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Is He Your New Boyfriend?
After divorce, kids ask a lot of tough questions.
My young daughters started picking new husbands for me almost immediately after I left the first one.
“He’s nice. Couldn’t he be your new husband?” my daughter asked one day, talking about a much younger friend of ours.
“He’s not really old enough to be my husband, darling. And I’m not ready to date yet.” I’d only been separated a week. “It’ll probably be a few years before I date someone,” I said.
To my surprise, I accepted offers for a few dates in the next six months. One of those wonderful men did become my boyfriend. (This week — only a year and a half after my separation — I got engaged.)
Any potentially date-able friend that your kids meet after your divorce can trigger the: “Is that your new boyfriend/girlfriend” question, especially with school-aged kids. What’s the best way to handle it?
What to call your “friend”
What do you say about the friends you are actually dating? It’s important to be really careful when introducing your kids to new partners. My children already knew my partner as a family friend, but if yours have never met it might be worth delaying introductions for a few months. Although, according to the experts, this can be…
