My Ex Cheated and Left Me, Then Had the Audacity to Ask for Help

The past has funny ways of showing up at your doorstep, usually when we least expect it and almost always when it’s least convenient. Sometimes it brings closure. Sometimes it’s messy.

But once in a while, if you’ve healed enough, you can actually find the humor in it. That’s what one reader managed to do. Here’s her story.

Hi Bright Side!

Look, I’m not even necessarily asking for advice. I mostly wanted to share this, to be honest, so I can laugh about it with other women online. The audacity of some men can sometimes leave you baffled, I’ll tell you that.

My ex cheated, lied, and ghosted me after 3 years together. After 3 whole years of my life, this person just stopped answering my calls one day. Mind you, he’d slept at my apartment the night before. I was petrified at first; I thought something had happened to him. I started calling his family and friends, and when they didn’t reply either, I sort of sensed something was sketchy.

Months later, we met at a party by accident, lo and behold, he was with another woman. I overheard a conversation between them and another chick, stating they’d “been together for almost a year.” Either he’d been dating both of us for a while, or she had issues reading the calendar, I have no idea. Whatever.

The thing is, one night, out of nowhere, he called me, saying, “he desperately needs my help.” I said, “No way!” and hung up, obviously. I was about to go to bed when I suddenly got a text from his sister, calling me a monster, and saying my ex was lost in a sketchy place and almost out of battery.

This was the same sister who didn’t even bother to reply to my text when I was frantically looking for him... and he was happily ghosting me, haha. I was the first one he called, because he’d memorized my number “out of love” and, according to her, I refused to help him out of spite.

Later, I found out he got lost in a sketchy neighborhood while trying to meet a woman who wasn’t even his current girlfriend, the one I saw him with at the party.

Thank you for your story! You know what they say, dear reader, when the trash takes itself out... let it. This story might make you laugh now, but it also says a lot about how some people only show up when they need something.

After disappearing, cheating, and letting you worry, your ex still had the nerve to call you like nothing ever happened. And sadly, it’s not that rare. Here are some key points to keep in mind moving forward:

• Block his number if you haven’t already. Someone who ghosts you doesn’t get to reach out when it’s convenient. Even if they have a serious problem, it’s not your responsibility to save them. You owe him nothing: not a reply, not your energy, not your time.
• Don’t let anyone guilt you for saying “no”. His sister had no right to call you a monster. She ignored you when you were worried and now wants you to play emergency contact, which is unreasonable. People who only show up when it benefits them don’t get a say in your decisions.
• Remember, this says a lot about him, not you. Being cheated on and ghosted says everything about his character, not yours. It’s easy to wonder if you missed signs or blame yourself in hindsight, but you didn’t fail in this relationship; he did. And honestly? You probably dodged a lifetime of this kind of nonsense.

If this story made you shake your head, laugh, or say “same,” you’re not alone. Some exes are just too much, but luckily, we learn how to stop letting them in. If you liked this one, you might want to read the next article called I Forgave My Cheating Husband, and It Unleashed a Tragedy I Didn’t See Coming. It’s a different kind of heartbreak, but just as unforgettable.