Narcissistic Dating, and Cowgirls

My attorney has advised me to make it very, very clear that the content of this blog contains my personal thoughts and opinions only. Any similarities between what I post here and real people or real events is mere circumstance. No seriously, just the ramblings, warnings and mere opinions of a badly burned lover.....

I met her at a horse show.
A chance encounter really.
I has a colicing horse, she had Banamine.

I mentioned contacting another woman, who happened to be her ex-girlfriend, about riding lessons because after loosing 40 pounds this year because I wanted to learn to lope a horse.

She was more than happy to give me the lessons instead.  I went to her house for my riding lessons, and she portrayed being this positive person who was so badly abused by her ex-girlfriend, and I bought into it.  We then started dating and for a bit, it was great.  She was funny, happy, had this smile that could light up my soul, 2 great children, and seemed so genuine.  We started with the "I love you's" and talks about the future together.  Then, several weeks into the relationship, shit got real.

Suddenly, things that had been okay were no longer okay and I was being asked to prove myself over and over again.  I was being forced to prove my integrity because she kept saying things like: "If you have nothing to hide, you hide nothing!" or "If you can't prove it, then your lying and I want nothing to do with you."  She had this way of taking something that was her fault, something where I knew I was not in the wrong, and twisting it around and around until I was sure it was my idea.  Like I was the crazy one.

Hi, my name is Emily.  I'm afraid I dated a narcissistic sociopath.

Sociopaths are masters at taking your words and turning them back on you as if you were the crazy one.  When confronted by a lie, they have this innate ability to make you question yourself.  This is a famous characteristic called deflection or manipulation.  They do this because where we all know they lie, cheat, steal, emotionally, physically & financially abuse, they will never admit to that.  They have to take the accountability off of themselves by deflecting your accusations, manipulating your words, and twisting the truth back to you!

Even armed with "evidence" that you are correct, via text or whatnot, the narcissistic sociopath will stare straight at the evidence and deflect your words right back on you!  And God forbid you push for the truth, they then manipulate, twist your words and talk in circles so long that you actually believe their lies.  And let me tell you, there is multiple layers of lies!  This is because it goes against every grain in their body to admit a fault, to a lie, or to a defeat.  They just lie on top of lie, on top of lie.  Like a giant narcissistic sandwich!  And their innocent victim is nothing but a blob of mustard, surrounded by bread and stuck in the middle.....

Pony Girl had text messages on her phone talking to Ex-girlfriend about me:

"I know Emily is not right for me, but she is right for my kids."
"Emily is not even my body type."

I would try to talk to her about it stating that if she didn't like me, I would go, explaining I was not dating her kids, I was dating her.  She would insist: "Oh, you are taking things so personal.  I don't know what I meant by that."  And the next thing you know, after hours of talking in a circle, she would twist it around to make me believe she really did love me, I was a horrible person for not trusting her and I would think in my head: "Wow, I just really read a lot into that text message!"  Um, NOOO!

If you are dating a narcissist or a sociopath, you need to believe your evidence.  You need to hold onto the fact it is the truth.  Do NOT delude yourself into believing your sociopath unless they admit to your evidence.  And do not drop it!  I was guilty, time and time, of this.  We would fight, it would be hours of talking, and the next thing you know I would be holding her on my chest, while she cried, telling her how it would be okay, and I would apologize over and over again.  I now know, I was enabling her to continue the lies, manipulation and deflection.  She needed to be accountable for her words, actions and truth.

Sadly, I saw the same pattern in text messages with her ex-girlfriend.  The ex-girlfriend would be steadfast in her conviction that Pony Girl was "nothing but drama".  She wanted "nothing to do with her" and "her business was better off without her".  And then before you knew it, Pony Girl would have that poor woman eating out of her hand again.  (I can only hope that Ex-Girlfriend came to her senses again later...)  After reading these text messages and watching video I realized that where it takes two people to Tango, Ex-girlfriend was being put through the wringer, and it dawned on me that where Pony Girl had worked super hard to make everyone in her camp believe Ex-Girlfriend was this horribly abusive monster, it's my opinion that most of that was likely lies and bull shit.  Ex-Girlfreind was being made to grovel and "fight for her relationship" just like I was made to.

If you are reading this, are patiently suffering through the hell I just walked through, and your sociopath has not put you in the loony bin with their antics, my advice to you would be this.  First, go pour yourself a glass of wine.  (You deserve it!)  And then take your facts and evidence, make yourself believe again, remember you are not dealing with a normal, truthful, emotionally available individual, and run to the nearest available exit as soon as the crazy train stops.  Because let me tell you, the next step is NOT pretty.  Once a sociopath realizes you are on to them, they just go further into the control factor, trying harder with manipulation and deflection and you will be jumping through even more hoops than you ever have before.

At this point for me it was submitting all my cell phone usage reports and bills.  (I never did figure out what she was looking for.  Someone close to her said:  "Nothing.  She is looking for nothing.  This is what she does.")  I now know this was just a way to control me.

I was not allowed to attend holidays with my family, and when I went to my parents house briefly to drop my daughter off and to visit my nephews, I was accused of lying and was kicked out of her house.  She knew I hated when she accused me of lying, and she did this as a way of controlling me.

I was required to submit medical records for a medical diagnosis my child had 2 years prior.  And when I submitted them  to her, she didn't believe me stating that "Even though it was a hard copy of the medical chart, she needed to do research to see if the therapist was real."  WHAT?!  I didn't even know why this information was pertinent to our relationship.  I now know, it wasn't.  This was just a form of control.

To my friends who tried and tried to get me to run away from this, and the friends who tried to drag me away from this, thank you.  I now see what you saw, and you are right.  This appears to be her true character and I don't surround myself with people like her.  I am sorry you had to witness me walk through this, but thank you for your kindness, listening to me cry and allowing me to heal.  You know I grieve as big as I love, and I love big.

Lastly, Pony Girl if you are reading this I pray for you.  You clearly need to take an honest inventory and work on yourself.  And when you are being honest with yourself, if that ever happens, I hope you realize you gave up someone who was honest, loyal, safe, supportive of you and your barn, and who loved you and your children unconditionally.  A woman who just wanted those same things from you in return.....  And when you read this and your first instinct it to jump and say: " I was honest 100% of the time!"  I want you to stop, take a deep breath, and know I know so much more about you now then I did before and you were far from being the honest person you swore you were.  You need to take ownership of your shit.  Let it start here.......