‘You’ve Become Ugly!’ Man Dumps Wife, Is Dazed to See Her on Magazine Cover Later – Story of the Day

A man dumps his wife, branding her as too 'fat and ugly' and unworthy of his attention. Years later, he finds himself on the receiving end of his wicked deed when he sees her photo on a leading magazine's cover page.

"Could you switch to the backseat, please?" Ryder suddenly asked his wife Sparkle, who was sitting beside him in their car, holding their 3-month-old baby boy Ed. She did not understand the strange question and why her husband would suddenly ask her to move back. "Didn't you hear me, darling? Get down and go to the backseat... my new office is on the way, and I don't want my colleagues to spot me with you," Ryder's raspy voice shuddered Sparkle again.

She opened the door, struggling for a good long 30 seconds before she could pull her whole weight out of the car. "Good Lord! Make it fast. This is why I keep telling you to work out and lose weight! This body of yours... you better get back into shape. I told all my colleagues I have a beautiful wife. I don't want them to see you looking like this!" Ryder's comment hit Sparkle like a ton of bricks.

She switched to the backseat, which was already loaded with groceries, boxes of diapers, and their two other children, Alan, 6, and Shiloh, 3. There was hardly any room left for her while baby Ed cozily slept on her lap. Layers and layers of fat had accumulated on Sparkle's 'once' hourglass figure after having three babies, and her husband was constantly embarrassed by her appearance...

"Did you get the stretch marks cream?" Ryder broke Sparkle's silence as she pressed her teary face against the window, pretending she was okay.

"Go for the more expensive brands. I don't care about the money, but I want you to look like how you were when we dated," Ryder said with an unkind grin flickering across his face.

When you do bad to others, be ready to be on the receiving end of something worse.

The glass window fogged up with tiny water droplets. Sparkle was heartbroken and in tears. She could not believe someone she'd always loved and cared for more than herself would even say something like this to her. She could not imagine the man who once told her she was the 'most beautiful woman' he'd ever met would start hating her only because her once 36-24-36-inch figure now only fit into 4XL baggy clothes.

"I want you to wear tight, shimmery dresses and high heels like you used to. But for that, you need to reduce a ton of weight!" Ryder said, his uneasy stare fixed on the rearview mirror.

"I loved introducing you to everyone as my wife. You were so gorgeous and slim... But look at you now. You've become fat and ugly."

When Ryder and Sparkle met ten years ago, he was enchanted by her pretty face, a figure that looked like a Victorian-era sculpture, and her long, wavy locks bouncing on her shoulders like the ocean's waves. Ryder, who was tall, tanned, and charming, fell head over heels in love with Sparkle at first sight.

What started as friendship at the pub where they first met bloomed into love, and months later, they exchanged their traditional 'I do' vows at the most beautiful church wedding.

Sparkle and Ryder were any couple's envy whenever they walked the streets of Manhattan hand-in-hand, and eyes drowned in love. A few months later, Sparkle fell pregnant with their first baby. Ryder was the happiest dad-to-be as his wife's belly grew bigger and bigger. Eventually, they welcomed their first baby boy, who they named Alan.

Life was at the peak of bliss for the little family until Ryder noticed the stretch marks on Sparkle's belly one day. He brushed it off as something normal every woman faced after having a child and thought Sparkle would get back to normal soon.

As time ticked away, the couple had their second baby, Shiloh, and another three years later, they were swimming with babies when their third arrived. Only this time, Ryder started to worry more about his wife's appearance because her hourglass figure was gone, taken over by layers and layers of adipose.

"What are these, honey? I mean, I know these are anti-stretch mark creams. But why so many? I already have two extra tubes," Sparkle asked Ryder one day when he came home from work and gave her a bag full of stretch mark creams and oils.

"I know, but I don't see any changes! If one brand doesn't help, I'm sure another will. Do everything it takes to get rid of those marks," said Ryder. "And one more thing... you need to watch your weight. You're becoming fat day by day. Quit overeating, alright?"

"You're just 35, but you already look like you're 50!"

A thick gust of breeze snapped Sparkle to the moment. She was still in the car as Ryder went on and on about how she needed to maintain her physique. Disheartened by all that he said, she stepped down from the car when they got home, carrying her heaviness into the house, thinking things would change—that something would change... Ryder would change. Sadly, nothing did.

The more time fleeted away, the older Sparkle started to look for her age. She was torn between looking after the household and raising her children, and she barely had time for herself.

Oversized outfits replaced all those pretty small-waist pieces in her wardrobe. She stopped grooming herself. She switched from heels to flats and roamed the whole day in her hello kitty pajamas. She no longer manicured her nails and barely had time to conceal the recurring acne spots on her face.

Sparkle constantly kept running around doing things for her husband and kids, ensuring they were happy and well cared for. She loved Ryder and the kids so much that she stopped seeing herself beyond them. Little did she know that things were about to change for the worse soon.

It appeared like a beautiful couple's day out at the store. Ryder had already made it through the half-open door. He no longer liked walking beside his wife because he thought she was too 'big' for him and made him look older.

He turned around with a confused expression, replaced by an embarrassed blush.

"I guess the doorway to the store isn't made for people your size. Why don't you open the other door and just walk in?!"

Poor Sparkle's day was off to a terrible start as she got in and marched across the aisles. She wore a thick overcoat to escape people's incredulous stares. But nobody was even bothered by how fat or old she looked. Only Ryder was, and he kept nagging her to start looking for cosmetics that could conceal her wrinkles and sags.

"Get some hair extensions. And dye. Your short, grey hair looks awful," Ryder said, stuffing the shopping cart with hair dye, serums, anti-wrinkle creams, and whatnot he believed could miraculously facelift his wife's beauty and make her look young.

"We are getting older and cannot freeze time or become young overnight. I am ready to start using cosmetics as you wanted but lemme tell you something... I'm happy with the way I look. Old, fat, ugly... at the end of the day, I'm still your wife and mother to our kids. Beauty fades with time, and you must get it across your head, alright?" Sparkle cried when they got home.

"We are not getting older. I'm not getting older... YOU ARE! Just look at you," Ryder dragged Sparkle to the mirror.

"I was not in love with this woman I'm looking at. I feel I don't even know you. It's high time you start taking care of your appearance."

Ryder was constantly tired of reminding Sparkle to start using makeup, and stilettos, lose weight and look good like she used to. He was so exhausted and embarrassed that he stopped taking her out, thinking it would teach her a lesson and provoke her to work on her figure.

At 47, Ryder was still full of energy and swag. He partied with friends and colleagues every weekend in the pub, his favorite hangout spot. Then he started coming home late, often drunk, and would put up a fight with Sparkle over her looks. She thought he would get over it soon and accept her for who she was. But the last straw was when Ryder came home drunk one night and told Sparkle about Emma, a young girl at the pub who was checking him out.

"Not just Emma... there are a bunch of 'em... pretty, young brunettes and blondes I see every other day. The way they look at me... Jeez! I'm still charming, ain't I?! I'm thinking of moving on with one of those pretty brunettes and starting my life all over again... I don't look that old... no, not at all... look at my arms... my abs... I sure do have that spark still! What do you think??"

Sparkle's heart shattered to a million bits. She thought it was a joke. But no, it wasn't! She gathered her broken pieces together and jumped in her defense, trying to save her marriage. But by then, it was too late. Ryder had grown tired of Sparkle looking fat and older than she was. He wanted to live his life and be happy and realized it would be possible only if he left his wife.

"Get outta my life ... you look disgusting," he told her that night, destroying her a week later by handing her the divorce papers.

There was nothing Sparkle could do to convince Ryder to change his mind. Every time she tried, a new fight arose, so she gave up, and they parted ways shortly after.

While Ryder got ready to start the life of his dreams, Sparkle moved to her late mom's house with her three children and the emotional baggage of destroyed hopes. I'm ruined... My life's gone for a toss, she cried many a sleepless night.

On the other corner of Manhattan, Ryder started celebrating the life of his dreams. He partied hard every other day and danced with pretty young girls who swooned over his charm and energy, even at this age. Ryder forgot about the family he destroyed with his own hands, but fate struck him with a painful blow years later.

The body and charisma he always bragged about began to lose shape due to health issues. The girls that hung out with him stopped paying attention to him. "You've become old and ugly!" they told him. Ryder was hurt, and these words sounded so familiar and haunting. But he could do nothing but accept life the way it came.

Before Ryder could process his aging and the health issues borne with it, he was diagnosed with a postural disorder. At 58, he could no longer walk long distances without using a walking stick, which made him look older than he was.

One day, Ryder was at the hospital, waiting for his appointment with the doctor, when a leading magazine on the table drew his attention. He scooped it up, gazing at a familiar face of a beautiful woman on the cover page. He couldn't quickly recall where he'd seen her. Ryder adjusted his reading glasses to look closer, and his hair stood on end when he read the name — Sparkle...

Confused and stunned, Ryder flipped the magazine pages, only to freeze at reading his ex-wife's exclusive interview. She was a mental health advocate who offered insight and advice to people dealing with stress and post-marital depression.

Several stunning photos of her from different timelines after their split stunned Ryder, who could not believe Sparkle's jaw-dropping transformation.

She'd lost weight, had long, silky hair, wore gorgeous outfits, and seemed happy inside out.

In her editorial column, Sparkle talked about the rough patch in her first marriage, the struggles following her divorce, and the joy that came her way later.

"But everything happens for a reason! I feel it's very important to have someone who understands you by your side. Everybody deserves a person who loves you for who and what you are, not because they want you to be 'what' they want you to be! I was heartbroken when I divorced my husband, whose name I don't wish to disclose. I thought the light in my world had died out. Everything grew dark around me. Then I saw my children. The twinkle in their eyes helped me to keep going... and fight. Today, I'm here because of my children, and I'm happy I even found a loving person who saw the beauty inside me, not my saggy skin or appearance. His name is Isaac!"

Ryder's eyes welled up with tears and guilt when he flipped the page and saw a photo of Sparkle hugging an older man, her now-husband. She'd put the broken pieces of herself together and had moved on from the heartbreak Ryder had inflicted on her 11 years ago. Ryder regretted leaving his wife and cried over how things would've been different had he not left her in the first place.

That evening after getting home, he took his phone and left Sparkle a message on her number from the editorial column.

"Hey there! This is Ryder, and I'm so proud of you. I just read your success story, and I'm really happy for you and the heights you've reached. I know this might put you off, but I'm sorry for everything. Please get in touch if you feel I'm worth forgiving. I'll be waiting for your message. Warms Regards, Ryder."

Days, weeks, and months passed, but Ryder never got a reply. Aged and alone, he still waits for a message from Sparkle and, in a cranny of his heart, believes she'll forgive him and get in touch before he gets called to live in God's heavenly home.

What can we learn from this story?

• Outer beauty does not last forever, but a beautiful inner personality does. Ryder dumped Sparkle because she was obese and looked older than she was after having their third baby. Several years later, he regretted it big time after seeing his ex-wife's beautiful picture on a magazine cover. He was guilty of failing to understand her beautiful personality, but it was too late.
• When you do bad to others, then be ready to be on the receiving end of something worse. Ryder bragged about his energy and good looks and constantly mocked Sparkle for being fat and careless about her appearance. He divorced her and led a happy life that eventually arrived at a dead-end due to health issues.

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