DEAR ABBY: I have always been the outsider in my family. My grandma raised me because Mom was an alcoholic and ran the streets with her boyfriend. My grandma died three months ago, and I have been having a hard time dealing with it. My mother has moved into my grandma’s house and wants me […]
Dear Abby
Woman prefers thrill of hunt over monogamy
DEAR ABBY: I am a woman in my late 30s. I have had a few failed relationships and a marriage that ended in divorce. At one point, I juggled three lovers at a time. I like being in a committed relationship, but I have yet to be faithful to any partner I have ever dated. […]
Roommate has worn out more than his welcome
DEAR ABBY: I’m 55 and own my home. “Randall,” 53, lives with me and pays me rent. We used to be a couple, but COVID caused too much togetherness. He’s in the spare bedroom now. My house is cheaper for him than anywhere else he could go. I was trying to be nice. The problem […]
Couple struggle to adapt to an unfamiliar reality
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I were raised within religious communities. Among other conservative values, we were taught that a wife is to be responsible for domestic labor, and a husband is to be the primary breadwinner outside the home (yes, even in the ’90s and 2000s). We were still deeply involved in these communities […]
Friends at odds on best method to stay in touch
DEAR ABBY: I have a much younger friend in another state, and we like to keep in touch. I prefer email, as I’m elderly, hard of hearing and look after my husband, who is having cognitive problems. I have no household help. My husband and I are both on restricted medical diets that require cooking […]
Man’s dance floor behavior out of step at celabration
DEAR ABBY: I was co-host of a celebration where one of our guests, a seemingly very nice young man who is dating a relative, was observed “goosing” half a dozen women while on the dance floor. I don’t know if my relative is aware, nor do I know how the recipients felt about it, but […]
Student plans for future with long-distance beau
DEAR ABBY: I am a senior in high school in a long-distance relationship. My boyfriend, “Grant,” and I live two states apart and have visited each other several times. He’s four years older than I am. We met three years ago, when Grant was 19 and I was 15, and became friends through banter online. […]
Woman’s deceptive trick ends in an angry splash
DEAR ABBY: I recently went out to a bar with some friends. I was the designated driver because I no longer drink. I had a drinking problem, but I have been sober for almost seven years. The majority of the people I socialize with are supportive of my sobriety — except one. I have been […]
Woman still gets the cold shoulder from stepdaughter
DEAR ABBY: I’ve been married six years, and ever since we’ve been married, my husband’s daughter has insisted that I can’t come to her house that my husband has a mortgage on. I think he should tell her that if his wife isn’t welcome, then he isn’t. My husband is 19 years older than I […]
Sister tries to navigate couple’s pending divorce
DEAR ABBY: My brother and his husband are getting ready to file for divorce. Before they do, however, they are embarking on a very expensive trip to Italy. It was paid for before the divorce conversations started. When they travel, I fly into the town where we both grew up, watch their home and dogs […]