jmw, I have read your thread and it could be mine. I wish to tell you that my ex's mother died in 1991 and I don't think ex ever really accepted that she had gone and in a way he blames himself for her passing as he went to the chemist for the emergency order of morpheine, he thinks that if he didn't go to the chemist his mother would be here today, I think not as she had battled cancer for 5 years, I didn't know anything about this until he had been left almost a year and my mum and I were chatting and she told me this is what he had confessed to her one day years ago. So that could have been what semi triggered his so called mlc and then his dad passed suddenly in sept 2004, ex came back from the hospital that night and declared himself an orphan. I do think that this woman he as married heard all about ex being in an emotional state and the best fact that he had just taken redundancy payment and sold his dad's house and inherited quite a lot of money, she pounced and he took off, funny thing is he is now having to sell what was our house as he is struggling for cash. He too was a workaholic, I now hear he is out of work again this is the second time in all this that he as packed his job in, never would have dreamt of it before. I heard the other day that the garage up at his house the one we have just left as been broken into, well there wasn't anything of mine in there but there was bits and pieces of ex's in there, you know tool kits, golf clubs and some more of his crap that I left, apparently these things are still there, and I ask myself that although he knows we have left why hasn't he been and moved his stuff from there, I wouldnt want to buy a house with someone elses crap in, although as I have said on my post he hasn't been seen near the place, and he sent a letter to my solicitor stating he was upset because we hadnt told him we had left. What goes on in their heads beats me, I have told son not to expect to hear from him for christmas, I would be very surprised if he did try and contact son, afer all he hasn't spoke to or tried to contact him for 9 months now, cant see christmas changing that.