After surviving an abusive relationship with the father of her two children, one woman is opening up about how she came to find love again.
In a submission to The Way We Met's Instagram, Jen Moriwaki shared the story of how she fell in love with her Guy (his name is actually Guy).
"I had recently walked out on the father of my 2 children after a 9 year relationship," she wrote. "He was verbally abusive towards me, often telling me I was fat, ugly, & stupid. His anger continued to escalate until one day he punched a hole in the wall. I realized it was only a matter of time before his abuse turned physical, and I left."
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Leaving an abusive relationship, of course, is a huge feat. Afterwards, Moriwaki found herself trying to start her life again, and found it difficult to date as a single mom.
"My ex left me feeling broken and worthless," she wrote. "After multiple failed attempts at online dating, I decided to take a break from dating altogether."
After taking a two-year break to focus on herself, she got back into online dating, and found the man she came to fall in love with — despite the fact that she thought "most of his photos were kind of a train wreck."
"There was one of him hugging his son that made me want to reach out," she said.
Three years later, they're now married, and have built a blended family that loves each other.
"My kids like to say, 'we don't use the word step, he is our brother,'" she wrote. "My son and Guy's son are only a month apart. They even share a birthday party together. Being a blended family and an interracial couple hasn't come without it's challenges, but we hope that in the end, our children will be stronger and more open-minded individuals because of it."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224 for confidential support.
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