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Anke (43) from Mönchengladbach no longer believed in love until she met Hendrik:
"He was just faking everything for me"
When I met Hendrik six years ago, everything finally seemed to be turning for the better: After my divorce and a bitter custody battle over my daughter Mia, I thought I would never be able to get involved with a man again. But Hendrik took me as I was - and treated Mia like his own child. We were also both doing well financially, so we moved into a nice detached house together. I was a branch manager at a fashion chain, while Hendrik was on the executive floor of a large logistics company. He was a workhorse, even at home he often worked late into the night. So I was all the more surprised when his two computers were picked up one day by two men. 'They're just installing new programs on them,' Hendrik explained to me. I didn't question it any further.
"He didn't go to work in the morning, but fished all day"
Two years ago, we wanted to have our garden fence replaced. Hendrik said there was still time, but I got my way. I discussed the first part of the money with the tradesman and we would bring him the money in cash. I withdrew the money from my account and Hendrik wanted to pass it on. Three weeks later, the handyman called me: He had never received the money. When I spoke to Hendrik about it, he completely lost his temper. First he got angry, then very meek. And then I found out what in retrospect seems like a bad dream: Hendrik had already lost his job six months ago. So he hadn't been going to the office in the morning for months - but to a nearby lake where he fished all day. He had borrowed money from relatives. I was horrified. And bitterly disappointed. He did give me the money back - but I ended the relationship. I simply couldn't forgive him for this double life."
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Nicole (38) and Michael (39) from Cologne have been through some tough times. But in the end, it brought them even closer together:
"Our family was on the brink"
If someone had told me a few years ago that we would one day find ourselves in a situation like this, I wouldn't have believed them," says Michael thoughtfully. He and Nicole have been a couple for 16 years. But in the summer of three years ago, there was a crisis between them. During this time, Nicole met her first great love Lars at a school reunion. "And what can I say: we ended up in bed with him." When Nicole stormed out of Lars' apartment the next morning, she was plagued by a guilty conscience: "I was certain that Michael must never find out about it. I didn't want to jeopardize our relationship despite the difficulties." So she kept quiet. Three months later, the shock: "I was pregnant. Normally I would have jumped for joy - but in this case there was a problem: the child could also be Lars'."
"Nicole was pregnant - but maybe I wasn't the father"
Nicole is desperate. She endures it for three days, then tells Michael the truth. "A world collapsed for me that evening," says Michael. He moves out the next day. "I simply couldn't bear her presence any longer." But Nicole fights and after four months manages to convince Michael to go to couples therapy. "I gave us another chance. And it worked. Today we are happier than ever - and luckily our son Tim really is my child," beams Michael. "Nevertheless, Nicole's confession almost destroyed our love."
