Her mother and father were from Germany. They were obsessed with their daughter marrying a rich American. While I was a college graduate with an engineering degree, I wasn't a business owner so I was nothing. Her family was friends with a local business owner and the son was in line to inherit dads successful business. They were quite wealthy.

Her family made our lives a living hell. We put up with it for years and thought they'd eventually come around but they didn't and it just got worse. They made up all sorts of lies about me, claiming I was unfaithful, gay, a thief, etc. etc. they ridiculed her endlessly telling her she needed a rich man because she was too dumb to ever be successful, etc. etc. It eventually wore us down. We finally got to the point that we decided to give them what they wanted and see each other secretly. Which we did for a while until they began following her endlessly.

She was pressured into marrying the rich guy, his father died he inherited the business and he promptly bankrupted it. He was in out our of jobs over the years. She became a real estate agent which is what she is today. Meanwhile, I worked my way up to being technical director, so I have a very comfortable life and my wife doesn't have to work but she chooses to do so.

I spoke to her about two years ago and the happy always smiling joking woman I knew is gone, she only smiled a couple times during the conversation and it's clear she's not happy. Her efforts to seem happy were labored.

It's quite sad actually and life isn't like in the movies.