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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Annalisa Barbieri

Both my parents died and then my step-parents got together. Why can’t I be happy for them?

Feeling sad

I’m a woman in my 40s. My father died three years ago, my mother two. Three months after my mother’s death, her partner, Alan (not his real name), and my father’s widow, Martine (ditto), told me they were in love and a couple; it had started after my mother’s death.

I felt like a trap was closing in on me. Although I recognise that they seem happy and deserve a new life, when I found out I felt down. Jealous, even. They started popping up together at every family event. I felt like my mother was being erased. But I also felt the troublesome relationship with Martine resurface.

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