'My ex husband tried to frame me, but he made this one mistake.'

As told to Ann DeGrey.

Leaving my husband Mick* was one of the hardest things I've ever done. For a long time, I'd had that sinking feeling in my stomach, those butterflies you get when you know something isn't right, even when you can't prove it yet.

He was very distant, secretive, always glued to his phone. I'd ask who he was texting, and he'd roll his eyes or turn it into a joke. "Oh, my latest girlfriend! Just kidding. You're being paranoid," he'd say. But I wasn't being paranoid at all.

Eventually, I got my answer the old-fashioned way: I found a message on his laptop. I wasn't even snooping. I opened it to check our joint bank balance and there it was; a notification from some woman I didn't know, calling him "babe" and saying she couldn't wait to see him again. I stared at it for a long time before I moved. My hands were shaking.

So that was the end of a five-year marriage. Although, when it came to the legal rollercoaster, it was just the beginning. Once we got stuck into the first stages of the divorce process, I thought the worst of it was behind me. But I was wrong because there was worse to come.

Watch: How to support someone going through a separation or divorce. Post continues after video.

About three weeks later, I got a call from a lawyer I didn't know, asking if I could come in to "discuss a few discrepancies" in a business loan application. At first, I thought it was a scam.

I wasn't involved in any business loans, so I had no idea what he was talking about. But he insisted I come in and, when I got to his office and he showed me the paperwork, my blood ran cold.

There was my name — my full maiden name in all caps — listed as a co-signer on a loan for a business I'd never heard of. The document had my signature on it. Or rather, a signature. It wasn't mine. It was a very clumsy attempt at forging it.

But the best part (and I say this with heavy sarcasm!) was the fact that my ex-husband had spelt my name wrong. He had always had trouble spelling it and five years later, he still couldn't spell it.

My stupid, corrupt ex-husband. Every official form that needed my full maiden name, he always made the same mistakes. It used to drive me mad.

But this time, it saved me.

Because the fraud department instantly flagged the mismatch. The name on the application didn't match the legal spelling of my name registered with the bank. If he'd spelt it right, I might have been completely implicated, legally tied to his lies.

But his laziness, or maybe just his ego, meant he forged documents without double-checking how to spell his own wife's surname. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

It turns out this wasn't a one-off. He'd tried to set up two companies in both our names; claiming we were launching some kind of consulting business together. He forged my signature on tax documents, loan forms, even a rental agreement for an office we never used.

The lawyer explained that if those signatures had looked more convincing, or if the names matched more closely, I'd be in serious legal trouble.

I couldn't believe it. It wasn't just because of what he'd done, but because of how close I came to having my name dragged through court for something I had no part in.

My credit score could've been ruined. I could've been investigated for fraud. And all the while going through a divorce from a man who, clearly, was a stranger to me.

I confronted him, of course. His response? "It's not a big deal, nothing even went through."

But there was no apology. He didn't even seem embarrassed. It was just that usual dismissive smirk I used to think was "cute." In fact, he seemed more annoyed that I'd found out than worried about the damage he nearly caused.

I've since spoken to the police and I am cooperating with an investigation. Thankfully, the fact that my name was spelt incorrectly and that the signatures don't match mine, means I'm in the clear.

But I'm still in shock; this betrayal runs so much deeper than infidelity. Mick used my identity as a prop in his little schemes. I was just a name to stick to a form.

For years, he couldn't be bothered to learn how to spell my name properly. Now, that tiny failure is the thing that kept me safe. He underestimated me in every way. Even down to the letters in my name.

*Name has been changed due to privacy.

The author of this story is known to Mamamia but remained anonymous for privacy purposes.

Feature Image: Getty.