edward snowden's ex-girlfriend

Unless you've been spending time in a cave for the past few weeks with Osama bin Laden's cousins, you probably have heard all about Edward Snowden and the NSA leaks. You've probably not heard very much about Snowden's girlfriend, because very little has been reported by the media. The woman is probably in hiding and for good reason.

Snowden says he left the US without telling her why or what he planned to do, which pretty much means he'll likely never see her again. Putting aside the whole issue of the NSA leaks as to whether they're good or bad, dumping your girlfriend and then telling her on an international broadcast is an incredibly shitty and childish and irresponsible thing to do.

One has to imagine this might have been a relationship with existing problems before his big surprise. He didn't trust his girlfriend enough to tell her what he wanted to do, to ask her advice and counsel and consent. Instead, he trivialized and discarded her. He forced his decision on her before she had a chance to prepare herself and then sent her the ultimate "Dead Jane" letter. He may have left Hawaii thinking he had a girlfriend, but a woman in your bed who you treat like this is no longer your girlfriend once you get on that plane.

If there's any consolation for her, she could dine out on his name by selling her rights and/or writing a book herself. Understandably, she might not want to do that. But if it was me and a male had treated me like this, I would definitely consider this an option. Because if a guy is going to make my life hell, might as well make that hell a bit profitable with some nice creature comforts.

doormat woman

Last year I wrote two entries about Edward Snowden's girlfriend, who was reportedly out of the loop and dumped after her boyfriend left the country and the NSA story broke.

Now it turns out she's been living with him in Russia for quite some time. So what can we deduce from this?

If she truly never knew what his plans were just before he left the US and moved half way around the world after the way he treated her, she ends up looking like the world's most passive doormat. Hey, you were treated like shit, but you crawled back with no dignity and no small personal sacrifice because you love him so much.

Or maybe the jilted girlfriend story was a scam all along, but the media and the rest of the world fell for it. That would mean she knew in advance what he planned before he left and agreed to join him later wherever he happened to settle. IMHO this seems like a more plausible scenario, maybe because I'd like to think the woman isn't a complete dolt.

The third scenario is she initially was furious with him but then forgave him as the NSA revelations began to be published. But that still means she's something of a doormat. If he truly did leave here behind and unknowing, then I see that as an unforgivable act of betrayal that would block any future chance of forgiveness.

A relationship is about trust. If he truly did not trust her with his secret and she was left behind unknowing, then I can't see how she would ever trust him again.

an addendum to yesterday

Not to sound like a sob sister for Edward Snowden's girlfriend or anything, but I found these two items about her (named Lindsay Mills) to be of particular interest: a Washington Post profile and another piece about her at Talking Points Memo. These both were published after I posted yesterday's entry.

I guess I identify with her because of some similarities in our backgrounds and the fact that we both have a history of unexpectedly being treated shabbily by a former lover. I hope she gets through all this with a strong support system to lean on when necessary. And I hope she's like me and eventually stumbles on a much better man who will help make all of this only a distant memory.