Our love burned hotter than the sun. Right from the day we met, I knew Kevin was the one for me. We were the it-couple on social media and everyone envied our love. He was fun, outgoing and charming and our personalities matched perfectly. It was easy to see why I fell in love with him as deeply as I did. Besides that, we both had similar jobs as social media marketers which helped us connect.
He slid in my DM asking about a certain brand that I had previously worked with. One story led to another and we ended up meeting in person at a brand event. Though I was busy with work, it was hard to keep my eyes off him. He was a fine guy – tall, well dressed with a killer smile. We spend most of our weekends together and even during work, our worlds always seem to collide.
Once we became a social media official, he would post pictures of us together all the time – almost twice a day. I loved the attention he gave me and how he showed me off to the world. He let everyone, both in his personal life and social media, know that I was his girlfriend. Being with Kevin was one of the best moments of my life.
We would occasionally fight. I noticed each time we did, he would go on a social media rant about me and how I was a horrible person. Most times, he’d make up lies about me and my career which started affecting my income. Still, I stuck by him and put up with his antics.
“Why are you posing with guys?” he asked.
“I need to take pictures at events. It’s my job.” I explained but it always fell on deaf ears.
“You never post any pictures of me,” he complained.
“You know all my social media accounts are strictly business.”
I had a bigger social media following than he did which was professionally managed. I barely posted my own pictures. My team selected what they thought was appropriate for my brand which didn’t involve my personal life. However, Kevin seemed to have a big issue with anything I posted. This was the main source of our arguments – petty, right? I got fed up numerous times but I still couldn’t leave him. When he was good, he was really good which was most of the time.
He tried many times to sabotage my accounts which made me wonder whether he was really upset that I didn’t post him or jealous that I had bigger accounts. I let a lot of things slide which I shouldn’t have. Like one time, my manager asked if I gave Kevin permission to use my name to get clients. Of course, I didn’t.
“I got a call from Nancy. She asked if I knew him and whether he was a part of your team.” My manager explained over the phone.
“Why would he do that?” I asked naively but I knew why.
“We think you should break up with him. He’s a good guy but he’ll ruin your brand. I’ve called a couple of places and they claim that they’ve given us a contract before which we didn’t fulfil. You know I always make sure we attend to every client.”
“Maybe it was a mistake.” I tried covering up for him as I always did.
“Yea. But everything started falling apart when you met him. Just be careful, hun.” She said then hung up.
Our first year anniversary was coming up and the way things were between us, I doubted if we would celebrate it. Then, Kevin suggested that we do a couple photoshoot just for us. He wanted us to take intimate pictures as a gift. At the time, it sounded like a good idea. Besides, I had always wanted to do one of those photoshoots and who better to do it with than with him?
“I promise, if you do this with me, I won’t mention anything about your social media again,” he said.
Before I did anything, I always consulted my manager but since this was personal, I didn’t see the need to tell her anything. Our shoot day finally came and we made our way to the studio of one of the renowned photographers in town. Based on his portfolio, I knew he’d do a good job so I had nothing to worry about.
For sure, the photos came out perfect. He even encouraged me to take a few nude portraits by myself and the results came out very impressive. My boyfriend was excited as well. He sent them via email which I thought was a bit reckless but I didn’t question him.
“You look so hot, babe.” He emailed me along with the pictures.
Days went by and Kevin went on another social media rant. He called me out and even said I was an industry “hoe” even after all the promises he made. After the rant, he posted my intimate pictures on every social media platform – even on his WhatsApp stories. Before I could do anything, the pictures spread like a virus and everywhere I looked, a blog discussed my pictures.
Though they weren’t as scandalous, it was still humiliating and I couldn’t believe that the man I had loved for a year would hurt me like that. I can’t erase what happened to me and it’s a permanent reminder of how one person could potentially ruin your career.
Thanks to a lot of damage control, I got to keep my clients. Some of them walked out but I’m grateful for the ones who stayed. Additionally, I didn’t receive as much backlash as I had anticipated. Everything died down quickly but my nude pictures are still online. However, I broke up with Kevin and sued him for defaming my character. The only time I see him is during court dates.
More on The Singlehood Series:
My Ex Sent Me Nudes While I Was On A Date
After 2 Years Of Raising My Daughter I Found Out I Wasn’t Her Father
Beautiful Girls Turned Thieves
This Great Guy Wants To Be My Boyfriend But I Don’t Have Feelings For Him
