A First Dates contestant opened up on her ex husband’s double life and revealed how she has remained upbeat looking for love.
Dubliner Barbara, who dates Chris on the hit RTE show tonight, said life is all about living and we need to leave negativity in the past.
Barbara, 58, told the Irish Mirror: “I was 32 when it all ended, I got married at 23 and separated, we were five years together before we had our first child.
“I was still young enough to get out there but it was heartbreaking, to be married to a man who was living a lie.
“My kids were only one and three at the time.
“It was an unbelievable year, the fact I had no idea, he turned out to be a liear and deceitful.
“He just played me along so fabulously, he had me defending him to the last.
“The other girl was traumatised, she had met this ideal guy and she was all set to get married.
“So her story was almost worse, neither of us knew about the other, he told the other lady I had died in a motorbike accident.”
Her ex visited places he had been with Barbara and even brought her back to stay in their family home.
She added: “He told her he was going to live there and rear my child.
“I never turned my kids against him, I really feel women shouldn’t do that as my children found out who he was themselves in the end.
“The other girl dumped him and I threw him out and there was someone else waiting in the wing.”
Almost three decades later Barbara is finalising her divorce from her ex and entering First Dates coincided with that.
She said: “The ironic thing is we’re going through a legal divorce at the moment.
“That’s happening and First Dates is out, it’s like a cleansing of some sort.”
Living life to the full is the mum-of-twos motto.
She explained: “I tried stand up comedy a while ago, I’ve been a born again Christian, I’ve travelled extensively.
“Life is too short it’s all about living, I don’t have a television, I’m all about being active, being out, You’ve one shot at life, live it, be healthy, be happy.
“I’ve had highs and really bad lows, but it’s about building resilience.
“I would have never thought I’d survive it but we have more resilience in us than we think we have.
“It took me years to get back out there, I tried everything from Internet Dating to speed dating.
“It took me years to build up my confidence.
“My advice is you need to find out what you do want by going out and seeing what you don’t want.
“I loved getting the opportunity to go on First Dates during lockdown.
“It was a great night out and a bit of craic meeting Chris.
“My advice is just believe that there is a better life out there, there is happiness and there is love.”
