I know I’m naive. I had a very sheltered upbringing, and I also struggle with Borderline Personality Disorder. I’ve had a hard time finding love, and I’ve gotten my heart broken so many times. Also, I’ve realized how empty my life is. Even though I live in an upper middle class home, I just feel like no one will ever truly accept or love me. A few months ago on my other Reddit account, a 37 year old man from Saudi Arabia messaged me. He saw a picture of me on Reddit and thought I was beautiful, and asked me to be his wife. I hadn’t formally said yes, but we were discussing our lives in Saudi Arabia. He already has one wife, and a son. I’m 22, and his son is 18. His wife is 27, and is infertile. His son was the result of a brief fling he had while on a trip to Russia. His son’s mother gave up parental custody, and the son lives in Saudi Arabia with him. My fiance also told me that I’m expected to be an English tutor for his son, and that his son will love me. He said I didn’t have to convert to Islam if I didn’t want to; a lot of his friends have second and third American or European wives. I wouldn’t have to work, and the first wife and I would divide household chores.
Even though we had only spoken for a few days, things were getting serious. He told his wife about me, and he was telling me how many children he wanted. Even though I’m above average looking, I find it hard to meet people, and I just wanted to find love. I know I’m stupid. I know. I regret ever even entertaining the idea of marrying him. But the way he was describing everything sounded so nice. I saw it as an opportunity at being reborn. I could start everything anew. New country, new friends, new me. Despite saying that I didn’t have to convert, I wanted to because I’ve always found Islam beautiful. Not to mention, as I was going to be “reborn”, I might as well have a new Arabic name. I’m Hispanic, so I didn’t really have much of a grasp on the Middle East and the culture. I started researching Saudi Arabia and Islam. He kept insisting that his first wife and I would share a house (one of the reasons why I think he was trying to traffic me, as if he were truly wealthy, he wouldn’t have us share). However with more research, I read that two wives sharing a home is a no-no. I kept asking him if he could give me my own home, even if it’s smaller. He said that I could stay in the guest house, but some nights, he wants to stay at his first wife’s house, and the three of us could sleep in the same bed. I knew the implications behind that, so I refused. He blocked me the next day.