Kentucky

“Do I really love him or do I stay bc I I left my marriage for him?

I would’ve left eventually anyway. I just expected more.”

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

“Somewhere along the way he stopped looking at me like he did when we were 16. What I would do for him to just take a minute and really look at me. I don’t think he’s called me beautiful since our wedding day.”

Nebraska

“I lost count of the times I heard “Y’all are so perfect for each other”.

The truth was, it was all an illusion. No one knew we were putting on pretty faces in public and barely speaking in private.”

somewhere in Michigan

“I put the ring back on today. It’s heavier than I remember, but it feels like hope squeezing my finger tight, drawing me back into the vow I made three years ago…before we started hurting and losing and stonewalling.

We’re gonna find [fight] our way back, baby. It’s us against ourselves, and I think we’re finally winning.”

New Orleans

“I feel immense pressure to succeed. To climb the ladder. To progress. To be an example for all the women who will come after me. In my career, there are few women at the top, and I feel a lot of people looking to me. I often wonder why there aren’t more women. The more tired of my job, I realize the smart women move on because they realize their lives aren’t about being a martyr to change the cycle. I can’t decide if I want to be a model, or have my own shot at happiness. But it can’t be both.”

Colombus, Ohio

“And then he stopped the car, looked at me, and said, “you are my every what-if”.”