. Or do you want her to see her dad spending nights with another woman in this house?"

That was real Roman for you. He was a heartless, cruel man and a cheater, sleeping with another woman behind his wife's back.

"Disgusting!" I yelled, signing the papers and hurling them in his face. "You're disgusting, Roman! Don't forget that I'll get a share of the assets, too, after we separate."

Suddenly, Roman laughed, and I was confused.

"Stupid woman!" he then said with a smirk. "NOTHING! You'll get nothing! Did you forget about the prenup?"

My heart dropped to the floor as he said that. That's when I realized I had made a terrible mistake.

I had signed the prenup without reading it because I trusted Roman. I had no idea I couldn't make any claims if we were separated. A moment was all it took and I was homeless with my daughter in my arms.

But I remember I had told my daughter, "I promise I won't give up, honey! Mommy will do anything for us!"

And I did. To feed Angela, I washed dishes in restaurants and swept the streets. I saw many ups and downs in my life until an acquaintance landed me a job in printing.

I worked hard, and thankfully, I was soon able to rent a house. Angela and I had been sleeping in a parking lot until that point.

Fortunately, my job in print media proved very fruitful, and I was presented with several opportunities, one of which changed my life forever.

It was about creating newspaper illustrations. I submitted some designs, and the agency liked them so much that I was offered a higher position and better pay. Angela was soon enrolled in a good school, and our lives began to change.

I reconciled with my parents too, and they embraced Angela and me with open arms. But a few days ago—five years after my separation from Roman—I ran into him while picking Angela up from school.

He expressed the desire to see Angela. I don't want that person to even get close to MY daughter after all he did to us. But I don't want to decide for Angela.

She sometimes misses not having a father, and she asks me why Daddy left us. She was very young when Roman and I separated, so she has no memory of those times.

What should I do? Should I let Roman and Angela meet? Or, considering the awful man Roman was in the past, should I tell him strictly to stay away from Angela? What should I do as a mother?

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who fled his fianceé because he didn't want to be a burden on her.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.