ArcaMax

DEAR ABBY: I have been separated from my husband for a year and a half. The divorce became final five months ago. He had major mood swings, and was nice one minute and hateful the next. We have two children together.

I have a boyfriend I've been seeing for about a year. We are casual, but monogamous. Suddenly, my ex is being really nice, ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend of seven years is very competitive. There is constantly this underlying contest about whose kid is better, whose dog is better, etc. It's silly. They are both great kids (and dogs) in their individual ways, and I suspect he likes to brag about his 11-year-old daughter just to publicize that she's "great."

He often ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm 62 and recently retired. My wife is 56 and still working. We have been married 32 years. She will retire at 60 to get a full pension from her company, and we have several million dollars in our retirement savings.

We travel together internationally once a year for about 10 days. I have talked to her about my desire to travel more...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I am a 42-year-old single mom who recently began a relationship with a wonderful man. I have two kids from my marriage to an ex who wasn't very kind. We did our best for 16 years (we were young when we met) and finally had to go our separate ways. The man I'm dating is sensitive and kind. He's great to my kids. He's the first person I...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I was married for almost 20 years to a jealous, controlling man. "Pete" was emotionally abusive, which I didn't really notice because I'm not confrontational. I would just try to make him happy and ignore his controlling behavior. Toward the end of our marriage, I realized how isolated I had become. I had pushed most of my friends and...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Kirk," and I have been dating exclusively for nearly two years and live together. We met during the pandemic, so for the first year or so, we mostly hung out -- just the two of us. Since the world has opened back up, I've been encountering some problems now that we're able to socialize with others.

Kirk often becomes ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I've been in a "friend with benefits" relationship for more than a year now. I'm 57 and he's 79. I was raised a Christian and wanted to save myself for marriage. This is the first time I have loved someone and been the FWB. I'm jealous of his last girlfriend and what they had together. She wanted to get married, and he didn't.

A ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I come from a large, close family. The majority of them live in another state. A couple of family members live in the same state I reside in. One night, my uncle came over and we were hanging out having drinks. We both drank too much and at some point, he started to kiss my neck. I told him to stop because he is family, and he did. ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A couple of weeks ago, my 17-year-old daughter broke up with "Matt," her boyfriend of a year and seven months. My husband and I are sad because Matt had become a part of our family. We included him in vacations and holidays with us. We also became friends with his parents and shared a couple of holidays with them.

I have not ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: My parents are divorced. My father, who I'm sure loves me in his own way, is super controlling and manipulative. He wasn't nice to my older siblings, either. He constantly lied and blamed others for his abusive behavior, which made me hate them. He constantly claimed Mom cheated on him and said my siblings were horrible kids.

When I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I received a Facebook invitation to my 35th high school reunion. I was bullied constantly in every grade. I had no friends in my class, and the memories I have are not pleasant. I composed a letter expressing the hope that the attendees enjoy reminiscing, and then added that I have no desire to see any of them again. In the letter, I ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I graduated from college with a degree in a niche field. In my graduating class of nearly 7,000, there were only four of us with this specific degree. I now have a career in the field I majored in. I love what I do and take pride in it. The problem is my family. For whatever reason, my parents and siblings don't seem to want to ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have worked for the same company for 20 years. For the last eight years, I was part of an office book club, mostly because I was pressured regularly by the boss to participate. The members were mostly a clique of "mean girls." I never felt a part of it or comfortable, but I pushed through the once-a-month meetings to keep the peace....Read more

DEAR ABBY: My elderly mother spent her entire adult life spending her men's money, and now she has morphed into an entitled, self-absorbed and vapid woman. She blew through her inheritance years ago with no regard for future needs. I have now moved her into senior housing near me. She wants to make friends, but the problem is that she thinks she...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been with my 45-year-old boyfriend, "Doug," for six years. His mother, who was widowed five years ago, has moved here to Florida from New Jersey. Doug is very protective of her, which I kind of understand because she's 63. The kicker is, she has started flashing her breasts at us. I'm pretty sure she does it to Doug when I'm ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I'm a woman who, a little while ago, got a girlfriend, "Darlene." After meeting her, I thought that was what love felt like. But my old (bisexual) friend "Michelle" has me feeling differently. I have known her since kindergarten, but recently I feel my heart racing and butterflies in my stomach just thinking about her. When Michelle ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been in what feels like a war with my grandmother. She always took care of me and my younger brother and sister. She was there when we couldn't be with our parents. For a long time, I was troubled and into addiction. I admit I lost sight of who I really was. I had two sons I didn't raise, but now that I'm back and a year and ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I recently made some unflattering comments about my daughter-in-law to my son. They were recorded on their Ring doorbell. Now she's angry with me and my son, and I'm not sure I will ever see the grandchildren again. When I emailed her an apology, she said she didn't know if she could ever forgive me. She will see my husband, but I am ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my wife for 32 years. I love her dearly. Recently, though, her smoking has been really bothering me. Her father passed away from COPD five years ago because he was a lifetime smoker. I thought that would convince her to stop. She has tried, but she always goes back.

She tries to cover it up by making frequent ...Read more

DEAR ABBY: A co-worker has been stricken with multiple stage-4 cancers. We all have been compassionate and caring, supporting him through the challenges of treatment and the side effects. His condition is terminal, in the final stage and deteriorating rapidly. He does have a supportive family, but we don't have the heart to send him home and ...Read more