A scenario such as this came into my life, not directly, however I played a role in helping my friend who lost his wife to his best friend at the time, as a result of manipulation and blind trust. This is not a made up story for the purposes of producing an article, I simply felt compelled to share this story so others can take measures not to fall into the same trap.

Steve and Michelle met when they were both 17 years old and went on to marry forging a 14 year relationship. Steve was Michelle's first real boyfriend and also her first sexual partner. She had never been involved in dating other singles until Steve come along. Steve and Michelle were like 2 peas in a pod and became as one making their relationship the envy of all their mutual friends, of which there were many including myself. After leaving school, Steve, Michelle and our various friends would regularly socialize whether it be clubbing, bars or visiting friends. There was never any sign of mis-trust or infidelity between Steve and Michelle and their bond seem to get tighter as the years went on. Throughout the years their friends were dating other singles and were experimenting in the singles scene as most young people do. Steve and Michelle were content, they has found their respective soul mates.

Tony, a mutual friend of ours and right from the start, was best friends with Steve and also fairly close to Michelle. Tony held some sort of influence over the pair which grew as time progressed. Tony was rarely known to be dating other singles, instead the 3 of them would go everywhere together and virtually lived in each others pockets. No-one really ever seriously suspected that anything romantic would ever eventuate between Tony and Michelle and the 3 way bond was just excepted by their friends as the norm. No-one could ever conceive (including myself) that such a betrayal would ever be possible considering how close Steve and Tony were.

Towards the end of Steve and Michelle's marriage, Tony and Michelle became very close friends which involved shopping together and other girly type activities like taking in a movie (without Steve) however Steve didn't mind he was happy for his wife and best friend to have found friendships that made them happy. So close was Tony entrenched in their lives, he seized on this opportunity and gave Michelle all the things that he knew were lacking in her life and proceeded to fill the gaps. It was at this stage (later determined) an affair was imminent. Even at that point though, the thought of betrayal was never under consideration, hence the manipulating influence Tony had over the pair. I for one can verify that Steve is no fool, is highly intelligent and is very successful in other areas of his life. However he was no match for the deceit and under handed blow his best mate was about to land on him.

For the next few months Steve and Michelle's relationship began to crumble as Tony now had Michelle in his web but it was all the while still a very big secret. The day Steve and Michelle split, Michelle broke off their marriage and put her decision down to the fact that they were no longer getting along and made no mention of the fact the she and Tony had calculated the outcome for many months.

It was at this point that Steve, Michelle and Tony's friends started putting the pieces together however Steve was still blind to the real reason Michelle ended things. After the split, Tony continued to be friends with Steve and would flatly deny any rumors of his involvement with Michelle, which Steve, as always, blindly took his word placing unrelenting trust in his best friend. Over the next month or so Tony proceeded to twist the knife by concocting untrue stories about Steve to further re-assure Michelle that she had done the right thing by leaving her husband for him. No-one is really sure just how long Tony had his sights set on Michelle, although alarm bells should have been raised due to the fact that Tony refrained from dating other people and didn't seem to actively pursue opportunities for dating other singles.

As there were so many mutual friends, the truth was bound to come out. So I set upon gathering the evidence to set Steve straight once and for all, and set him straight I did. There were also many lost mutual friendships as a result of Tony's betrayal and show's that some people will stop at nothing to satisfy their own desires and fantasies.