Slow-burn lover in it for the long haul

Advertisement

Advertise with us

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I married a comfortable old friend of mine after my passionate first marriage turned to dirt.

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 12/09/2020 (2212 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I married a comfortable old friend of mine after my passionate first marriage turned to dirt.

My first young husband had enough passion for two women. He was a former male dancer who was well-built, confident and handsome.

HIs “other woman” only came to light about a year after we married. She was jealous and tired of being a side dish, particularly after he married me in an expensive wedding with all our friends there.

She let herself get pregnant in the year after my wedding, and got in touch with me by phone. The whole thing exploded into a million jagged pieces with a quickie divorce.

Four years later, I married an attractive friend I could count on, and guess what? Passion ignited about the sixth month into the marriage. Funny how that turned out. Now we are madly, passionately in love, and he is rock solid. I know I will always be able to count on him.

So, I have that little hussy to thank for my wonderful husband. She’s welcome to the jerk she got — he still hasn’t married her, and they have a child.

— Thankful for My Good Man, East Kildonan

Dear Thankful: Sometimes, if you’ve been known to make exactly the wrong decision in relationship choices over and over again, it turns out to be a good idea to go against the grain, and choose the opposite type. Your new man might may not have been so exciting at the beginning of your journey together but it turns out he carried fireworks in the trunk!

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: At the beginning of the summer I was introduced to a woman who had two children and a divorce, and is now declaring herself a lesbian. She is beautiful — looks like a mermaid. I soon developed a huge crush on her, and told her about it.

She put up her hand, and told me quite loudly she has refused to have a man in her love life since her marriage, and she really prefers women sexually. I asked her if she’d had a serious relationship with a woman yet, and she said no. I asked her to give my type of man a try — a nice, gentle guy who loves kids.

So far, she hasn’t given me anything except friendship. What do I do next? I know she just needs a really nice man, not a woman, and I could be that guy.

— Determined to Win Her, Lake Winnipeg

Dear Determined: Why do you continue to bark up this tree? She says she doesn’t want you, and she wants a woman as a lover. That should be enough. Look, you won’t even continue to have her as a friend if you don’t let go of this obsession to show her how wrong she is.

People know who and what they are attracted to — and you are not attractive to her. Take her word for it.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: To the chap writing you about the sentiments of wedding bands (symbolic of the long journey of marriage), I agree with him wholeheartedly. My original band over the years had gotten out of shape and over-sized and should have been resized. Years ago, my wife and I dined out and while washing up in the lavatory, my ring slipped off with the paper towel.

At first, I didn’t notice it missing. I did look for it, but couldn’t find it. I had it replaced with a similar one, but it still does not replace the original!

—Been There, Winnipeg

Dear Been There: Your wife wouldn’t like to hear the initial ring meant that much more to you than the replacement wedding ring. It could symbolize the fact nothing can “lose you” from one another, that you will always be together. That’s just as meaningful.

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

Khan should’ve taken high road: Goertzen

Carol Sanders 5 minute read Preview

Khan should’ve taken high road: Goertzen

Carol Sanders 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:39 PM CDT

The veteran Progressive Conservative who championed Obby Khan’s leadership bid says the former Blue Bomber dropped the ball by dissing his Tory teammates before he stepped down.

“I wouldn’t recommend it, and I didn’t recommend it,” Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach) said in an interview Friday.

Khan resigned as PC leader and quit the caucus Monday saying some members were secretly plotting his ouster, even after he won a confidence vote on Sept. 25.

On Tuesday, Khan lashed out in a CJOB interview, naming the alleged plotters, saying constituents deserved to know which of their elected representatives “lacked moral integrity.” Khan told the Free Press he was “deeply emotionally hurt,” and felt stabbed in the back.

Read
Yesterday at 6:39 PM CDT

Six high school hockey programs ceased operations following new Hockey Manitoba policy

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Preview

Six high school hockey programs ceased operations following new Hockey Manitoba policy

Joshua Frey-Sam 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:19 PM CDT

She lived the best of both worlds.

For the last three years, the 17-year-old wore a sweater for two different hockey programs — her high school team and AAA club in the Manitoba Female Hockey League — and was preparing to flourish in both colours again this winter.

Recently, however, the blue-liner was disappointed to learn she is no longer eligible to play her Grade 12 season with her school owing to a new policy imposed by Hockey Manitoba that bans players from participating in the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League if they are rostered on a U18 AAA team.

The rule applies to all athletes who play for both Winnipeg-based and rural AAA teams.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 8:19 PM CDT

Letters, Oct. 3

7 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

A morning in the life …

My very first lesson does not start when I walk into that lecture hall, oh no — it starts long before. It begins when I walk to my car, check the estimated arrival time to the University of Manitoba and hope that Winnipeg traffic agrees with it.

A drive that appears completely manageable changes almost immediately when I’m greeted by a tsunami of orange pylons and a line of cars that appears to go on forever. Traffic moves by the inch, lanes magically disappear and the detour I took yesterday now has a detour of its own. These factors make me do a calculation that I have become all too familiar with. How late can I arrive and still find parking, run to my class across campus and get to class with enough time left to make it worth it?

I have grown used to people saying, “Why not just leave earlier?” I do. But when I’m already leaving for my 8:30 a.m. class at 7 a.m., there’s only so much I can do. This drive that some would think is relaxing is one that feels like an assignment that I didn’t know I had to complete and is due at 8:30 a.m.

International flavour: Canadian investors may want to make like Ottawa, diversify beyond U.S.

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read Preview

International flavour: Canadian investors may want to make like Ottawa, diversify beyond U.S.

Joel Schlesinger 6 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Canada is learning the hard way about the dangers of putting too many eggs in its U.S. economic basket.

Much has been made about the need to diversify our economy away from the United States.

Diversification is understandably beneficial. The more varied streams of revenue a nation has, the less affected the economy will be when one of those sources is interrupted.

The same can be said about investment portfolios.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

Health minister warns $1.2 billion in annual federal funding set to expire in March

Scott Billeck 3 minute read Preview

Health minister warns $1.2 billion in annual federal funding set to expire in March

Scott Billeck 3 minute read Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Manitoba’s health minister is warning of possible cuts to health care with $1.2 billion in annual funding from Ottawa set to expire next year.

“We’re very concerned that what would be the largest cut to health care in a generation is right in front of us,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday at the Manitoba legislature. “It means that services that Manitobans depend on will be in jeopardy and be at risk.

“Any reductions, any cuts from Canada, will have direct impacts on the health outcomes of Manitobans.”

Asagwara, who serves as the provincial and territorial health minister lead, chaired a virtual meeting Tuesday with provincial and territorial health ministers to discuss federal funding for health care, mental health care and substance use services, which is scheduled to expire March 31, 2027.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Preview

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Scott Arniel has a lot on his plate these days.

But the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets took some time Thursday to sit down with Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe to discuss a number of topics on the eve of a new hockey season. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Wiebe: What was the evaluation of last season like? What did you personally do in an attempt to improve after going from first-overall to 26th-overall?

I just went back and looked at things and made sure my communication was where it needed to be with my players. Was my communication where it needed to be with my boss, with my general manager (Kevin Cheveldayoff)? How our coaching staff worked. How we handled highs and lows. Things I felt I could have done better.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026