He lies, cheats, and steals ... her heart

I dated a man two years ago who lied to me about who he was.

When I learned the truth about him, he stole my car and disappeared.

Some months later, he returned. He was apologetic and wanted to be back in the relationship, but I caught him lying a few more times. Even though we weren’t seeing each other like a regular couple, he cheated on me.

Now he is in jail and he needs me to help him.

He professes to be in love with me, says that he won’t cheat again and swears he will be true to me, but there is another woman he knows who is in love with him. He states that he does not love her in the way that he loves me. He says that she is like family. She is helping him out with legal issues. I know for a fact that he doesn’t love her in a romantic way.

The problem is, she has told me that she loves him. She knows that he won’t love her the way she expects him to, but she still does things for him.

This makes me feel like I’m not doing enough for him, and that at some point she might win him over. He recently introduced me to his mother, which makes me think that he might actually be sincere this time, but I don’t know how to handle this other relationship.

I would love for us to coexist happily, with her as a friend, but she feels threatened by me and does not wish to have any relationship with me, other than to communicate his messages to me about how to help in resolving his legal issues.

How would you advise me to deal with this issue? — Once and Future

Girlfriend

First, a quick question for you: What kind of sneakers do you have? My cursory research shows that Nike and Adidas are both good choices for super-fast footwear.

My advice is for you to lace up your fastest track shoes and run as fast and as far away from this mess as you can. If you are feeling extra-generous, you might grab your guy’s other girlfriend and pull a Thelma and Louise. But please — at the very least, save yourself.

Before you go, take a long look in the mirror, and tell yourself that you deserve much, much better. And then behave as if this is true.

The man you are so concerned about is (by your account) a liar, a cheater, a manipulator, and a convicted criminal. He is successfully playing you from his jail cell.

A man I once knew declared, very confidently, that, “Any man can get any woman.” I argued passionately that this was not true. Please, don’t prove him right.

Contact Amy Dickinson via email at askamy@ tribpub.com.

Amy Dickinson