Love affair times two: Verona has a secret

You can't tell she's having a love affair with two men. And she's happy about it. She definitely doesn't want her husband to find out. "He wouldn't be able to handle it, and my daughter certainly wouldn't accept me cheating on her dad," she says, and that answers the question of whether we show a photo of her with the story. Of course not! We find out later how difficult it is to lead a double life.

Cheating, but not just once

The secret that the teacher from Berlin is keeping: She has been having a love affair with a younger colleague for two years. "No," Verona sets the record straight. "Michael is not a fleeting adventure, and when I see him, the butterflies dance in my stomach. He makes me feel young and carefree again."

So why doesn't she split up with her husband Holger? "Why should I," Verona asks back. "I love him. He's a wonderful husband who has made me feel safe, secure and happy for 20 years. We understand each other without words, have lots of friends, a little house and a child together that we are very proud of. But after such a long time, there is no longer any spark between us. But that's no reason to leave him." Leading a double life - the logical consequence for Verone.

So Verona loves two men at the same time. How does that work? And anyway, do they actually know about each other? "Michael knows about Holger and my daughter Mia, of course, but my family has no idea about him," she admits. "I want to keep it that way. Otherwise there would just be a huge emotional chaos. I don't want to hurt my family."

Feeling wronged because of a love affair? Not a chance!

Verona never has a guilty conscience. "I'm not taking anything away from Holger and Mia. On the contrary, I'm more relaxed and cheerful than ever before. I'm happy, enjoy the cozy life with my family and adventures and eroticism with Michael. Isn't that better than frustrated bickering, marital strife and boredom?"

It doesn't sound like she has any qualms about leading a double life. More like cold-bloodedness and a good dose of conspiratorial energy. But she comes across as very likeable in conversation. Humorous, sensitive, clever. Somehow you don't trust her to trick, deceive and camouflage. We've all cheated, but a real love affair lasting several months, even years?

How do you reconcile a family and a love affair?

But how can you lead such a double life? How do you organize meetings with a permanent lover without the husband smelling a rat?

"It works so well because Holger is an event technician who spends a lot of time at trade fairs and is often away for days on end," says Verona. "Which, by the way, was also one of the reasons Michael and I got close in the first place. I didn't always want to be alone for so long."

From colleague to serious love affair

It was two years ago when the 38-year-old PE teacher came to Verona's school. "We liked each other right from the start. Also because we both have the same sense of humor. There aren't many people who can handle irony," she says. "Michael is also an open-minded person with a wide range of interests with whom you can spend hours discussing God and the world. And he's also well-trained and very good-looking." At first, the colleagues only met for coffee, then sometimes for dinner in the evening. At some point, they ended up in bed. "And that's when I realized that it wasn 't just a fleeting love affair with Michael." Does he see it that way too? "He definitely doesn't want me to leave Holger because of him. He knows that I'm happy in my marriage. And he himself doesn't feel ready for a family and responsibility yet. And I also think he finds this secrecy very appealing," explains Verona. Because the danger of being discovered is always lurking somewhere. Although Verona and Michael organize their secret meetings well and are extremely careful.

Is she really sure that Holger won't notice any of this? Shouldn't a loving man intuitively sense when his wife is not being faithful to him?

"I don't think my husband trusts me to lead a double life," says Verona. " In his eyes, I'm not capable of it." She explains: "Holger is a good person. Down to earth and genuine. A doer who keeps our house in shape, who likes to sit around the barbecue with friends, but thinks theater and art exhibitions are very overrated. He never gets flustered and always knows how to get a problem under control. He's my rock, I couldn't live without him."

Isn't she ashamed of cheating on such a dear man? Does she think it's normal to crawl from lover to husband into bed?

Verona just shrugs her shoulders: "Who knows what Holger experiences on his business trips. We don't talk about it. In any case, I don't take anything away from Holger that he wanted. And I don't want to live without eroticism, art and sensuality for the rest of my life. I'm happy the way it is now: with the exciting change between my two worlds."

Verona will continue to keep her secret. Until Holger finds out or Michael has had enough of being just number two. It's a temporary game.