(1888PressRelease)
July 02, 2008 - Billed as the "most famous other woman in the world" - Sarah J. Symonds, "Infidelity Expert and Author of "Having an Affair? A Handbook for the Other Woman" has pioneered the first ever MISTRESSES ANONYMOUS Group Support Meetings in Hollywood. Symonds has single handedly pioneered this support group since appearing on the OPRAH show last year, when a whole secret society of real life "other women" in the same position, contacted the now reformed Symonds, desperately seeking her advice on how to get OUT of their affairs.
For many, the inner lives of “the other woman” were unveiled in a surprising Oprah show last year that turned the tables and focused not on the cheating man or the scorned wife but on the other woman who often remains silent in discussions of infidelity. Sarah Symonds was a participant on that eye-opening and enlightening show that revealed that there was no prototype for the other woman. She doesn’t work in a particular field or even have a certain look. Overwhelmed by the numbers of women desperately seeking her out to learn how to get out of their ill-fated affairs following that show, Symonds recognized the need for a support group.
Unable to talk to friends and certainly not family members, to whom can the other woman turn? How does she ask her friends if they are or have been in similar situations? She certainly can’t seek the counsel of married female friends for fear they will not trust her around their own husbands. How does she sort out her feelings of confusion and guilt? More importantly, how does she break herself from the comfortable routine she’s adopted in her ill-fated relationship? Because Symonds has certainly “been there and done that,” she’s able to dispense practical and effective advice that presents a solution free of character assassinations. The wisdom gained from her own “crash and burn” experiences fuels the “Mistresses Anonymous Support Group” where women can gather freely, without being judged.
While Symonds hails from London, she felt Los Angeles would be the best place to launch the support group. "It makes sense to launch the group in Los Angeles, because women are wooed by the intoxicating perception of being the 'kept' woman." Initially, Symonds began the group as an online forum but it quickly grew into an active group. Women in similar situations as she once found herself feel comfortable with Symonds, whose illicit trysts include some of the world’s most prominent married men, not just because she can relate to their heartache and conflicting emotions; they gravitate to her because she has made it out. Knowing that so many women are looking for a way out, Symonds established a halfway house specifically aimed at allowing mistresses to reclaim themselves and their spirit. Serving as their coach, Symonds guides them to a new life where they become the center of their own universe.
Far from an easy task, Symonds, almost better than anyone, understands the psychological havoc on which these relationships thrive. The web of lies these men weave to reel in the many unsuspecting women they prey upon and their wives who believe in their commitment and fidelity are the fodder fit for Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Ultimately, Symonds’ true mission is to foil their ploy and awaken women to the reality that relationships with married men lead to nowhere and, most importantly, waste their childbearing years. Affairs score an advantage for the men they serve, with both the wife and the mistress losing big.
With a reality show in the pipeline, based upon her insightful book, “Having an Affair? A Handbook for the Other Woman,” and her support group going strong, Symonds is helping mistresses turn the tables on patriarchy and male chauvinism by putting themselves first. For any woman grappling with being the other woman or still reeling from the psychological damage, more information about Symonds and her support group can be found at www.havinganaffairthebook.com.
