I am an American woman who lived my life as a single parent. For eighteen years, it was just me and my two children. I have one girl and one boy. After raising them alone for their entire lives, the time had come for them to depart and start their lives as college students. Feeling sad and very lonely with them being gone, I realized that I was rapidly sinking down the hole of “Empty Nest Syndrome.” My kids had been my entire life since they were born. The fact that I raised them all alone, no child support or, support whatsoever, left me to do it all alone. I don’t regret what I had to do, but I did what I had to do. They were my life.
One day, a friend called me and asked if I wanted join her and some others on a cruise going to Jamaica. I immediately said yes. I went to Jamaica and immediately after leaving the ship, I was met by a very handsome Jamaican man who did all he could to woo me. Before I knew it, I had some emotions and feelings awakened inside of me that had been buried for years. He completely swept me off of my feet. His charisma was overflowing and very charming.
Arriving back to the U.S., he would call me three, four, even five times a day just devouring me with his affection. He continued doing this until he convinced me to return to Jamaica. Going back to Jamaica, he did everything to persuade me that he was more than interested in me and in fact, as he stated, “falling in love with me.” From all of the affection being shown, I believed him. He eventually started calling me with outlandish reasons why he needed money from me and me believing him to be sincere and him having fallen in love with me, I accommodated his wish. I believed him and trusted him. After a vast amount of money had been wired to him, the reality surfaced that it was all a scam. He actually had a wife already living with him and living in Jamaica. The two of them were in on the scam together. The hurt and pain that I experienced was irrepressible.
Trying to release myself from the hurt of that relationship, I met a couple more men in Jamaica and became involved with them as well. Believing that the others may be different, but only to find out that they were the same, it was a pattern. They all only wanted money and a way out of Jamaica. The motive and goal was the same for all of them that I had met.