Dear Abby: Wife’s online relationships blossom as marriage dies

Dear Abby: I have been married for 37 years to an alcoholic. He is not verbally or physically abusive.

I have been online talking to three men. I think one of them is obsessed with me, and they all say they love me. I know this isn’t going anywhere, but why am I doing this? I don’t know these men at all. I don’t see them in person. Two are supposedly on a ship; the other is in the Army. They don’t know where I live. I have told them I’m older than they are; I’m 66. (They are 37, 47 and 57.)

I know a person can feel alone in a marriage. That’s how I felt for years. Now I just feel like we’re roommates. I’d appreciate any insight you might have about why I’m doing this.

— Living a Soap Opera

Dear Living: I suspect you engage in these online relationships because you are lonely and seeking validation that you aren’t receiving from your husband. It is also probably exciting to feel you are attractive to men after living with someone who is uninterested and unresponsive for so many years. It’s sad that you have had to resort to emotional affairs to supply what is missing in your marriage.