Intention of an Algerian man

I am a Canadian woman and i have been dating an Algerian man for 3 years in canada.  He is about 15 years older than me. I am a doctor

he was married before and had children in Algeria. They are now all in Canada.  He immigrated to Canada on his own

he said he was forced into marriage when he was 33 years old to 18 years old girl. I had difficulty believing this given the age difference and the power imbalance between man and woman in algeria. His ex wife did not finish high school and I was told she comes from poorer family. He says his family was tired of him not settling down and forced a marriage and children on him. Is this a likely scenario ?

he says she won't give him a divorce and he does not know why. 

i am afraid that he won't leave her and I am just a side chick

@Canadianwoman1234

Hello Canadian women,  I am a British/ Algerian.  It can happen. Sometimes families pressure their kids in to marriage. For a man to be pressured it doesn't happen often.

When he tells you my wife or ex comes from a poor family. This means he feels sorry for her and he feels obligated to keep with her and look after her. He has kids also with her . Divorce happens all the time in Algeria even married with kids.. but for her to divorce him she will need money. And she is poor she will just want to continue with him. Especially she has kids.

I know he met you and he loves you maybe he wants  to be with you. But he has unfinished business. Men cheat everywhere. He see something more exciting and attractive they want to leave his wive for. That means he can cheat on you too. But not all men cheat.

I don't think he sees you as a side chick. He wants to persue a relationship with you. Instead of telling him to divorce her or listening to him talking about divorcing her. If  you really want him you can tell him you want a marriage with him also.. islamic marriage so that he is doing the right thing by you in god's eyes. He is likely going to take the relationship more seriously. But don't listen to him when he tells you he will divorce her. Because it seems like either he doesn't want or maybe he is being bullied by his family and he doesn't want to disappoint them.

@Canadianwoman1234

You are a side chick. No one forces a man to marry anyone in Algeria. He married her out of choice and he is committing adultery with you. No one in his family knows about you and he is very married to his wife. He will never leave her. If he wanted to divorce her he could. It's women in Algeria who need to declare cause to divorce...not men. I was married for 30 years to an Algerian man and lived in Algeria for several. He was cheating on me from the beginning. He was already in a relationship when we met. Look....Let him go. You're being played and he does not care that he is wasting your life. He feels entitled to do whatever he pleases. The rules, including the rules of Islam only apply to women in their culture when it comes to infidelity and honesty in relationships. RUN...