Dear Bob ... I'm facing a problem that seems pretty tough to me. Long story as short as I can make it: my career was interrupted a few years ago by my becoming involved in a disastrous relationship.Among other things, my now-ex deeply resented my having a career, enjoying my work, and so on, and I made some unfortunate decisions regarding her attitude. The biggest one, and the one that's giving me trouble right Dear Bob … I’m facing a problem that seems pretty tough to me. Long story as short as I can make it: my career was interrupted a few years ago by my becoming involved in a disastrous relationship.Among other things, my now-ex deeply resented my having a career, enjoying my work, and so on, and I made some unfortunate decisions regarding her attitude. The biggest one, and the one that’s giving me trouble right now, is that I stayed unemployed for 18 months in a frantic attempt to please her (and, I hoped, get her to change and let me go back to work). I finally gave up, went back to work in August 2005, and, true to her word, she left me, which I have finally realized after quite some time was a blessing in disguise. (Hmm. In writing that, it strikes me as odd that it should have taken me so long to realize some things that are totally obvious when I explain them tosomeone else.)OK… pop psychology, therapy, and the like aside, since that’s not pertinent here — I’m planning/hoping to move to another city later this year. How do I cover the 21-month gap on my résumé? Obviously, I can’t exactly say that I was in an abusive relationship with someone who wouldn’t let me work, for more reasons than I can shake a stick at. Especially with me being male.Any suggestions you have would be welcome.– Career-limited Dear Limited …Don’t be hard on yourself regarding getting yourself into the situation. Many bad relationships have a lot in common with boiling a frog (you know the story – if you raise the temperature slowly the frog never realizes it’s being cooked, not that I have anything against frogs or have ever tried it).I’m honestly not certain as to the best way to handle the resume gap. I’m also not sure it’s the right question to ask. Without questioning your motives for wanting to relocate, I would suggest that you think hard about following an 18 month gap in your work history with a job search that starts only 16 months into your new position. So I’d say your best bet is to do the kind of personal networking that doesn’t require resumes at all, and to only accept a position where in the end, they’ve come to you. Otherwise, I think you’d be far better off sticking it out for at least another 18 months before you start looking for your next opportunity.Entirely different suggestion: You might consider asking my friend Nick Corcodilos the same question. He hangs out at http://weblog.infoworld.com/headhunter/ .– Bob Technology Industry