I think if you weren't doing this as your ONLY source of income is nerve racking. As a lady who does this and has a civvie job, I can't tell you how sane I am to know I don't need these wankers to pay my bills. Try the workforce one more time. Instead of having friends lie, tell them you were married or in a relationship, and he didn't want you to work. Once you realized he was trying to control you, you left, and am more than ready to get back in the workforce. I just hired a lady who hadn't worked in three years since her autistic son was born, and her bastard husband left her because he couldn't take the pressure. I even gave her a bit more money because of it(I know people with autistic kids. It takes a fortune to get daycare and the special classes and therapy they need). I don't know how true it all is, but I'm a sucker for hard luck stories.
Good luck to you!