Theresa, 37, has had a shocking experience in her once happy and stable family. Her world fell apart after discovering her husband’s secret double life, which she knew nothing about during their 15 years of marriage. This painful truth came to light when Theresa found an old high-school photo album among her husband’s things. Now, she wishes she had never touched it, but it’s too late. As a desperate wife and mom, she doesn’t know what to do with the truth she has uncovered.

Theresa wrote us a very emotional letter.

Theresa used to be happily married to her husband Tim and they had two wonderful kids. Her story shocked us, and many of us admitted that we would feel desperate in such a difficult situation.

Theresa wanted advice and opinions from our readers who might have faced a similar situation and managed to recover from such a painful experience.

Theresa began her letter by saying, “My husband Tim and I have been happily married for 15 years. We met at a big party thrown by a mutual friend for her birthday. We fell in love instantly, and it was a truly romantic and unforgettable start to our long and strong relationship.

Tim proposed to me after 5 months of dating, and I immediately said yes because I was sure he was the one. I wanted a family with this man and never regretted my decision, until recently.

Theresa shared, “From the start, Tim and I had no secrets. Or so I thought. I told him everything about my past relationships, and he did the same. I thought I knew everything about his life. I felt secure, and Tim never stopped complimenting me on my appearance and personality, even after many years of marriage. I had no reason to be jealous or anxious. I was a happy wife and mother, and everything seemed solid, until one day.

Theresa wrote, “When we got married, Tim and I slept in the same bed. But after our first child, and then our second just a year later, we moved to a bigger house and started sleeping in separate rooms. This made our family happier because we both had personal space and better sleep. We both appreciated this arrangement.

Tim usually cleaned his own room, and I never interfered with the ‘artistic mess’ he had. But once, while he was on a long business trip, I decided to change the bedding in his room. As I was taking off the sheets, I noticed something that looked like a book under his mattress. I took it out and saw it was a photo album with pictures from Tim’s university days. I’d never seen it before, so I started looking through the photos out of curiosity.

Theresa wrote, “I was shocked to find many photos of Tim with a beautiful girl, who was apparently his classmate, but their relationship was far from friendly. In every photo, Tim was hugging and kissing her passionately. This was distressing because Tim had told me he had no relationships during university and spent all his time studying.

I was about to close the album and move on, thinking my husband had a right to keep some past romantic experiences to himself since they didn’t affect our marriage. But then I saw a recent photo of the same girl, taken just a decade ago. She was holding a child who looked exactly like my husband. The child also resembled our younger son, who looks just like his dad. I was speechless.”

Theresa contacted the woman in the photo and discovered the devastating truth.

Theresa shared, “On the back of one photo, I saw the names of Tim’s classmates and their phone numbers. The woman’s name and number were there too.

I called her and introduced myself, saying we needed to talk. She wasn’t surprised at all, as if she had been waiting for my call. We met at a small fast-food restaurant near our house, and she started telling me everything after we said hello.

It turned out Tim had been living a double life since the beginning of our relationship. He was dating both of us at the same time. He chose me as his wife because it seemed more practical since the other woman thought she couldn’t have kids, but I was healthy. Tim chose me for my maternal potential.

His business trips weren’t real. He spent weeks at her house, then came back to me and pretended to be a happy family man. Against all expectations, she got pregnant, and the child was Tim’s son. Their relationship never ended but grew stronger during the 15 years we were married.”

Theresa shared, “I haven’t spoken to my husband yet. I asked the woman not to tell Tim that I know everything, and she promised. Now I’m sitting in the dark in my room, with Tim in his room, writing this letter because I don’t know what to do or how to talk to Tim about this. What should I do?