Reddit Stories - BETRAYED My Wife ESCAPED To Sweden With Our Kids, But My Cunning STRATEGY Forced Her Return To The Us

Episode Date: June 27, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #relationships #family #betrayal #divorce #parentingSummary: A man's wife escapes to Sweden with their kids, but his cunning strategy forces her return to the US. The story unfolds with betrayal, escape, and a clever plan to reunite the family.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, relationships, family, betrayal, divorce, parenting, Sweden, escape, cunning strategy, reunite, family drama, international, custody battle, marriage, secrets, manipulation, redemptionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse was unfaithful and escaped to Norway with our children. Therefore, I employed a cunning strategy to bring her back to America, hoping to seek retribution. However, a DNA test uncovered the truth. Only one child was mine. Buckle up, because this is going to be a very long one. I, 37M, have been married to my wife, 36F, for 11 years, and we have been. have two children together, a three-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy, and they are honestly

my entire world. She and I met as co-workers all those years back when we were both working at a retail store. Here's the thing, when my first son was born, my mother came over to see the baby and she said the baby didn't look like either of us. She didn't say this publicly. To be honest, when they are newborns, I have never been able to tell whose features the kid is because I feel like the faces haven't reached any degree of resemblance, but it seems a lot of older relatives around me have always been able to discern similarities even in a baby's face. So, I couldn't see it myself, but my mother has always been a troublemaker so I really didn't pay it much mind. I was in love with my child and way too much to let her assumptions sway me. Now, the real issue started

when I saw a notification on my wife's phone from someone called Charlie. It was just saved as Charlie, we actually both knew a Charlie who was the brother of one of our co-workers from way back. I wasn't sure it was the same Charlie and I couldn't do any digging seeing as she was in the room with me, but the message notification said I'll remember last night for a long time. And I couldn't see the rest of it. It didn't sound right to me though because she was supposed to be out watching a movie with her girls. Obviously, this made me incredibly suspicious. It just didn't sound right to me and when I got the chance,

I made sure to look through her phone. I went to the chat with Charlie and the first thing I did was to check the profile picture. Yep, it was the same Charlie we knew from back then. He was in the store for like half the day back then, so I couldn't forget the face, though he was clearly a little older here. I hadn't kept up with him and I honestly didn't think that she had either. The entire situation was off. Honestly, that was when I started to get scared of what I would find.

in the messages and there was a little voice telling me to put the phone down and forget about it. But there was an even bigger voice telling me not to be a coward and just check it, so I did that. Well, that right there was enough to give me the confirmation that I was looking for. It was clear that they had slept with each other the previous night so she had lied to my face and left the house for that sole purpose. It's so hard to explain how I felt catching my wife in a lie like that, and realizing that she was cheating on me. In fact, the worst thought of all was the fact that I had no idea whatsoever regarding how long she had been cheating on me. Had it been since we were dating and this Charlie guy

was in the store? Had it started a week ago? Or maybe they had been meeting up regularly for every single year that we had been married? Honestly, it was driving me insane. I knew that I was going to confront her, but I honestly had no idea exactly how I was going to do that. The first thing I did was to take photo evidence and screenshots of the chat, which I sent to myself, because I didn't want there to be any space whatsoever for her to attempt to deny this. It would piss me off immensely if she tried that. When she got back home, I didn't say anything because I honestly struggled with putting all my thoughts together. I wanted to consider every single angle and even if I was going to confront her and question her, I wanted to make sure that I asked everything that I could so that I could catch her and a lie if she tried. That first day went by without me saying anything, but the next day didn't

because at that point, I was ready for the fireworks that were about to occur. I started by asking her whether she had heard from Charlie in a bit. She couldn't hide the shock on her face in time, but she still tried to play dumb. She asked, who's Charlie? I reminded her that he was our co-worker's brother and then she hit me with a prolonged o. She didn't answer my initial. She didn't question though, so I asked again. Have you heard from Charlie recently? Now, this was the place where I'd be able to catch her in a bald-faced lie and I think she was mentally weighing whether I was somehow asking coincidentally or whether I knew something already. There was an obvious silence before she finally spoke. Oh no, I haven't heard from him in ages. I think my expression changed

and she was smart enough to realize I wasn't asking out of the blue. She must have not known that I knew something. She did a complete 180. Actually, I think so. I think we might have spoken at some point recently. Ah, why didn't you tell me? We haven't heard from him in ages. How is he doing? He's good, I guess. It's not like we talk like every day or something, so I really wouldn't be able to give you a solid answer. She shrugged her shoulders. You're right. I guess I'll reach out to him. Do you think that's a good idea? Me and him could catch up on everything that's happened.

I think that sounds good. I noticed she seemed to freeze after I said this, so I asked her what was wrong, in a tone with a knowing edge to it. I didn't want to, but somehow, I started to chuckle at that point, and shake my head. I know. You know what? She almost sounded angry as she said that. What do you know? I know about you and Charlie, quite obviously. And I beg you not to act like I don't know what I'm talking about because you know I do. Let's not do that song and dance because it's bound to make me very, very mad. She was just quiet for a long time right there before she started to cry. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. I've seen her cry before, but it has never made me as mad as this time did.

Honestly, I felt infuriated at that very moment because she didn't think of it as something worth tearing over when she was getting drilled by Charlie, but I was supposed to believe that her getting caught was this traumatic. I was pissed off, honestly. Eventually, she looked up, her eyes red and wet, and she told me how sorry she was. She said that it only happened once and it was a huge mistake and she regretted it immediately after it happened. She claimed she was vulnerable and she made it.

made the worst decision she could have made. I don't know why, but I just felt like she was lying about them having only slept together once. I decided to bluff confidently, so I told her right to her face that I knew it wasn't just once. I told her to tell the truth and the whole truth because I already knew everything. I told her that Charlie's brother, our former coworker, had confessed the entire thing to me. That was when she started weeping all over again, and this time, it was a little bit of

even louder and even more annoying. I said, tell me the truth. That was when she claimed that she had slept with him a few times, but not more than ten times. I tried to remain cool, but somehow I picked up a ceramic ornament that was on the table between us and chucked it at a wall. Do you know how crazy it is for someone to try and minimize their cheating by saying it happened less than ten times? I couldn't believe it. I told her, I want a divorce. And I stood up to leave the room. But before I did, I told her one last thing, which was that I was going to take our kids for a paternity test and that was non-negotiable. She looked like she was losing her mind and I had never seen her looking that distraught before.

I didn't care, though I was a bit worried she might do something very crazy. I called my kids and told them to let us go out for ice cream real quick. It was late, but not too late, and I really needed to make sure she'd get her shes. together before I came back. I could handle whatever craziness she had to throw, but I didn't want my boys to have to see their mom in a very worrying state. I wasn't pitying her, I was just trying to protect my sons. She didn't seem to worry as I took them out. I went back to her as my kids stood in the doorway, and I whispered to her to get herself together before I came back in an hour. After that, I turned back and walked out with them. True to my word,

I took my sons out for some ice cream, which admittedly was very enjoyable. It was kind of like a little peace and happiness in the midst of darkness. I love my children as much as any parent ever should and they can always make my days brighter. The only thing was I kept having this gnawing feeling in my head that these kids that I was having fun with might not be mine. Do you know how painful that is? I have had these children in my life for a long time. I just had to keep hoping, though. I had to just keep hoping that my kids would be mine,

and as much as I never wanted them to grow up in a broken home, it was better for them to have a mother and a father, right? Because I really didn't know if I could stay in their lives if I found out they weren't mine. You might condemn me for saying that, but honestly, it's a lot easier said than done. I would constantly be reminded that they came from my wife's infidelity, and I don't think they deserve to have me see them like that.

that. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself here. My wife and I kept living in the same house after that happened and we must have not said more than 10 sentences to each other throughout that week. I was sleeping on the couch and if you're wondering why I didn't kick her out, it was because I really felt like it wasn't time to worry my sons. Eventually, they'd have to know what was going on, but I was really trying to postpone things. At the end of that week, I served her with divorce papers. Again, she started crying and I started to wonder whether all her tears were genuine or whether she just couldn't handle the consequences of her actions.

I told her that she should not make the process hard. She should simply sign it. And in the process of the divorce proceedings would get a legally mandated paternity test. I told her that there was nothing to worry about if she knew that she hadn't been unfaithful. I mean, that's basic, isn't it? So, what I am about to say is where this whole debacle is at right now and it's the reason why I'm writing this post in the first place, because I really didn't think there was anything I'd need to worry myself with over a simple divorce.

I could have handled it, but now, with the recent complication, I really need help. Leaving for work one day, my wife told me that she wasn't feeling too well and she wasn't going to be going to work. She looked like she had spent the whole night crying, but I really didn't care. I left the house and left her at home with our sons. I mean, was there really anything that I needed to worry about? It was a weekend and they could spend the day with their cheating mother instead of needing to go to a cousin's place. Apparently, there was a lot I needed to worry about. By the time I got back home, I could instantly tell something was wrong by how quiet the house was. I called out for my wife and then my sons, but there was no response at all.

Needless to say, that was worrying, because as far as I knew, there was nowhere they should have been that late at night. I went straight to my son's room and I instantly knew something was wrong. While the room wasn't cleaned out, it was much emptier. I looked in the closet and I saw that a lot of the clothes there were gone. That was when I panicked. I ran to a our room and checked the closet and saw that a lot of my wife's clothes were gone as well. There were suitcases missing that was when it all made sense to me. She had basically kidnapped my children. Maybe there was some kind of more reasonable explanation I would later come across, but that seemed unlikely. The fact they were all not at home and there were a few

less suitcases and less clothes made it clear that there was no regular explanation for anything. I checked my phone and I didn't see any messages or calls from her, so it was clear that she didn't want me to know what she had done. Yep, my wife had somehow kidnapped my children and I had no idea. I don't even know how to describe what I was feeling at that moment, because it was a mix of emotions. I was worried, panicked, furious, scared, and confused. I called as many people as I could think of, but not a single one of them had heard from my wife, or at least. so they said. I called relatives in the city in the ones I knew in nearby cities, I called her friends, I even called some of her co-workers. I had no idea where she was and she wasn't

picking up her calls. I spent two full days without knowing where she was. I knew my sons weren't in danger because it seemed like a very intentional decision. But after those two days, I was ready to call the police because I needed to know where that woman had taken my children. I knew involving the authorities right away would be a very stressful process for me. So I made one last ditch effort to ask the people closest to her. One of her best friends had heard from her but had no idea where she was. However, it was calling her parents one last time that finally clued me in as to where she had gone. She had taken my children to her parents' place in Sweden.

Yep, she flew my children straight out of the country. At this point, there was no mystery as to the emotion that I was feeling because I knew it was straight rage. I don't think that I've ever felt that angry in my life and there was no outlet for it because that woman still wasn't picking up my calls. I felt like breaking things and throwing things and screaming at somebody, but I just end up destroying the house and screaming at the first person to even mildly frustrate me. So, this is where things are up to date. My wife is in another country with my sons, refuses to pick up my calls, and I don't even know exactly where her parents live in Sweden since I've never been there. Of course, I'm sure I could go through that effort of forcing her folks to tell me but will I forcibly take my children back to the US? What exactly would be my plan of action if I were to take the time off to fly there and do that?

I know for a fact I can locate her and my sons if I really want to, but I need to know what I do if I were. were to do that. I'm so confused as to what to do, and that's where I need all of you to help me out. First off, I know that there has to be some legal thing where she can't simply take our children, who we have joint custody of, out of the country. It doesn't work like that and I know that I'd love it if some of you, who might have more legal knowledge, could help me figure out what I'm supposed to do. Thank you. Edit, well, she's finally reached out to me and I am not proud of how I'm completely lost my marble shouting at her. I needed to let loose on her and I finally got the outlet. I made sure not to waste it. I think I must have screamed and shouted for like 10

minutes straight. Once I was done, there was silence for like half a minute and she finally claimed that she had only taken the kids to visit. I told her right there that she was a liar with a lot of expletives added in. Like how stupid does she think that I am? She took our kids to visit our parents without telling me. Act for two people, bought two plane tickets, vanished from the house, flew off to another continent, and completely ghosted me for almost a week. She tried to gaslight me, not very well, but she forgot. At that point, I just hung up on her.

I've been in a foul mood ever since. Edit 2, you guys are the absolute best. Someone in the comments mentioned all about international child a bird. and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. That answered a whole lot of my questions regarding the legal aspects of trying to get children back when he's been taken to another country. I'm ready to reach out to a lawyer to do what's necessary to get my kids back. And it'll be my pleasure to get her put behind bars for this whole thing.

I'll keep you all updated on how things go. Update 1. Hey everyone, I am back now with a huge update on the entire situation with my wife who abducted my children and ran away to Sweden. Not only did she not have my consent to do this, but she didn't even bother asking me, so it's not like she told me and I refused to give her permission. She just up and left with them sneakily when I was out at work. Then, she refused to contact me for nearly a week which was extremely infuriating for me. Now, I contacted a lawyer, different from my divorce lawyer, to help me out with getting my children

back. I made that decision, thanks to one of the commenters on my previous post who clued me in on a certain international treaty related to child abduction and I was able to make a lot of progress, thanks to that. That treaty is called the Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction and I'll try my best to break down the major aspects of it to you all. Remember, I am not legally educated, so I'm just a layperson trying to explain things. In the case of a parent taking a child to another state without permission that can classify as abduction or kidnapping, and with the police on your side, it should be relatively easy to get things sorted out because those police operate within the entire country. But what if the child is taken outside the country? American police won't be able to help directly, so that's the point of the international treaty.

It takes note of where the child usually lives, their habitual residence, and whether they were wrongfully removed. In the case of my children, their habitual residence was obviously in the U.S. and it was very easy to establish that they was wrongfully removed. This is where my lawyer was able to come in extremely helpful for me. He explained the theory to me and I've explained it to you all as best as I understood it. After this point was where he went into doing his job which involved filing something to the Hague Convention, contacting local authorities, and a bunch of other things. I honestly didn't care to figure out the fine details since I knew that he would handle the actual procedure. I made it very clear to my wife that I had called the police on her and gotten a lawyer to help me out with the process of getting my son back, but she didn't seem phased. Her response was that she wasn't going to sit back and let me break the family, which I found to be very stupid.

After all, running to another country with our sons was breaking the family in its own way. However, I knew anyway that her excuse was it was obvious to me that she was scared of what I was going to find with the threat of a paternity test. At least, that was my conclusion in all of this. My lawyer sent a notice to her and her parents in Sweden, informing her of the consequences. of not bringing the children back. Sure, it'd be easy enough to get my sons returned with the help of the That Hague Treaty and the police over there, but the lawyer said it would be a good idea to make her aware of how it could impact her own life, especially in a criminal sense.

Part of me wanted her to give in to the notice and come back so that things could be done as peacefully and easily as possible, but a darker part of me wanted her to continue to be stubborn so I could be sure she'd end up behind bars at the end of it all. The difference in a notice sent to her parents was that it contained the same essential info, but also went to talk about how they were essentially acting as accomplices to the abduction. The notice gave her a week for my son's return to their home in the United States. Well, let me just jump forward and tell you guys how the good stuff went down. Exactly a week later, my parents-in-law called me over the phone. They went through some basic pleasantries at first, but it became clear they were finding it hard to say what they wanted to say.

Eventually, after way too many awkward silences, they finally admitted that they didn't agree with the path of action that she was taking and they tried to appeal to her to come back, but she didn't listen. They were pleading with me to be more patient with her, that they'd keep trying to get her to listen and do the right thing, but I told them that I wasn't going to do anything that my lawyer didn't advise. It was already past the week we had given her, so at that point, she deserved whatever came her way. After that point, she completely refused to answer any of my calls, though her parents still did. However, the entire thing was genuinely frustrating and I felt I was eventually going to lose my mind. She didn't seem to care a bit about the legal implications of what she was doing.

The good thing was that my lawyer eventually called me and said that a green light had been given for my sons to be recovered from her. Honestly, at this point, my emotions were a mess because I was scared that she'd do something extremely foolish for some reason. Apparently, the Swedish police went to her parents' house and though she wasn't taken into custody, she finally, after so long, pledged that she was going to send my children back to their home in the United States. I was extremely relieved to hear this because it meant that my sons would finally be back home. We would get this entire saga done with, and we could possibly try and return to living normal lives. Well, my sons eventually did get back, but my wife was nowhere to be seen.

I had very mixed feelings regarding this. The reunion was heartfelt and tearful because I hadn't seen my boys in several weeks, but I was glad that they were back. However, the fact that she wasn't drove me crazy. Part of me was glad she wasn't there, but it also meant the divorce proceedings couldn't go on and she couldn't face the law for what she had done. I tried to call her phone, but she didn't pick up. Anyway, life went on for a while until I finally found the strength to take my sons in for a paternity test. I knew this one wouldn't be court admissible, but I had to know. That was the whole reason I felt like she had run away with them. I can't forget how my heart broke when I saw the results. The three-year-old was mine, which felt amazing

to read, but the eight-year-old. I really don't know how to express how hopeless I felt in that moment. I don't know how to put it into words. I found out that the child I had fought for, who was right beside me, was not mine. I had spent so many years raising this boy and learning to love him and now I found out he was someone else's. I'm going to admit that the hopeless and depression I felt at that moment made me crave ending it. I hated it so much. I took him for another test because I hoped that something might have been wrong with the first place I went to, but it was the same thing. From that moment, every time I looked at my son, I felt nothing but pure sadness. I didn't feel any negative emotions towards him, but I really wondered whether

I could continue to love him knowing he wasn't mine. I felt like I'd subconsciously find myself tilting more towards the child who I knew was mine. He was the product of infidelity and that wasn't his fault, but I knew I would never be able to look at him without my wife's betrayal coming to mind. I still loved him, but I wasn't sure whether I'd still be able to in a year or two. The worst part was that my wife was nowhere for me to direct all my anger towards. I tried to call her, but she never picked up her phone, as expected.

I wanted to call her parents, but I decided to spare them the drama because they were nice enough people. I finally did call her parents though, and when I did, it was because I felt I had a plan that could finally get her back into the country. I told them that I really needed to speak to my wife, that I just wanted us to be a family again. Two days later, she called me, and I went into a whole spiel about how I knew she ran away because I almost broke the family, but I finally did the paternity test and I found out our sons were actually mine. I told her I was sorry, I wasn't going to go through with the divorce, and I was going to apologize to her every day until she finally forgave me. She bought it, hook, line, and sinker. She seemed most surprised when I mentioned the

paternity test, but she did her best not to show it. She landed back in the United States yesterday and we met up briefly and had a somewhat emotional reunion. The only thing is she had a has no idea that the entire thing was a ruse for me to get her back into the country. I'm currently at a hotel because I told her I'd leave the house to her for a few days so things wouldn't be awkward. They're about to get a lot more awkward and I'm ready to get the divorce proceedings started up. I'm going to make sure the police have got her first, so she won't be running anywhere. I'll keep you all updated on how it goes.

Update 2, life is tough, but all I can say is that I'm glad that things are going to be have finally reached some degree of equilibrium in my life, even if I'm now much less happy than I was a year ago. Well, eventually, I was able to get my wife back into the United States as I mentioned to all of you before. As soon as she was back, I contacted the police and my lawyer to make sure that the right steps could be taken to make sure that she faced the law. I needed to make sure that I got her back for everything that she did to me. It took a few days, but there was a knock at the door while her son. son was at school. It hurts me to write her son, but I've learned that I need to accept the reality of things instead of trying to deceive myself into what's not the truth.

Voila, the police. She was asked to follow them, it wasn't much of a big spectacle because she didn't resist or ask too many questions, and as she looked back at me as she was being taken away, I couldn't resist smirking at her. She didn't last long in jail, to be honest, because she had her family pay her bail, but it at least made her skipping the country less of an option. As a result, I was able to get going with the divorce proceedings. The whole divorce saga ended before her court case was concluded, and to be honest, it was more court than I'll need for the rest of my life. The divorce was extremely straightforward. After all, this is a woman who ran out of the country with both of my children.

A paternity test was mandated by the court which eventually made it clear to all of us, though I already knew the results obviously, that only one child was mine and the other wasn't. That made it very possible for my lawyer to hammer away at how the child abduction was clearly motivated by the knowledge of her infidelity. Even if I didn't have screenshots of it, I feel like my lawyer would have been able to hit a home run in convincing the judge that she was a cheater. It was fun to watch when the paternity test results were revealed. She looked shocked and I can never forget how her face was when she turned to look at me.

I just shook my head and laughed since I knew all along. Needless to say, considering this woman was not only a cheater but actually committed a crime by abducting my child, considering it technically was an abduction for the older boy since I had no biological ties to him, the judge had no ounce of pity for her. Custody of the younger child was given to me in full, as she already had her eight-year-old to contend with. I didn't give up the house, or the car, or even have to deal with any alimony. The judge advised her to find and reconcile with the true father of the child. I felt an intense disgust hearing that because it made it more real than ever that there was a man out there whose child I had been raising, and he was completely unaware.

It hurt. Anyway, that was the end of the divorce proceedings, and it became extremely tough living with myself after I had to say goodbye to the boy I had thought was my son all these years. I know a lot of you won't be able to relate to the decision I made, honestly, and on paper, I look like a scumbag. Maybe I should have just adopted the boy, right? Look, I just hope and pray none of you will have to ever make the decision I did because you might find it harder than it seems. Regarding her and her crime, she eventually went to court regarding her international child abduction charge and I was there for every single session, as required. Of course, I had to make statements and hit the stand and do all sorts of annoying things,

but in the end, she got put away. To be honest, it wasn't for as long as I would have liked, but since the duration of abduction wasn't too long, the children were treated well with their grandparents, and only one of them was biologically mine, the judge in this case, unlike the one with the divorce, was relatively lenient. He gave her only 18 months in prison, especially as she still had a child out there, who would be staying with a relative until she got out. For a regular person like her, 18 months would be hell, but for cheating on me and putting me through the pain of paternity fraud, I had wished with my whole heart it would have been like five years at the very least. My lawyer was also

disappointed with that sentence. Anyway, at the very end of the day, I got the best side in the divorce and at least one of the children happened to be mine. I think that was the only thing that saved me from doing something drastic and spiraling dangerously. I don't know what I'd have done otherwise. I also managed to get her put away for kidnapping my child, and I considered that to be a consequence of her cheating as well.

Her life isn't going to be as easy without me in it, especially when she comes to her out with a criminal record. Plus, she lost her job after jetting off to Sweden without notice. I also make sure to tell everyone we know the full story without caring to protect her reputation. That's always fun for me. I do hold some pity for the child, but hopefully, she'll be able to get the father to step up, whether that's Charlie or not. I assumed it was, but I really didn't want confirmation, because it would have just made things worse if it wasn't. Her parents called me after the entire thing and apologized intensely. They still want to be in the child's life, and I have a soft spot for them,

so I agreed to arrange things with them in the future. The only stipulation was that I never wanted to see their daughter again. As long as they'd stick to that, things would be fine for all of us. That's it for me though. I've been living as a single father, and even though it is too, tough, it is rewarding. I just hope that I can keep my head up as the years go by. I hope there's something for you all to learn from my pain, so that you might not need to go through what I did.