So it's been awhile since I was on this section of LF. It's been over a year since I broke up with my ex of 8 years. I'm not on here now because of him, but because of a guy I dated after him. Here's the story:

I met this guy around May of this year and we really hit it off. I liked him a lot and we had great chemistry. He is originally from California and moved to New York (where I live) to work for the summer. He ended up staying here after the summer for different reasons. We continued to date.

He is bipolar. He told me this in the beginning and I was OK with it because he seemed to have his sh*t together even though he wasn't on an medication for it. Like a month ago he started showing signs of being unwell mentally, so I took him to a local mental health center and helped him get on some meds. Well about 2 weeks ago he had a meltdown. Was in a full blown mania and went off the deep end. He ended up harassing someone he had business dealings with and he is currently in jail. I have never dated a bipolar man or a man who has been or is in jail. It's all so crazy to me. I decided to try to help him out because I know his actions were the cause of his mental illness. I was agonizing over what to do about the situation and his roommate told me I should stop wasting my time on him because he's been cheating on me. He met up with some girl he met on match.com the night before he was arrested and slept with his ex girlfriend who came to help him with some business stuff a few months ago. I had no idea about any of this sh*t. I'm officially done with this fool.

What I'm struggling with is: I just feel so duped. I was fooled by him and it SUCKS to say the least. He told me all these great things. Like I was such a loving, supportive woman and one of the most incredible women he's been with, but still he did what he did. Why do people do sh*t like that to people they supposedly care about and value? Maybe it was all just lip service. I'm starting to think that's the case because the guy is a legit wack job. I'm thankful that I was informed of his cheating and now I don't have to waste my time trying to help him, but it still hurts like hell.

He's been told that I'm done with him but he seems to think he will convince me he didn't do anything and he will get me back. He told this to a family member who passed the message on to me. "Shannon was brainwashed and I'll get her back" were his words. Crazy talk, but he really thinks he has a chance. Delusional is a good word to describe him. He thinks I'm some sort of fool apparently. I'm prepared for major stalking and harassing when he gets out of jail. I'm sticking to my guns with this for sure though.

And all this from a man who told me we weren't boyfriend/girlfriend. That we were just lovers. Now he's talking like I'm the love of his life and he won't or can't lose me. I don't know how to deal with this.

I just needed to vent about this on here. Any feedback, advice or support would be appreciated. Thanks