DEAR DEIDRE: FOR the past eight months I’ve been bringing up a little boy believing he was mine, but my girlfriend has just told me he’s probably not.
I’ve really bonded with this little boy and this news has devastated me.
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I’m 28 and my girlfriend is 26.
When we first started seeing each other we weren’t exclusive, but when she got pregnant she assured me the baby could only be mine.
Now she has admitted the baby’s dad is likely to be another man who is in a long-term relationship.
I wonder if she told me the baby was mine because the other man wanted nothing to do with her.
I don’t know whether to simply walk away.
Has she taken me for a mug?
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DEIDRE SAYS: The only way to find out if you are the father would be through DNA testing but you would need to talk to your girlfriend about this.
If you are the father, then you will have a legal obligation to support this child financially.
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Consider carefully if you could cope with raising another man’s child.
Either way, you and your girlfriend have a lot of trust to rebuild if you are to stay together.
It would be helpful to talk it all through with someone sympathetic and outside the situation, either together or alone.
You can find out more about who to talk to via Relate (relate.org.uk).
I’m also sending you my support pack on Looking After Your Relationship.
