I babysit my grandkids to help my daughter cover up her 'dark' secret

"It’s immoral, but her happiness is the most important thing to me."

Sophie, 35, seemingly has an ideal life - two children, a successful husband who she's been married to a decade, a job she adores and a beautiful family home.

But her mum, Sally, 60, says that Sophie is living a lie - and she's even helping her keep her "secret" under wraps.

What's worse is Sally doesn't feel any guilt about it. In fact, she enjoys it.

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"I help her cover her tracks"

"Babysitting my two precious grandchildren while my only daughter is on a date is my favourite thing to do," she writes in an article in The Sun.

But Sophie is never having dinner with her husband, she is meeting her secret lover and her mother is helping her cover her tracks.

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Sally is apparently the only person who knows her daughter has secretly been cheating on the father of her children for the past two years.

So why is she so willing to help out in the deception and even delight in it?

Because, in her own words, "I’ve never liked my daughter’s husband, Dave and always known she could do better."

"When I was first introduced to him at a restaurant in 2013, I thought he was brash, loud and full of himself," she explains. "At the time, I was confident the romance would fizzle out. She’d had boyfriends before and had always remained very independent, but as I watched her dote on Dave, I was dismayed.

"Gorgeous, clever and witty, Sophie, then 23, had a great job in PR and could have had her pick of men. I knew she’d soon come to her senses."

But to her horror, Dave proposed two years into their relationship.

Image: IStock

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The two-year long deception

Sally's heart sank, but she dutifully cheered them on, secretly hoping her daughter would have a change of heart before the big day. 

"Once, I carefully asked her if it was definitely what she wanted," she said, "but she snapped back at me that of course it was. I never said anything after that, worried it might drive a wedge between us. Sophie knew I’d never warmed to Dave and constantly made excuses for him. She’d somehow justify it when he forgot her birthday or didn’t turn up to big family events."

After Sophie became a mum, she gave up her career to care for her children, while Dave became increasingly less involved in family life.

"Sophie struggled to look after two small children and the home, having no life of her own," she continued. "I knew Sophie was beginning to resent him."

Sophie eventually went back to work part-time, and she began mentioning a colleague called Ben more and more. But Sally noticed she always left his name out of conversations when talking to Dave.

"One day, when Dave was away on yet another golf weekend, Sophie asked if I’d mind looking after the children so she could go for a drink after work," Sally said. "She would never have gone if Dave was at home — even though he went out with friends all the time — so of course I said yes.

When she came home, she mentioned Ben a lot, laughing about what he’d said to her. Seeing her happy gave me a burst of excitement . . . but also suspicion. I didn’t hesitate before telling her that if she ever wanted to go out for a drink with Ben again, I would always watch the children.

"She gave me a knowing smile — she understood me completely. After I had babysat a couple of times, she came to my house in the middle of the day, unannounced, for a cup of tea. 'Ben and I are having an affair, Mum,' she confessed.

I smiled and she quickly changed the subject, clearly glad to have got the secret off her chest. I wrapped my arms around her when she left and promised that her secret was safe with me."

Originally published as I babysit my grandkids to help my daughter cover up her 'dark' secret