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Lying, cheating, and deceiving are human traits. They're bad, of course, but that's human nature for you. Cheating in a romantic relationship is probably the worst, as it's a betrayal of the most intimate kind.

It's hard to determine whether cheating is common. Many people don't want to admit they've cheated – for others, it's hard to describe what exactly is cheating: does texting count? Is flirting cheating? Not everybody draws the line at extramarital sex – for some, emotional infidelity is just as bad. However, researchers have attempted to do surveys on the topic. According to Professor Nicholas Wolfinger, 20-25% of married men cheat, and 10-15% of married women cheat.

But what this netizen was interested in wasn't how common cheating is. They wanted to know what reasons people had given their partners for having an affair. They asked: "What excuse did your partner give you after cheating on you?" And people came with some incredible, hard-to-believe stories.

#1

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "You just had a baby by emergency c section 5 weeks prior. I was lonely." Threw the whole man away and got a real one. So much happier now. Glad he did it otherwise I might have stayed.

Kindly_Good1457 , Katie Emslie Report

#2

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners “She’s so much like you, it didn’t feel like cheating.”

“It’s your fault you found out, I did nothing wrong, I tried to keep you from knowing so you wouldn’t be hurt.”

“You weren’t in town, what was I supposed to do?”.

IDontEvenCareBear , Pixabay Report

#3

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners I have a scar on my tummy from a C-section and he said he wanted to see a real woman's body. Gotta say that effected me for a long time.

Plus_Data_1099 , Jonathan Borba Report

#4

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners I was working 3rd shift to provide for our family. She said that it was my fault for leaving her alone at night knowing how horny she gets. I moved out so fast it made her head spin.

CascadeJ1980 , Tim Gouw Report

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Vasana Phong
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can’t stand the reasoning for this one, so if he or she wasn’t providing then that’ll be the excuse

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#5

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners “I forgot to take my depression/anxiety medication for the last week..I think I was hallucinating..”.

slappy_mcslapenstein: I've actually seen that happen. I worked in behavioral health. A woman came in during a manic episode and was hallucinating. She thought every man was her husband. We found her in the shower with another patient. She was mortified when she became balanced again and realized what she had done.

supermandrew_8 , cottonbro studio Report

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Abe Ja
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So many things I don't remember from being manic. Literally asked my partner for divorce and didn't recall. I am stable now, but mania is hardcore and to come to the other side of it feels so strange.

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#6

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "I NEED to have some form of polyamory, and I didn't think you'd be open for that"

after I said REPEATEDLY that I would be open to that, just to communicate. Turns out he just wants to f**k anyone they think is hot while his partners only sleep with him. F*****g bastard of a human.

EnbyFucktoy , Scott Webb Report

#7

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "My psychiatrist told me to." Yeah, sorry but no doctor is going to recommend that you cheat on your partner of 7 years. 12 years later and it still kills me inside.

tootaflute , cottonbro studio Report

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𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐦-𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sad to say, I HAVE heard of more than one therapist basically recommend cheating. I think those people need to lose their licence.

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#8

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "I thought I could do better". We'd been together over 25 years.

crazygirlinthehall: My husband said the same thing. Together for 27 years.

Unbelievable-27 , Hector Reyes Report

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Brazen
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First guy I lived with said "I'm only staying with you until I find someone better." He also said he didn't understand why other guys were interested in me and no girls were interested in him. Wasn't too long before I found someone who liked me for me and wanted to be with me. Men like that are sad little boys inside.

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#9

“She was gonna k*ll herself” when he explained that he didn’t cheat he actually saved a life ❤️❤️❤️ with his penis.

TeaParty24 Report

#10

“You weren’t acting like a wife” - i was the sole financial provider, stressed out, mid-pandemic, son was just diagnosed with Autism and I lost my father to Cancer.

Eyeswyde0pen Report

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Tabitha
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So cheating is “acting like a husband”? Typical skewed logic of the a*****e.

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#11

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "It's a girl. I'm not into girls but I was curious." Nah, still counts. 

SweetPotatoMermaid: I know, right?! I went through the same thing with an ex-girlfriend.

It took about a week to untangle myself from that mess. She managed to cheat again during that week, but with a guy this time, and assumed we'd just hit a rough patch and could work it out.

I had been adamant and very clear since I found out about the first cheating that this was the end and that I wanted nothing to do with her.

Like nah, girl, I value myself more than your nonsense. I cut all ties and contact. She's tried to reach out through various methods over the years and I've never replied to her.

azraelce , KoolShooters Report

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#12

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners They came home one day with a huge hickey on their neck.

I asked,"So where did you get that?!"

They said, "I fell down and hit my neck on a curb."

I can laugh about it now. 🤣.

wade1975 , Louis Paulin Report

#13

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "We had already kissed, I would've looked stupid if I stopped there!".

Dicksperado , Jonathan Borba Report

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Cat Chat
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I already packed for you. I would look stupid if I don't kick you out now!

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#14

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "I figured you were already sleeping with someone else". I wasn't.

RudeTheories: This literally just happened to me today in a way. My fiancée and I broke up last year and I thought it was mainly us drifting apart. Found out today she was cheating and when I asked her about it she confessed it was because she thought I was cheating on her anyway.

Bullet dodged I guess.

man_of_the_mountain , Becca Tapert Report

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Kira Okah
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have seen a lot of times where people justify cheating because they think that their partner is when they aren't. In a lot of them it seems to be the idea that if they are cheating then their partner must be too, with no evidence. It confusing.

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#15

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "You're too good for me".

thepumpkinking92: My wife is definitely way too good for me... which is why I do my best to not f**k up and make it last as long as possible before she realizes it and leaves me for someone better.

And if any of you tell her, I will hunt you down and catch you like a fish!

Chemical_Savings_360 , Pixabay Report

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Thee8thsense
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, if you cheated on someone, that excuse becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy, right?

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#17

Me: We've been dating for nearly a year, why haven't I met your friend Richard you always talk about?

Her: Because he's a guy and I know how guys don't like girls having guy friends.

Me: I've never had an issue with that, and as you know I have female friends, who you've met.

Her: I'm protecting you from your own anxiety!

- I get suspicious and look through her phone and find sexting, them meeting up etc and absolutely no mention of me ever, I confront her -

Her: if you wouldn't have looked through my phone you wouldn't have been hurt, that's your fault.

- I end the relationship, she hopes Richard leaves his wife for her, he doesn't, she gets back in touch with me-

Her: What you did was wrong, two people have to agree to end a relationship you can't just end it.

-i blocked her-.

anon Report

#18

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "We were on a break."

We were not. She just said she wants to go to her hometown because she missed her family and childhood friends and having a little me time would be fun. I don't know in what world that even indicates a break.

Zeikos: That's like saying you're on a diet between lunch and dinner, lol.

Superb_Bench9902 , Rahat M. Report

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#19

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners It was a long, messy story. The short version is that my ex was suffering from depression (which I didn't really understand or recognize at the time), and she decided that I was part of the cause, so she started having an affair.

When the guy's wife found out about the affair, she call our house to confront my ex and to let me know about it. (The guy had started the affair with my ex because his wife was pregnant with their child. Lovely guy, right?)

Anyhow, that affair ended, but my ex still wasn't happy. In less than 6 months, she found another guy who was single and lived a bit further away. In early December, she told me she wasn't going to be home for New Year's Eve because she wanted to spend it with her new boyfriend.

By that time, I had already decided that it was over, so I just said, "OK. Now I can send the letter to the landlord cancelling the rent of our apartment, because I'm moving away." We divorced about 3 months later, and I moved from Germany to Switzerland. (It sounds more dramatic than it was - I only moved about 8 km / 5 miles from the old place, but on the other side of the border).

When I talked to my ex, she claimed that she had the 2nd affair because I wasn't jealous enough and didn't fight hard enough to keep her after the first one. We had been living in a dead bedroom situation for nearly 7 years by that time, and I was just f*****g tired of the whole thing. I never cheated on her, and she treated ME like I was the reason she had to go f*****g other guys.

Count2Zero , Andrew Neel Report

#20

He said, 'I thought you knew?' What a bulls**t excuse.

Looking back, he probably was high. He turned it into this whole thing about how he thought I was so smart that I just must have KNOWN he was cheating, and since I wasn't angry since I had to have known, I must have been okay with it. The mental gymnastics of it all.

Marlowe_Case Report

#21

Didn't give an excuse. After sleeping with her ex, she just said, "i had to scratch that itch." She was pretty damn cruel.

Horrendous at the time, but it turned out "that itch" was chlamydia.

Luckily, i wasn't touching her long before that point.

Every cloud and all that.

Haunted_Entity Report

#22

"i was depressed" 🙄

He and my sister (who is 15 years older than me) had an affair in our home for 18 months. I hold them equally accountable and screamed at them equally before cutting all contact and ties to them.

I told her very crazy jealous boyfriend that she f****d my ex, and I told all of our friends and family that they mutually decided to carry our their affair. When the "please stop telling people what we did" calls came, I told them "no because I'm depressed" lol.

angryaxolotls Report

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Alexandra
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How dare you bring people who are clinically depressd down to your cheating level!

#23

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners She was supposedly "super christian" and told me she didnt think god would want us to be together. Immediately goes on camping trip after with 2 dudes and she ended up dating both consecutively. Cheated on me with one, then cheated on him with the other, then got cheated on by him when they got engaged.

kakashi176176176 , Vlad Bagacian Report

#24

My ex gf said she was manipulated into having sex with the other guy. She went over to his house and she felt sorry for misunderstanding the relationship between them two. So she said to me: “ I felt sorry for him. So for making it up to him I had sex with him one time and one time only.”

I stood up and left. I never saw her again..

Last-Log2689 Report

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Alexandra
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good for you!. In some situations there are just no compromised to be reachted.

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#25

"I didn't think that you would care." Was the first one.

"I felt trapped by him, and I didn't know what to do." Was the second one.

"Anybody would have have done what I did. You know how good he looks. Besides, I deserved to finally have sex with a hot guy." I will admit, that one stung a bit.

REDDITprime1212 Report

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The Darkest Timeline
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1. Justifying bad behavior; 2. Needs more context; 3. Disrespectful and cruel.

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#26

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners She had room in her heart for two soulmates and wanted me to let it continue. We were married for 6 years. Still are, but Ive started divorce proceedings and she flew off home with him. Whatever, theyre both unemployed and shes been leeching off me for 10 years. I gave her everything she ever wanted; a house, a support network, my time and devotion, and she decided "fixing" this dying man was worth giving everything up.

Trapped_Mechanic , Allyson SALNESS Report

#27

His words: because A. I gained weight while pregnant and, B. He was bored because he felt he knew all there was to know about me. Cue his 7 mistresses/misters over two years during the early AIDS crisis, so I (a virgin before marrying him) had to have an AIDS test.

Grattytood Report

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#28

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners "You had a GF before marriage, while I had saved myself for you" (which she didn't, actually).

explorer_24x7 , Arina Krasnikova Report

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The Darkest Timeline
Community Member
1 week ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why you should never obsess over or be with someone that obsesses over your “number” or what kinds of sexual experiences either person has had prior to the current relationship. That sort of deep insecurity is a huge red flag. I mean, if you want to talk about it and you can handle it like an adult, go for it. But lots of people just can’t stand not being on “equal footing” when it comes to sex. Those are emotionally immature people that can’t make good partners until they learn to just let it go and be happy with what they have rather than worrying that they “missed out” or that they won’t be “enough”.

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#29

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners Not partner but when I caught my father he just blamed it on being bipolar turned out he never even had it.

A_Fox_On_Sugar , Pavel Danilyuk Report

#30

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners Because I wanted a kid now and you haven’t gave me one, WTF.

Chrissyjustshowus , Alexander Dummer Report

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hardrad2009
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When my coworker learned that his son is not his he asked his then wife why. She simply told him that she just wanted the baby from “somebody more masculine and cute” and “who is ready to make baby’s anytime and don’t have fertility issues”. After this she was extremely surprised when she learned during divorce proceedings that she need to go for alimony money to the biological father.

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#31

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners Being poly she loves everyone so she thinks it was a free pass despite being in a closed traid.

Azual223 , Becca Tapert Report

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Kira Okah
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people are absolutely poly and that is fine; and some people use the moniker to try and justify their own infidelity and that is not fine.

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#33

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners I know I haven't done anything wrong God knows my Intentions, whatever I did was to myself and not you bla bla, I was very young, all men do this etc.

oxymorongal , Scott Broome Report

#34

‘I’m human. I make mistakes. I was drunk.’

Yeah. Screw you.

Traumaticcockroach Report

#35

“I was so lonely and I just felt so disconnected from you.” Okay, she had an affair while I was in the hospital with staph infection in my spine. Honestly, the absurdity is kind o funny in hindsight.

somebob Report

#37

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners “I wanted to have the whole high school experience. His relationships only last a few months so we can get back together then.”

“I wanted something else.”

“I was having a good time in Vegas and I didn’t want the night to stop. But also I don’t love you any more, but we live together so I didn’t know how to break up with you.” - after going to a friends birthday party in Vegas and then being very cagey and vague about the trip when she got back and I asked how it was.

Three separate relationships.

throwaway3145267 , Dave Morgan Report

#38

That it was my fault for being safe, boring and stable and not providing drama. That she has to seek excitement out elsewhere so this is really all my fault.

Kanguin Report

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Alexandra
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the world upside-down: safe, boring and stable is good for people and excitement is only moderately so. Yet people want to feel excitement and happy all the time. There is no such thing as being always happy. Sometimes you are but most of the time you are, I hope, content with your life and grateful for the people you love in it.

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#40

From my wife of 10 years, not long after Christmas.
Day one “I feel like we are disconnected and we need to spend more time together. I feel bad because I have been texting someone at the gym for two weeks, nothing sexual but we need to work on us, I’ll stop talking to him.”
Day two: “it has been sexual, ok we will do counselling, I’ll stop talking to him” two hours later “I don’t want to stop talking to him”
Day three: “it’s actually been more Iike 2 months, we are over, I’m leaving and I don’t want to do counselling”

Guy was a member at her gym where she is a PT, nearly 20 years younger than me, lived at home with his mother still.

We have two kids. After he actually turned out to be an a*****e (surprising), she wanted to do counselling, the after a month or so she picked up with another member of her gym.

She has totally changed, doesn’t spend time with the kids anymore, is always too busy to actually engage with them, promises them activities and always disappoints them. Her personality/behaviour have shifted from being one of the kindest and most dedicated mothers I have seen, caring and loving towards me and dedicated to family, to never being home, ignoring the kids and just being cruel and deceptive. She hasn’t moved out even though she keeps saying she will, because I do all the house work and look after the kids and she gets to do what ever she wants.

Benjamasm Report

#41

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners Him: "I didn't think you would mind."

Me: "You could have rolled over and asked."

My boyfriend and I had been together for about 6 months and things were going well in the relationship from my perspective. One evening, the two of us plus two of my friends all went out for drinks and ended up back at my bf's place. My two friends fell asleep in the living room, he and I went to his room.

I woke up to my bf and one of my "friends" fooling around next to me in the bed. They acted surprised and couldn't understand why I was upset when I stopped them. Before that event, he and I had never discussed activity outside of our relationship, but I naively assumed that meant it wasn't happening. The relationship between the friend and I ended immediately, while things between the bf and I broke off not long after.

Lesson was to always be clear about expectations, in this case - monogamous vs open relationship. Saves a lot of trouble later on.

AggravatedSwan087 , cottonbro studio Report

#42

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners “I didn’t mean to”

B***h wym, you tripped and your d**k landed into her vagina?

Another good one (different person when I was much younger) was “we just made chicken nuggets!” That was it. That was the excuse. After I saw him texting her about their sex. Right in front of me.

reddit_username014 , Puvvukonvict photography Report

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EmAdoresHerKats🇮🇪🇵🇸🇩🇿
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I never understood that statement 'i didn't mean to'. Why did they put themselves in that situation in the first place?

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#43

"You weren't supposed to be home till tomorrow" was as close as I got to an excuse :(.

WRA1THLORD Report

#44

“You work so much, and we work together, so I never got alone time away from you”

Funny, because she could have spent her nights when I worked alone… but instead she spent it with another girl. She would drop me off at work, go to the other girls house/meet up with her, and then leave to pick me up from work at the end of my shift. Oh, did I mention this girl worked with us too?

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#45

I used to bartend. He said I basically cheated everyday and I deserved it.

SandraDee619SD Report

#46

“I trauma bonded with him” - ok bud.

ThatBrenon131 Report

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Alexandra
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The excuses cheaters come up with are sometimes really inventive and amusing if self-serving, of course.

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#47

“Forgot To Take My Medication”: 50 Wildest Ways People Justified Their Affairs To Their Partners “You were so quiet and would rarely talk to me (I was an introvert in highschool) so I thought we wouldn’t last so I started dating her in secret so when we break up I wouldn’t be alone” 🤨.

Rolling_Bowl_7392 , Sam Balye Report

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#49

"I didn't mean for it to happen" Woman you slept with three dudes at the same time. She pulled a Bob Ross and had a happy accident. "It wasn't like that" Were you just trying to keep him warm inside of you? Dude must've been on the brink of death. " I just didn't feel the love anymore" You could have I don't know left me then did it but that's too easy. The excuses are always my favorite part.

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tw 72
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I didn't mean for it to happen" roughly translates to "I can't say NO."

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#50

“It’s just a bad habit I have :(“.

Candysugarpop22 Report

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