In an essay for HuffPost, Mary Kate Leonard writes about her “soul-destroying” decision to leave her fiancé and call off their wedding in 2014. “When I ended the relationship, I deeply hurt a truly good man and his family, whom I knew and loved. I disappointed my own parents by appearing to turn away from a certain kind of life,” she says. “Walking away from an engagement meant exchanging the delights of a bride for the embarrassment of a deserter ― not to mention enduring the intense pain of a breakup, and the miserable work of starting over from scratch.” “But when I’d asked myself whether I could promise to love my ex forever, I’d faced endless uncertainty.” Almost 30 at the time, Leonard says her decision to break things off came down to one thing. Read more at our link in bio.