Up and down we go, where it stops, nobody knows

[SirPrizeMe]

Ha!
In Broken Tree's now-closed thread, Bomb said he read about MLC behavior in a book:

MLCers will typically make new friends that don't know you, the family, or the marital history. They feed their new "friends" their warped story of the marriage. Of course, the new friends will be sympathetic to the MLCers perspective since they really don't know any better.

The MLCer will be very protective of their new friends and will not want you or anyone else who might offer a different perspective to have contact with her friends. The last thing she wants is for her new friends to see that you're really a nice guy...not the monster she's been describing. It's just another dimension of the weirdness. Quite often, the new friends will be people you would never guess your spouse would associate with. And, quite often, they're people who are divorced, divorcing, single, or have troubled relationships.

EXACTLY. THIS DESCRIBES MY WIFE EXACTLY.

All of her friends now are actually from the "abused women's support group". And she has one new friend who is divorced.

Oh, gosh, it's almost comical.

The abused women's group gave her a checklist of things to look for to see if your husband is abusive. One is, "he denies it." Check. Another is "He asks for help from you in resolving the problem." Check. Another one I remember is, "he appears normal and cheerful to everyone else."

It's a complete farce!

It would be laughable if it weren't so damned sad and serious. This is not "I wrecked the car" or "I embarassed myself in front of the boss." This is "I wrecked my marriage and the lives of my 4 kids."

Sad.

How do these people keep up the farce for so long?