“Having a baby can completely change our lives. Parents often say they feel overwhelming love for their kids and that they couldn’t imagine life without them. But having a child can also affect the relationship between parents, sometimes in a negative way.

A man wrote to us recently, explaining how having a baby caused his marriage to fall apart. Below, you’ll read his full story and learn about all the regrets he now has.”

Adam, aged 38, recently wrote a letter to our magazine, where he openly shared his sad family story and talked about his thoughts and regrets.

Adam admitted that he now realizes he was wrong, but in the past, he couldn’t see it. He started his letter by saying, “I’m not asking for sympathy or understanding from you and your readers. I probably won’t get it anyway. But I decided to tell my story to make other men in similar situations think twice before acting like I did.”

Adam explained, “My ex-wife Joleen and I have a 15-month-old son. We tried hard to have a baby, and Joleen had to go through some tough medical treatments before it finally happened. When I found out she was pregnant, I was over the moon, and she was very happy too. I always knew she would be a great mom, and I never stopped telling her that. But things changed a lot between us after our son was born.”

Adam continued his story by saying that even though they had eagerly awaited their son and both wanted him very much, things went downhill right from the start of their journey as parents.

He shared, “After our baby was born, our marriage fell apart. Joleen kept complaining that I wasn’t helping enough with taking care of the baby and doing chores. But at the same time, she expected me to know what to do without explaining anything. I felt like I was playing a guessing game all the time, and it was frustrating.”

Adam admitted, “Our relationship was really bad. We argued a lot over small things, and it drained us both. Eventually, I told Joleen that life would be harder for her without me.”

He was surprised when Joleen didn’t react strongly to his words. Adam said, “She just went quiet and said that the argument was over and she couldn’t take it anymore. That was the breaking point, and soon we both decided to get divorced.”

Adam explained, “Now we live in different places, each of us in a new apartment. Our son stays with each of us for an equal amount of time, as required by the law. This happens automatically unless one of us proves that the other is neglecting our son. Since that’s not the case, both our lawyers suggested we split time with our son, taking turns every week. We followed this advice.”

He admitted, “I knew being a single parent wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t realize how tough it would be until now. When I have my son with me, I can’t get much done, and I’m really worn out. I’m so tired. When I don’t have my son, I have to catch up on everything I couldn’t do when I was taking care of him. My apartment is messy, and I struggle to do errands and chores.”

Adam shared, “I thought since I was having a tough time, my wife would be too, and maybe we could reconcile because of it. I hoped we could work things out between us. But she doesn’t want to. She says her life is better without me.”

Adam said, “Joleen told me she’s different from me. Unlike me, she’s good at keeping things organized and getting them done on time. She says she’s not tired anymore and taking care of just one person instead of two has made her life much better.”

He admitted, “I know I messed up, and I should have been a better husband. I can’t even ask for less time with my son because I can’t afford to pay child support right now. Currently, neither of us pays because we share parenting duties equally and have similar incomes. But if we change this arrangement, my lawyer says the person who spends less time with the child will have to pay child support. I’m frustrated with the whole situation now, and I regret my past choices. What I said to Joleen was really wrong. The only one suffering now is me, and that’s really sad for me.”

And here’s another story from a woman who got involved with a married man and broke up his family. She thought it would be perfect, but life with him turned into a nightmare, and now she’s left with nothing.