I Have Three Children From Three Women Outside My Marriage

I have three children from relationships outside of my marriage. They are 16, 13, and 9 years old, each with a different mother. My wife doesn’t know about them, but lately, I feel it’s time to come clean because I’ve been struggling with this secret and it’s taking a toll on me.

We’ve been married for seventeen years and have two wonderful daughters, ages 16 and 12. Our older daughter is the same age as my son from another relationship. Sometimes, when I think about it, I feel like keeping this secret forever might be easier.

The first child is with my ex-girlfriend. I had planned to marry her, but for various reasons, I chose my wife instead. Just three days before my wedding, my ex came to visit me at work, and we ended up having sex.

That’s when she became pregnant, so my son is three months older than my child with my wife. Since our marriage was still new, I kept it a secret. I rented an apartment for my ex to live in with our child and visited them occasionally.

My second child is from a woman I dated in university, and the third is with my wife’s friend, who is the main problem now. She’s the reason I haven’t confessed to my wife. She’s a close friend of hers and even visits us with the child. My wife believes the child’s father is abroad, as that’s what her friend has told her.

She even drops him off with us for days at a time while she travels. My wife adores the boy and treats him like her own.

Since she doesn’t have a son, she enjoys having him around. The boy carries my surname because I named him, yet everyone except the mother and I believes it’s just a coincidence.

Every morning, these thoughts consume my mind. I have money, but I can’t do the things I want to because I’m overwhelmed with responsibilities.

I send at least GH¢5000.00 to each of the women every month, along with covering various other expenses. My wife thinks I’m either mismanaging our finances or hiding something from her.

She knows how much my business is worth and how wealthy we should be by now, and it’s starting to worry her. I have so many unfinished projects, and the stress is mounting. But my biggest concern is my wife’s friend. If I were to confess to my wife, I feel like all of this could finally end.

This woman constantly demands money from me as if it’s nothing. I can’t complain, though, because she threatens to expose our secret if I do.

I’ve bought her three cars, while my wife still only has one. She lives in an apartment that’s bigger than the one my family and I call home. I know I need to come clean to my wife, but I just don’t know how. I’m at a loss for how to explain everything to the woman I love.