Marriage is a sacred covenant made between a man and a woman in the presence of God. It’s a soul binding process which links two separate individuals as one. Many would argue that nothing changes after a wedding ceremony and although there may not be a visible physical change, the spiritual changes that occur far outweigh anything that could be seen.

We got the chance to sit down with Seanyea J. Rains. Seanyea has a degree in Social Work, a Masters in Administration of Human Services and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Human and Social Services. She is an emerging business owner and the mother of three beautiful children Sean (7 with autism), Miles (adopted 5) and Ivy Brooke (adopted 4).

Here is Seanyea’s story:

I was a homeowner, a recent college graduate, excellent credit, with no children and a great job. I had everything but a husband. I had been online dating for a while and one day that all changed. Finally, I found a man with goals, seeking a wife, raised in the church and fine!!! I later invited him to my home, and within minutes of his arrival, we were in bed.

We talked all day every day afterward. Within two weeks he had moved into my home. When he moved in with only two grocery bags of clothing, I should have known something was wrong. After four months of dating, in the middle of a New Year’s Eve party at my parents’ home, my dad stopped the music and gave him the microphone. He got down on one knee and popped the question every woman dreams about; “Will you marry me?” I cried, and everyone was screaming with excitement. After the drama, I looked at the ring only to realize the ring was borrowed from my sister. I was too excited, so that didn’t matter to me. I was engaged to a man who loved me. So I thought.

He decided to take me to meet his family who were Minsters. That meet and greet was interesting. His dad took him off for private conversations, and I had a gut feeling that something wasn’t quite right, but I was in love, so I ignored those feelings. Months had passed, and it was time for the wedding.

The day before the wedding was one of the worst experiences I ever had. He has two children, and both were in the wedding ceremony, but their Mother refused. Then my mother who was ill battling cancer had her wallet stolen with all my wedding cake money. None of his groomsmen showed, and I had been decorating my entire wedding venue all day in the rain. My gut was telling me not to do it, but again I was in love, and I ignored those feelings.

The next day was the morning of the wedding. The sun was shining; my family was all in place. Once the wedding started, I could not stop crying, and my breathing was short. My gut was telling me to turn and run the other way, but I kept walking. I noticed missing seats on his side. I had about 150 family and friends on the bride’s side, but there were only six family members on the groom’s side. Then I looked at the groomsmen. Everyone but one were men from my family. I was confused, and something in my gut told me something was not right, but again I ignored that emotion. The evening went on, and the reception was beautiful. After the wedding, my groom was supposed to surprise me with a honeymoon, which I learned after saying my vows, was not going to happen.

Life as a married woman started off great. We could sit in a room for hours talking and laughing about nothing. We would cook together and devoted a great deal of quality time as a couple. Soon after our marriage, my mom became ill. He and I sat down, and he told me he would take care of all the bills with this new company he was starting. Please remember he only worked about 50% of the time we had been together. I eventually quit my job to care for my mom full time. After her death, I went back to work.

During the time of my mother’s illness, we received a check in the mail for $4800.00 which appeared to be from Bed, Bath and Beyond. After some investigation and speaking to my sister who worked for a bank, we learned it was a scam. Therefore, we disposed of the check at the hospital. Days after burying my mom a detective came to my home asking for my husband. He explained that my husband had deposited a check into our joint account in the amount of $4800.00. I told him that we received this check and trashed it once we realized it was fraudulent. The detective explained that my husband cash it and now owes the bank and the police are involved.

I was so upset with him for cashing this check that we knew was fraudulent. However, I soon learned his criminal history was more in-depth than this check. My dad called and said someone was withdrawing funds from my mother’s account while she was in the hospital. He asked if I knew anything and I confidently said no. Then he asked my sister, and she knew nothing. He came back around to me and asked again. Something inside of me said, look to your husband. This time I listened to my gut, and I was right. He stole from my mother. He knew her pin number and was taking her card and withdrawing $500.00 per day. I knew my dad would ‘go-off’ over this. I felt as though he would forgive me as his daughter. So I told him I did it and paid him back the money with my mother’s death benefits.

To be continued…