Angie walked out on her children to put HER happiness first. And she hasn't a shred of remorse

Hers was a blessed life. Angie Bishop lived in an imposing seven-bedroom country home, with every room decorated in the latest style. The house was surrounded by a beautiful orchard where she and her two young sons played on sunny afternoons.
Her husband earned so much money that they lived comfortably without Angie having to work full-time. Fortunate? You might think so.
But Angie would tell you otherwise. For she walked out on this very scenario - leaving behind her sons of 12 and nine and her elderly mother who’d been living with them - to start a new life with an old flame.

New life: Angie left her sons Edward and Oliver with their father so she could be with her old flame

Perhaps, even more surprising is that she did it for a man whose infidelity broke her heart 25 years before. So does Angie regret walking away from her sons and a life most people could only dream of? Not one bit. Fully aware that her attitude will incite opprobrium and disbelief from some, she fiercely defends her actions.

‘I don’t for one moment regret leaving my seemingly perfect life,’ she says firmly. ‘It was the best thing I’ve ever done and was surprisingly easy once I’d made up my mind.’
Angie admits that she now has to make a 120-mile round-trip to see her sons, who still live with their dad, and her 78-year-old mother, who was forced to move to sheltered housing.

'To anyone looking on, my life must have seemed perfect. I shopped in designer clothes stores, we travelled abroad and our home was immaculate'

‘Before I’m condemned for breaking up the perfect family, I need to stress that my children mean the world to me and leaving the life I had with them has never been about leaving them as people. It’s about grabbing on to happiness, and giving the man who once broke my heart a second chance.’
To many this may sound selfish, but it’s a choice a growing number of modern women are making: the pursuit of ‘happiness’ at any cost.
‘True love is such a rare thing, if you find it, you have to grab it with both hands,’ Angie says. ‘The old saying is true - money can’t buy love.’
Angie’s behaviour becomes all the more mystifying when you look at the stability of her background.
Born in Enfield, North London, she grew up in a loving family. Her father worked for London Transport. Her mum was a PA.

Money can't buy love: Angie's life with her first husband, Michael, may have seemed perfect but she said she was bored

'I wasn't really happy': Angie with her oldest son, Edward, who was born five months before she married his father Michael. While she loved being a mother, she felt something was 'missing' in her life

Despite respecting her parents’ happy marriage, Angie hankered after a more glamorous existence and trained as a croupier. She was 24 and working at a West End casino when she met husband-to-be Michael, then 31, who was her boss at the time.
To complicate matters, he was married with a two-year-old daughter, but, as Angie admits: ‘That didn’t stop us from having an affair.’
She explains: ‘I was pursued by Michael, who was charming. I was flattered and, being young and selfish, I didn’t give much thought to the fact he was already married. After three months, he left his wife for me.’

'My marriage to Michael cooled and the passion waned. I was bored. I had this feeling that there was something missing'

Following the death of Angie’s father in 1995, they used her inheritance to help buy a four-bedroom Georgian house in Kent, which was big enough to accommodate themselves and her mother, Doreen.
Angie gave birth to Edward in April 1998 and five months later, the couple married.
‘I loved being a mum and with Michael’s salary having increased, there was no longer the need for me to work full-time,’ recalls Angie. ‘I cut back to two shifts a week at the casino - and Mum looked after Edward when I was away.’
In March 2001, the family moved to an even more lavish home in Kent, this time with seven bedrooms and an orchard. A month later, Angie’s second son Oliver was born.
Angie recalls: ‘To anyone looking on, my life must have seemed perfect. I shopped in designer clothes stores, we travelled abroad and our home was immaculate. But for all my material possessions, I wasn’t really happy. Over time, my marriage to Michael cooled and the passion waned.
‘I was bored. I had this feeling that there was something missing.’ However, Angie insists initially she felt divorce ‘was not an option’.

Happy together: The mother-of-two is now married to Philip

‘I wanted to make it work; Michael had left his wife for me. And he was a good father who worked long hours to provide for us.’
It wasn’t until summer 2009 that Angie considered the alternative. She was with her best friend, Saffi, one afternoon when, they decided to search for her first love, Philip Keller, on Facebook.
The pair had enjoyed a passionate five-month fling in 1985 when Angie was 18. Philip, then 28, was a ladies’ man who ‘oozed charisma’.

'He moved in to kiss me and I responded, I knew this was a life-changing moment'

Like her husband, Philip had also been the boss of a top West End casino where Angie had worked as a croupier. But she’d been left ‘humiliated’ after discovering he’d slept with another girl.
At first, she wasn’t impressed, joking to Saffi that he didn’t look as good as she remembered in the Facebook photos.
But six months later, when a mutual friend mentioned he’d spotted Philip, Angie sent him a message online. Simple and tantalising, she wrote: ‘I don’t suppose you remember me?’ Even as she wrote the message, Angie says she wondered what she was doing. But within 24 hours, Philip had responded: ‘My God, a blast from the past! How are you?’

Former colleagues: Angie in purple and Philip back row centre, pictured on a staff night out, first had a relationship in 1985 when they worked together

Reunited: Angie and Philip found one another again thanks to Facebook

When Angie told him she was married with two kids, he retorted bluntly: ‘Divorced with three kids.’
At this point, Angie says there was no banter or flirtation: ‘I didn’t even hint I was unhappily married.’
But three months later, another friend arranged a reunion lunch for them in a London restaurant.
Angie recalls: ‘When Philip arrived, it was like being hit with a sledge-hammer.’
At 53, his blond curls were now pale grey, he had wrinkles and laughter lines around his striking blue eyes.
‘He said: “Hello ladies, you’re both looking lovely!” I was bowled over - it was just like when I was 18.’ When their friend left, Philip and Angie stayed, talking, until 9pm.

'While it might have been easier to remain in my comfortable life, I was in love with another man. I'd made my decision'

‘He moved in to kiss me and I responded,’ says Angie. ‘I knew this was a life-changing moment.
Nothing was ever going to be the same again. We were kissing like teenagers.
‘It was hard to tear myself away, but I’d arranged for my husband to pick me up. As we drove home, I pretended to be asleep so he couldn’t ask me about my day.’
Surely, she felt a twinge of guilt? ‘I did feel guilty,’ she admits. ‘My marriage may not have been the best - Michael was possessive and there were rows - but I adored my boys.
‘I didn’t want to hurt them, but all that night I couldn’t sleep for thinking about Philip.’
The feeling was mutual: Philip rang her the next morning and said he, too, had been sleepless, thinking of her. The pair chatted surreptitiously over the course of the next few weeks.
It was a month before they met again for lunch at a restaurant in Kensington, West London, Philip having booked a hotel room nearby.
‘I knew there was a lot at stake, but I couldn’t help myself,’ says Angie. ‘Philip said he was in love with me and that afternoon marked the start of our affair.’

No regrets: Angie said true love is 'rare' which is why she had to 'grab it with both hands'

Three months of clandestine meetings followed until Michael’s suspicions became aroused.
When he couldn’t get hold of his wife after her mother fell and broke her hip, he confronted her.
Angie explains: ‘I was with Philip when the accident happened. By the time Michael reached me on the phone, I was on a train home. Out of the blue, he asked if I was seeing somebody. Conscious of being overheard, I told him we could talk later.’
It was a terrible moment. Both sides of her life had collided. What followed that night was a painful and protracted conversation, as Angie told Michael she was leaving him.
She says: ‘Understandably, he was furious. He shouted: “How could you do this to me?” I slept in the spare room and tossed and turned, dreading what lay ahead.’

'Women who leave a marriage are much more harshly criticised than men who do the same'

The next morning, after the boys had gone to school, they discussed the matter alone.
Angie says: ‘Michael had calmed down and asked me not to go. He said if I ended the affair, he’d not mention it again and no one need know.
‘But while it might have been easier to say yes and remain in my comfortable life, I was in love with another man. I’d made my decision.’
As for how the boys took the devastating news, Angie says: ‘Naturally, they were upset and although they never asked me not to go, they did ask why I was leaving.
‘I told them frankly I no longer loved their father and that I’d fallen for another man. He was a good man, I stressed, and I was sure that they’d like him.’
Insisting they weren’t angry, Angie says: ‘There were a few tears - mainly mine - but I put my arms around them and reassured them how much I loved them.’
Michael had already told Angie firmly that their sons would remain with him - something she accepted. Why didn’t she put up a fight? She says she ‘knew it would be difficult to take them with me’.
Again, she defends her actions: ‘The boys had grown up in a lovely big house, went to great local schools and had all their friends nearby. It was never going to be fair to make them move, because I couldn’t provide all that for them.’

Adapted: Angie said her relationship with her sons hasn't been damaged because she left them to be with Philip

Philip worked for a digital media company in Surrey, so Angie had agreed to relocate to be near his job - 60 miles away from her family. As Philip didn’t own a house, they rented a modest two-bedroom flat, quite a contrast to the life she had led, but Angie insists she didn’t hesitate.
She has returned to working in a casino, and regularly puts in 16-hour shifts to keep their heads above water.
‘Philip is a hard worker, but he earns nothing like the salary of my ex,’ Angie reflects. ‘I’ve swapped a rich man for a relatively poor man and my life has completely changed.’
As for her aged mother, Angie insists that she gave her blessing, despite being forced to move into sheltered accommodation.
‘She had never been that close to my husband,’ says Angie. ‘Besides, her health was failing - she has heart problems and multiple sclerosis. But yes, I did feel guilty.’

Tough love

Approximately 200,000 women in the UK live apart from their children

But not guilty enough to reconsider moving in with her new lover. Unsurprisingly, Angie faced confusion and criticism from her friends.
She says: ‘They thought I was insane to even be thinking about leaving my family and beautiful home for Philip.
‘Saffi was horrified, and asked: “How do you know Philip has changed? It’s not worth the risk.”
‘But I’d thought about it carefully. Philip was worth taking a risk on.’
So, in August 2010, Angie began to move out. She explains: ‘Gradually, I increased the time I was away. But I made sure I saw the boys and Mum every weekend, with phone calls, texts and emails in-between.
‘If there were any tears, they were all mine. I felt so guilty at leaving that I would often rise at 6am to drive the one hour 15 minute journey back to the family house just to take the boys to school. Some days I’d drive back again to pick them up.’
The divorce was finalised in 2011 and Philip proposed soon after while they were on a rare holiday in Barbados.
Angie, now 46, remains unrepentant: ‘I do think women who leave a marriage are much more harshly criticised than men who do the same. I did not leave on a whim.’
And as for Edward, now 15, and Oliver, 12, Angie claims their relationship is stronger than ever: ‘Despite what people may think, my sons have adapted quickly. Their father has moved on and is in another relationship and he and I get on well for the sake of the children. I know I can hold my head high because I’ve done what’s best for them.’
Sadly, there will be many who think otherwise

DAILYMAIL