Do men in troubled relationships often seek someone to give them a nudge to get out? I often attract these men, some of whom I suspect just want a backup relationship before splitting with the wife. I happen to be interested in the current man confiding in me about his angry, obsessive wife. I won’t tell him to leave on my account, but I hate to see such a great man putting up with her. 

— Catalyst

You’ve gotta give a guy points for an original spin on a tired pickup line: “If I said you have a beautiful body, would you let me sob on your shoulder about my mean wife?” 

As a listener, you provide considerable cost savings over the guy with the gray beard, the monocle, and the couch, and it can’t hurt that crying on your shoulder comes with a front row seat to your jigglies. Your presence can also provide a helpful thumb on the “I’m outta here!” side of the scale for a man who lacks a Ouija Board, a Magic 8-Ball, or the guts to make a decision. And while it is possible that some of these men fall for you, it’s also possible that any “I love you! I want you! I have to have you!” a man blurts out is just a bad translation of “Eeek! I’ll be alone, and you’re cute and nice to me. You’ll do.” 

It is a bit odd that, the way some women collect Hello Kitty, you collect “Hello, I’m teetering on an angry divorce.” Are you maybe insecure about getting involved with a guy when all you have to offer is you? With a man in a troubled marriage, you start with a competitive advantage — how endearingly sane and reasonable you seem compared to Mrs. Satan. And a man in crisis requires conversational triage — attending to those bleeding out first. (No need to lay your feelings on the line; you can focus on his problems and bond over how you’re the listening postess with the mostest.)

As for the latest man crying out to you from the Trail of Tear-Streaked Kleenex, consider the obvious: A man confiding in you about his “angry, obsessive wife” is a man who is NOT AVAILABLE.

Maybe it’s time you retired from running the Unhappily Married Man Rescue and take a run at the unencumbered. (At the very least, strictly limit the ear-time you give to other women’s leftovers that aren’t quite left.)

You should find that a man has much more to give when he isn’t panicking that his wife will take half of everything he owns, including his man parts she’s got squirreled away in a drawer somewhere.

The way of the nailgun

My boyfriend of four years is a wonderful man who makes me incredibly happy. He was there for me throughout my breast cancer, making me feel sexy, beautiful, and loved. I’m 43, divorced five years. He’s 41, never married, and his longest relationship was with a train wreck of an alcoholic on house arrest (I know, red flag). Six months ago, he moved in with his dad (45 minutes away) after his dad asked him to help renovate a house he bought to flip. We text daily and sometimes talk on the phone for 10 minutes, but I only see him every two weeks for a weekend. I’m lonely every day. I miss the day-to-day of coming home to the person who loves you, cooking together, working through life together. Realizing the renovation will take more than another two years, I asked him whether he’d ever consider moving in with me. He said he’s already unpacked and it would be a pain to move again. Couples marry and have babies in the time we’ve been dating! He says they’ll all be divorced in five years and we’ll still be together, which could be true. I just don’t know how to get past wanting more.

— Empty House

Sure, absence makes the heart grow fonder — until it makes the heart yank out its calculator and notice that it’s spent 85 percent of its year sitting next to a dent in the couch. 

You’re experiencing an unbreakup -- a breakup where you don’t quite break up. Your boyfriend has managed to get out of your relationship, but without the wrenching breakup conversation or the bummer of no longer having you in his life. And although it’s been six months since he had himself downgraded from boyfriend to biweekly houseguest, you’re still referring to him as a “wonderful man” who makes you “incredibly happy.” In fact, you can’t help but bubble over with the language of joy: “I’m lonely every day” and “I don’t know how to get past wanting more.”

Wanting the man you love to be around to cook dinner with you isn’t exactly a freakish sexual fetish. Still, he isn’t a bad person if he doesn’t want that -- just a bad person for you.

But, consider that his relocation to Home Sweet Home Depot might stem from some emotional itchiness on his part. Maybe it’s overwhelming when a woman just needs him because she loves him and not because she can’t get to the liquor store herself while wearing her state-supplied ankle jewelry or because she’s too weak to hitchhike to chemo.

Whatever your boyfriend’s problem, it’s making your happiness come a distant second to his dad’s need to reface the cabinets. This isn’t entirely his fault. It might be worth it to him to work through his commitment heebie-jeebies or whatever, but you can’t just hint at what’s bothering you (asking whether he’d “ever consider moving in”).

You need to tell him flat-out that you’re miserable without somebody there day to day. This tells him he’d better come through, or he’ll lose you. (Spell that out if it needs spelling.) As for your priorities, you emailed me some wise words from your oncologist: “You deserve to be happy. You only get one life, and you worked really hard to keep yours.”

This suggests that the right guy for you will be there for you because you’re there and alive and you want to be with him; you won’t need to dress up as a leaky faucet to get his attention. 

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(c) 2012, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA  90405, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (advicegoddess.com). Weekly radio show: blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon