Love is blind - Listen to advice from your best friends.
As this QOTW doesnt really have many story answers, I thought I'd enrich you with this one:

They say love is blind. I learned the hard way it is. If you’ve read any of my other QOTW responses, I'm going to sound like a right sad loser with the girls. But here we go:

I have no idea what it was about her. But at the tender age of 17 I'd thought I'd met, The One. What an amazing girl I had found. Our relationship sky rocketed and before I knew it. I was deeply, deeply in Love. I would do anything for her. I was so emotionally tied to her, that i felt the same emotions she did. If she was upset, I was upset. Her happiness was my happiness. I was quick to move anything out of the way that was to upset her happiness.

Sadly, said girl was also a crazed nutcase. She had issues with self harm, and major problems with jealousy and possessiveness. She wanted me, and she wanted me to herself. All 110% of me. My friends had all heard rumours about her. In school she used to claim that her dead uncle came back from the dead and raped her. She claimed she was gang raped frequently by the local lads in her town. She told me stuff, I looked deep into her eyes and she had convinced herself that all this bad stuff had happened. I believed the lot of it. She was distraught about her past and emotionally suffering because of it. I felt bad for her and wanted to make her better and make her happy again. Because she was the most amazing person in the world. Nothing else mattered.

After a rather bad cutting episode where she actually went and attacked me with a razor blade. My friends all came together and took me out for a drive. They sat me down and said "Look, you're our friend, we love you. But she is ruining you. Look at you, you’re losing weight, you're failing college. You're so entangled in her lies. We know they’re not true. We spoke to people that have known her a lot longer than we have and she's full of it. Get away from her man. I know you love her and it's not easy but we will help you."

Did I take their advice? No, because I was so blinded by this world that I was now in. I was so stubborn and cared about nothing but her. She was everything to me. I was under her spell. Like an idiot I actually told her what my friends had said. To say she went ballistic would be an understatement. She locked herself in a cupboard for hours sobbing her heart out. How could my friends betray her like that? How could they be so horrible to try and take the only good thing she ever had away from her? How could they send her back to the way she was before when she was starting to get better? She told me this was worse than any of her previous abuse.

She convinced me that they were just out to hurt her. Then other things happened, little arguments here and there. Basically she said to me. Its them or me. Of course I chose her. The biggest regret of my life was to phone up a friend of 10 years and say "Sorry mate, I don’t want to see you again".

Once she was done making sure I had no friends left. She then set on my family. She succeeded with that too. For over a year I didn’t see or speak to my own mother. Once again I had been given advice which I decided to ignore, which she took as a personal attack against her.

For the next 4 years I was stuck with this girl. Paying for her life whilst she decided that she actually preferred girls over guys. Eventually she found a girl, moved in with her and finally I was set free from her.

Years later, reflecting back. Its amazing to see how clearly obvious it was that she was purposely creating situations to make sure she had me to herself. I'd had my own little empire. I had friends, family and money. She destroyed the lot in about 6 months. She cleverly got me into a situation where I needed her more than she needed me. She did a party for my 18th birthday. Except nobody showed up.

I have to blame myself too. I was young, stupid, besotted, engrossed, and addicted to her. But I learned the hard way. Sometimes people have a clearer view of a situation from the outside. They aren’t emotionally entangled in love and can see things clear cut. Your true friends are there forever. Your boyfriends and girlfriends will come and go. Sadly I lost those good friends, They all went off to universities and never bothered coming back.

Sorry for lack of funny. To end this post on a brighter note. I did rebuild, found new friends. Made up with family and now a much wiser and stronger person for it. I've shared my story and passed my advice to other people I know who have been in similar situations. Whether they listened is another matter.
(Miggyman, Wed 26 May 2010, 15:24, 6 replies)

Glad for the happy ending.
Ever felt the desire to facebook those old friends a message like "Hello. X years ago, you were right and I wasn't. She was a mad bitch and you tried to help me out. Sorry I couldn't see it at the time. How has life been treating you in the meantime?"
( Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE, Wed 26 May 2010, 15:49, closed)

Actually I kinda have
4 years later we ended up all meeting up at a reunion party. It was awesome! I thought everything was gonna be sweet again. But in reality, nothing ever came of it. Damage was just too great. They had all moved on in their lives. Theyre all far away, scattered, married and have very little interest in me now. I can't blame them to be honest.
(Miggyman, Wed 26 May 2010, 15:53, closed)

"You can never go home again"?
Aye, I had that too. (though mine included a longed-for fling with the one who got away... turned out I was her one who got away too).
( Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE, Wed 26 May 2010, 15:55, closed)

THIS REQUIRES A STORY
With some kind of advice angle.

Get it written!
( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 26 May 2010, 16:30, closed)

int hindsight brilliant.
If I'd only.... I should have seen/known/listened..... etc.

Aye, I've been there. Glad you got away.
(itsOnlyGoingToGetHairier, Wed 26 May 2010, 16:11, closed)

Bros before Hos
I learned it the hard way too.
(CactusZack Shaved his coin purse on, Wed 26 May 2010, 16:35, closed)