This week on The Night Index, we're diving into the Reddit post that turned into a real-life nightmare for a husband and father.

In 2016, a user known as u/jasoninhell logged onto Reddit looking for advice on his relationship. His story, at first glance, felt painfully familiar. He was in a crumbling marriage, suffered through betrayal, and he was trying to hold his family together for the sake of his children. The post went mildly viral, and strangers from across the internet weighed in, offering opinions, judgments, and guidance. What they did not know was that they were witnessing the early stages of something far darker.

Reading through Jason’s post, we discover that his wife has cheated on him with their neighbor. They were both emotionally and sexually involved, and were sending explicit messages, photos, and planning to meet up. He gathered evidence and confronted them, but she denied parts of it and manipulated the situation, even threatening to use his past mental health history to keep him from seeing his kids if he left.

Although he initially planned to separate, he stayed in the marriage for the sake of his children after seeing how distressed they were and fearing his wife would make things worse for them. And guess what. His wife made him apologize to the neighbor. And he did. Yep.

Clearly, he sacrificed a lot to make that marriage work. He goes on to admit that he can’t get the infidelity out of his mind, and that both his mental health and work performance have suffered a lot. He felt stuck, and rightfully so. Leaving could mean risking losing contact with his children, while staying would almost certainly worsen his situation.

People in the comments were taken aback by his situation and were furious at his wife for not only cheating but also making him apologize to the neighbor. Everyone was also baffled about his decision to stay with her. The top comments encouraged him to seek counseling and get a lawyer.

After reading the comments, Jason made another post:

“Instead of trying to fix something she doesn't want to fix, she has refused counseling several times in the past before this even happened, I am going to get myself and my kids out. I meet with an attorney next week.

Thank you everyone for helping me see how far I had my head up my ass.”

Internet strangers were really excited about this update, clearly. One user replied:

“Thank fucking god. So many guys out here NEVER get their heads out of their ass. Good for you. Find a GOOD woman. They're out there!”

However, the people celebrating had no idea that what would come next would leave everyone scarred.

A bit later, after the updates, lots of news outlets started to report the same story:

“Brandi Worley killed her seven-year-old son, Tyler, and three-year-old daughter, Charlee, just a day after her spouse, Jason, filed for divorce, police say.”

The article reveals that Brandi, Jason’s wife and the children’s mother, stabbed both of her kids to death, while Jason was asleep in another part of the house. She then called emergency services and confessed to the crime. The children were aged 6 and 3.

There is no way to prepare yourself for that sentence. A mother. Her own children. One day after the divorce filing. Jason said: “I don't know if it is all in my head or not but I swear I could smell blood when I went in Charlee's room. It was heart wrenching to be hastily grabbing the remnants of my life and throwing them in the back of a van. I just couldn't be in the house any longer.”

There is no lesson here that makes this okay. The internet gave Jason good advice and he took it. He did everything right. It didn't matter. Some stories don't end with a moral, they just end. And you're left sitting with the weight of it at whatever hour you're reading this.

So what happened after? Brandi was sentenced to 55 years for her son’s murder and 65 years for killing her young daughter. Jason deleted his old account and made a new one, jasonincode. From that account he posted one last update, with the tl;dr: I am doing better and I continue to get better everyday.

In that post, he says he is doing better overall, though he still has difficult days. He struggled deeply with trauma, insomnia, alcohol use, and suicidal thoughts, and was even hospitalized, but has since improved with support, treatment, and coping strategies. He has returned to work and regained stability. He says that he feels no punishment of Brandi’s can make up for the loss. He did not support the death penalty, partly because he believes she wanted to die, and he questions whether a life sentence will affect her at all. He also describes ongoing conflict with his former in-laws, including disputes over property and uncomfortable encounters at his children’s gravesite.

So what can we take away from all this? Nothing, really. You never know who can betray your trust and make your life a living hell. Often, it is the people you trust the most. But it is very important that you stay strong and positive, just like Jason did.

That's all for this one. Take a breath.