"I fell in love with my tattoo artist after 19 years of marriage."

By Anonymous for DivorceMoms.com.

I used to say that if anything ever happened to my husband, or if we ever separated, that I would never date or marry again.

I assumed that all I would want was to be alone and not have to answer to anyone or put in the energy required for a healthy relationship. So imagine my surprise to find myself falling head over heels for the man who tattoos me before my divorce is even final.

Yep.

Look at me go.

And, of course, the general opinions coming from the mouths of people I didn't ask in the first place is that it's too soon because:

• My divorce isn't final
• I need to grieve the death of my marriage
• I need to learn about myself
• I need to learn what I want in a relationship
• I need to explore my emotions
• I'm clearly a needy, clingy, attention-seeking woman

I came across (ie. I was searching for evidence to support my opinion) an article in Psychology Today that totally justifies my case. The sum of the piece was that there are more pros to rebound relationships than cons. So take that.

I read several lists and articles that map out the classic rebound relationship 'symptoms' and very few of them seem to apply to me. Unlike many divorcees, I don't think I really needed the time to separate emotionally from my husband, because I did it years ago, which is what led to our divorce in the first place.

Is this a 'rebound' relationship? If such a thing is defined as a short-term relationship used to distract oneself from the pain of separation, then absolutely not.

I am happy and have zero depression. I have confidence, joy and hope for my future... all things that I lost many years ago. To anyone who would say that this relationship happened fast, I agree. It happened crazy fast!

Listen to how issues in marriage can develop into larger problems. Post continues after audio.

We met in March, started talking in July, fell in love and started spending significant amounts of time together in October, and in January I am moving halfway across the country to live with him.

I married my husband after seven months of dating and we were married for 19 years, so apparently fast is the only way I like to move. I'm doing nothing out of my character and being true to what the real me needs.

And I'm moving forward with my heart and eyes wide open.

This article originally appeared on DivorcedMoms. See the original post here.