Me and my daughter.
I — 22 years old.
My daughter — 2 weeks.
You may wonder. Shouldn’t having a new baby be the happiest time in your life? Especially your first child.
That day was the day I found out my boyfriend, the father of my daughter, was cheating on me.
I put on my makeup and make-up for the first time since giving birth, just to hopefully look good again for him. Or for someone. Anyone. I’ve never felt so sad before.
I went to the park to spend some time with my daughter while thinking about many things. You might judge me because my daughter is still very young and a newborn, but I had to get out of the house. I took a picture of the two of us as a documentation of my daughter’s first time in the park.
I wasn’t even mad at my boyfriend as you might imagine. I was mad at myself. I truly felt like the biggest failure. How could I have chosen such an evil partner. An evil father to my beautiful daughter, my most precious gift. My daughter had been everything to me since the day I knew I would have her, and I had failed her before her life had even begun.
A month later, I finally confronted my boyfriend about his cheating. We got into an argument, which led to him physically attacking me. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, but it was by far the worst.
I was so proud that I left the house the next day while my boyfriend was at work. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but now I can look my daughter in the eye without feeling guilty. I know I gave my daughter the best life I could have, that is all I could have done. I have to forgive myself for choosing him as my daughter’s father, otherwise it will only ruin my life.
I share my story so that anyone out there who is in an abusive relationship can see that you can leave.
Edit: I added a picture of us to show that we are doing well now. My daughter’s first birthday is tomorrow.