It's been ages since I've been on, but for those in this group who remember me and have been with me through all my trials and tribulations over the last few years, I thought you might care to know how things worked out in the end...
Having finally decided to separate from my wife about a year ago, I finally moved out at the end of January (it took a LONG while to find and buy a house, and fix it up to make it habitable for a normal human in the 21st century). A couple of months ago I met a great new girlfriend (got to love internet dating!!), I'd forgotten how good it feels to be with someone who's really into me, cares about me, and I feel the same way about her. She's got a couple of kids the same age as mine, and they all get on well together.
I'm still on good terms with my ex-wife, we went together to take the kids to Harry Potter last weekend, I go over occasionally to do the odd DIY job for her, it's all still friendly. We've got a good share of having the kids, we both get plenty of time with them, and they seem to appreciate having Mum's house in the countryside and my house in the city centre. The kids (most of the time) seem to be coping very well with the change. Only the oldest seems a bit upset by how quickly we both seem to have moved on to new partners - I resisted the temptation (it would benefit no-one) to tell her that actually her mother had moved on to a series of new partners long before I'd left. Nevertheless, she and the other two all seem to get on well with my new girlfriend.
So, life seems to have worked out pretty good in the end, and I'm so much happier than I have been for ages.
I want to thank everyone who's been here to help, advise, or just hold my hand over the last few years. You've helped make the process so much more bearable, you've been there to rant to when I haven't had anyone else I could talk to completely openly about my problems. Thank you.