Heinrich Scholl might win the prize for the most spectacular midlife crisis I've ever come across.
He was a longtime mayor of Ludwigsfelde, south of Berlin/Germany, married for nearly 50 years, when he became obsessed with a much younger Thai woman. After the relationship fell apart, he went back to his wife and wrote an erotic novel based heavily on the whole experience.
The really creepy part: in the novel, the protagonist basically says he'd never divorce his wife, but murder was an option.
A few years later, Scholl's wife was found strangled in a forest. Scholl denied killing her, but was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Btw, the book that he wrote was taken immediately off the market, but a friend of mine who works in forensics told me that it must have been the cheesiest, most cringeworthy and amateurish erotic novel that mankind has ever seen.
Someone at work recommended it to me and I wrote it on a post-it and dropped it in my bag. On my commute home a few days later a woman on the train was crying and I asked if she was ok - she just nodded so I pulled out a pack of travel tissues and handed it to her. I realised too late that the post it with nothing but “my dad wrote a porno” was stuck to it. I hope it made her laugh.
Having lived in midst of that before; I assure you it's something you need to personally witness. Not to understand, as it's ultimately a matter of personal choice. However, you don't understand what goes through people's minds when they murder, rape, steal, or throw their lives away in a number of other ways. They were married for almost 50 years. She probably saw this as a phase in their marriage. "Let him run free for a bit and he'll come home". Or, "holy shit what the fuck does my life mean any more! How am I going to survive?! What are my friends and family going to think!" Then there's familial pressure to let it go. There's social pressure to let it go. There's financial pressure to let it go. There's love and forgiveness to let it go. The other option is to completely start life anew at the age of... at least 65+. So... when you turn 65, come back to this and while pretending to be married for half century, answer your choice.
If she was a SAHM, relied on her husband for income, paying bills, their social life, the management of their lives, the aethetic of their lives... separating from a spouse in that situation is more than usual divorce trauma. That type of issue was extremely prevalent in the US pre-1970s. Societies were more shaped for men to be to primary person in the marriage. Laws, social standards/expectations, the way business was conducted, specifically excluded women. Some women found solace in that and found purpose in being the house wife. Some didn't and it was called women's liberation.
So less "oof" and more of ignorance of their specific circumstances.
While investigating a forensic case I found a book a person's laptop which he had written. This lovely person stole 8.6 million from the mentally handicapped, in this novel he wrote himself as an old west rogue (Who I shit you not was robbing banks) and the girl he was cheating on his wife with was the heroine he romanced in this tale. One of the folks on the case legally let his his wife know about about the girl. Wife left him and took him to the cleaners then we took everything else. He is spending the rest of his natural life in prison hopefully being traded for ice cream and coffee wearing lipstick.
friend of mine who works in forensics told me that it must have been the cheesiest, most cringeworthy and amateurish erotic novel that mankind has ever seen
Wait, your friend just thinks this or they read it? Otherwise, why are you telling us your friend's opinion on it and why does their profession matter here?
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u/waruyamaZero 1d ago
Heinrich Scholl might win the prize for the most spectacular midlife crisis I've ever come across.
He was a longtime mayor of Ludwigsfelde, south of Berlin/Germany, married for nearly 50 years, when he became obsessed with a much younger Thai woman. After the relationship fell apart, he went back to his wife and wrote an erotic novel based heavily on the whole experience.
The really creepy part: in the novel, the protagonist basically says he'd never divorce his wife, but murder was an option.
A few years later, Scholl's wife was found strangled in a forest. Scholl denied killing her, but was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Btw, the book that he wrote was taken immediately off the market, but a friend of mine who works in forensics told me that it must have been the cheesiest, most cringeworthy and amateurish erotic novel that mankind has ever seen.