When I first heard about the concept of MGTOW I was a married guy, unhappily at the time, but still I couldn’t understand the idea of being happy outside of a relationship. I was in denial that my marriage was making me miserable.

My wedding day and the day my son was born were the two happiest days of my marriage, other than that it was torture from the start... all typical negative things you hear about marriage and more. I thought for years that things would turn around if I just worked on my relationship and put an emphasis on improving it. Eventually I had a realization: my life was not my own. My ex controlled where we lived, how our home was decorated, who my friends were, what hobbies I spent time doing, etc. On top of that, I didn’t have any say in the opposite way. It wasn’t a partnership, she treated me like dirt, and I was brutally unhappy.

I ended the marriage, and she refused to acknowledge her poor treatment of me while begging for me to stay. I left because I knew she wouldn’t change, she couldn’t see that the way she treated me was unacceptable and so nothing was going to change.

At first I was nervous, but I get it now. I hook up with women I like, spend time with them when I want to, and never again have to feel controlled or treated poorly. I was afraid of divorce, but I’ve since realized that going my own way has been freeing and I only regret that it took me this long to get to this point.