So how long does it take for people to stop referring to me as so and so’s ex-wife? In the Greek community? Never.

I really wish people would get over the fact that divorce happens. And had I not been classy about it, the truth would have been heard. I, however, allowed my ex to run around town and spread  his stories, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Greek people aren’t ridiculously ignorant; I was wrong.

It’s been three years. Three glorious years. And still, I have to deal with his presence in my life on a monthly basis. He’s worse than herpes. Not that I know what having herpes is like, but I hear it’s absolutely dreadful; almost as dreadful as my life with him, and the aftermath I STILL deal with three WHOLE years later.

You’d think to yourself, well you got out scott free. Thank goodness you didn’t have kids. And yes, thank the Lord for not making me stupid enough to even think of bringing a child into such a dysfunctional relationship. Thank the Lord that I was smart enough to get out of a relationship, with a man, who single handedly tried to destroy my life.

Should I have gotten married? No. But I did. And every day I have to forgive myself for being so naive, for staying in such a horrific relationship for so long, and for loving a monster. But guess what? It’s been three years. And guess what? I’m fucking fantastic. And guess what? Everyone has an ex. But guess what? We don’t have to be classified as someone’s ex. I have a name. It’s Eleni Giannousis. The woman who stood up for herself, took back her happiness, and hasn’t made a mockery of herself in the process.

But today, I’m pissed. I am pissed that I have to hear his name. I am pissed that people come to tell me his business. I am pissed that people think the only thing I am is HIS ex . Guess what? I was someone else’s ex before him, and I was someone else’s ex after him. After doing every single thing possible to rid him from my life, I should be free. But I’m not. And this annoys me greatly.

This is the angry rant of a woman branded with her ex-husband’s name, even though she never took it. I was over being divorced a long time ago. Society needs to catch up.

Now, I am just a single, thirty year old professional, who wants to be known simply as that. Stop keeping divorced women in the past and celebrate their present. Celebrate their future. The future they decided to create for themselves.