Teresa Wanza, opened up about her heartbreaking experience discovering that her husband had secretly married another woman, leading her into depression and contemplating suicide.
Wanza revealed that she and her husband met and fell in love while they were both in university, and by the time they were graduating, they had a child together. When they got married, her husband had nothing, but they worked hard together to build a good life for themselves.
“We met in campus and fell in love. By the time I was graduating, I was already a mother. We moved in together and later got married. With a bright future ahead of us, we worked hard to realise our goals.” She said.
However, things changed when her husband landed a good job in one of the government institutions and they were able to move from the slum they were living in to a gated estate. They were even able to own a few cars. According to Wanza, this is when her husband's character changed.
“That wasn’t all, we were able to own a few cars also, and this changed my husband. The man who used to come home early would come back past midnight and drunk, I tried as much as I could but there was absolutely no concrete reason. In that process of on and off, I one day overheard him making an inquiry on the phone about a CT scan or ultrasound. At the time I wasn’t pregnant or planning to be. So I got curious and wanted to know for whom the scan was being organized."
Wanza tried to find out more information about her husband's behavior, but she was met with resistance from his close friends and relatives. However, during a family gathering, one of his friend's girlfriends asked how comfortable Wanza was with a co-wife. When she confronted her husband about it, he admitted to having two other wives and brought another woman to the meeting, whom he introduced as his third wife.
Wanza was devastated and felt like her world had fallen apart. Despite escalating the matter to his parents, who said polygamy was allowed in their community, she decided to leave the marriage. However, starting from scratch wasn't easy, and Wanza sank into depression. She even tried to commit suicide three times before seeking help from a counselor.
"I really struggled to move on, especially when I reflected on the hurdles we faced before succeeding. But I thank God I’m now okay and able to share without feeling hurt," she said.
Wanza advised other women to prioritize their mental health in any relationship and not to feel pressured to stay in a situation that is harming them. "Your mental health is important, never kill yourself or get mentally unstable just because of love. If you feel like things are not working out completely just walk away. There are many people who will love you unconditionally. Personally, I moved on and I’m happy with my current relationship,” she said.
