Leave your first wife alone

Advertisement

Advertise with us

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I'm a man in my mid-30s. I miss my first wife, and my second wife doesn't do anything for me. She is prettier than my first wife, but that wore off. She's uneducated and half my jokes and literary references sail over her head. She's a hairdresser, and a good one. She actually made $10,000 more than I did last year.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/05/2016 (3764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I’m a man in my mid-30s. I miss my first wife, and my second wife doesn’t do anything for me. She is prettier than my first wife, but that wore off. She’s uneducated and half my jokes and literary references sail over her head. She’s a hairdresser, and a good one. She actually made $10,000 more than I did last year.

My first wife and I broke up because she was introverted and wanted to stay home all the time. I finally told her I wanted “a life in the world, not trapped in a jail cell.” She looked at me with painful eyes I will never forget, and said sadly, “And I guess that makes me the warden, in your life. I’m sorry, I can’t change what I am.” The next week she saw her lawyer.

My second wife is extroverted, but doesn’t want to go out at night and party either as she’s so tired from standing on her feet all day. She’s as dumb as a post and her great interest is reality shows. How did I get into this mess? I know the answer: sexual attraction. Should I try to get my first wife back? I actually loved her. She hasn’t remarried, though she has a guy now.

— Stupid About Love, Winnipeg

 

Dear Stupid About Love: Don’t go after a third wife without taking yourself to counselling that focuses on your values and beliefs, past mistakes, future hopes and lessons on how relationships work. Being the marrying kind, you need to learn what you need in a lifelong partner, as well as sexual attraction.

Don’t run back to your first wife for a kick in the face. She has moved on and is still an introvert. And it isn’t fair to stay with your second wife and look down your nose at her. Since you need a social life suitable for couples, you need a fun, educated wife who wants to do things such as dancing, golfing, curling, go to concerts, attend plays and travel. And this time, take enough time to hunt — like a couple of years.

 

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6

 

 

Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Sunday-night auto aficionados work to steer away from unwelcome elements they say aren’t a part of their tradition

Zoe Pierce 12 minute read Preview

Sunday-night auto aficionados work to steer away from unwelcome elements they say aren’t a part of their tradition

Zoe Pierce 12 minute read Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

The red 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee out for a cruise on Portage Avenue draws admiring eyes from onlookers on a recent Sunday night, many of them seeing a specimen of the now-rare muscle car for the first time on a Winnipeg street. Or any other street, for that matter.

Longtime car enthusiast Bob Sudoma was behind the wheel, participating in the decades-old show-offy summer tradition.

The Sunday night cruise is built around a simple idea: proud car owners take their beloved vehicles for a spin to meet up with others of the same autophile ilk.

Less-fortunate appreciators, or just curious folks, also gather along the route to watch the highly-polished parade. Portage Avenue is one of cruise night’s best-known stretches.

Read
Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

Nifty neighbours also jonesing for geniality

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: Recently, a new couple with no children moved onto our cul de sac, and everybody is taking notice! This attractive pair with no kids both drive amazing cars, work from home and leave their garage doors up a lot. Everybody on the street walks by to sneak a peek into the big garage at just about any time of day.

Lately, the man’s been out on his front lawn in a muscle shirt in the late afternoon, planting shrubs and putting up stylish fall-themed ornaments. At night they often leave the living-room curtains open. That makes for convenient viewing for curious neighbours like us!

A few days ago, my wife invited the new couple over for a barbecue and swim in our pool. They are really nice people, but mentioned that other people nearby have been pretty stand-offish. They wonder why. Should I tell them it’s probably just jealousy over their beautiful vehicles and enviable lifestyle, or should I just shut up?

—Wanting to Help, Sage Creek

Highway-safety upgrades in progress after tragic Interlake crash

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Preview

Highway-safety upgrades in progress after tragic Interlake crash

Chris Kitching 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

Provincial workers have started to update or install safety measures at a rural Interlake intersection where four teenage friends died in a crash on Labour Day weekend.

Pavement markings were repainted at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach, ahead of work to refresh worn-down rumble strips, starting Monday, and install flashing lights atop two stop signs, following an assessment earlier this week.

“They will also need to incorporate any information from the RCMP report that might be helpful if we were to consider any additional safety measures at this intersection,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said of department staff.

“The most important thing is safety, and any kinds of changes we make at any intersection actually have to make it safer.”

Read
Friday, Sep. 11, 2026

Drug recovery centre opens office in ‘heart of the city’

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Preview

Drug recovery centre opens office in ‘heart of the city’

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Yesterday at 3:38 PM CDT

Richard Halverson found his freedom from addiction through Adult & Teen Challenge and, six years later, he hopes a new Winnipeg location will bring hope to the city.

Dozens gathered Saturday morning to mark the grand opening of the recovery centre’s community services office on Main Street.

Located inside the former Wojcik funeral home, the bright-white building — which was also formerly a liquor store — will serve as an access point for people fighting drug addiction. That includes connecting them to addictions support, housing and training.

“For me, I always start with: ‘What’s your story?’” said Halverson, who now works for the faith-based organization.

Read
Yesterday at 3:38 PM CDT

Contact Us

6 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

Contact UsJUMP: Editorial

Delivery

Promotions

Advertising |Photo Reprints

Privacy Inquiries

Newsmedia Council

By TelephoneIf the number you need is not listed below, call the Winnipeg Free Press main switchboard, at 204-697-7000, it's open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. All numbers are area code204 unless otherwise noted.

E-Mailfpcirc@freepress.mb.ca |

Retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Preview

Retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

Melissa Martin 4 minute read Thursday, Sep. 10, 2026

For now, the patch of land just east of the Victoria Hospital doesn’t look like much: just a field of rocks, mounded dirt, and concrete piles driven into the earth. Yet when Scott Oake looks over the site, he can already imagine how it will look in just over a year’s time, when the new Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre is expected to open.

It’s easier to picture this time around. In 2020, when the recently-retired CBC sportscaster and his late wife, Anne, were building their first labour of intermingled grief and love, the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre for men, it was hard for him to wrap his mind around how a raw construction site could transform into a welcoming addictions treatment facility.

When that centre opened in 2021, Oake found it looked “almost identical” to the architect’s renderings. So it’s easy to hope the Anne Oake Centre will be the same. It will be the first facility of its kind, its founders believe, not only in Canada but in North America: a place where 50 to 70 women can pursue sobriety while staying with their children.

“At Bruce Oake there’s a culture of love, and most of all a culture of hope,” Oake said, speaking at the site Thursday after a media conference to announce the final push of the centre’s fundraising campaign. “I can feel it every time I walk into that building. And I know it will be the same here.”

Read
Thursday, Sep. 10, 2026