Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

my husband is in love with another woman.

359 replies

ponytailcapbadge · 10/01/2026 18:59

Sorry this is a name change and a long one so as not to drip feed. I would like to hear people’s opinions as I am considering leaving my DH as he is in love with someone else, lets call her Sarah. He has known Sarah since they were 4 years old. Their parents and grandparents were all friends.She is who is parents thought he should and would marry and she is utterly adored by his who family. She called his parents mum and dad. My husband claims they were never an item (although he wished they were) and they have only kissed once when they were teenagers. She’s nothing to look at but has done very well in her career. We are now all in our late 50s.
This is a second marriage for both me and DH. I met him and his DW at work. I was friends with his DW1 and she would often speak about Sarah and how much she hated her and how she had banned her husband from ever contacting her. When DH marriage broke up, I was already divorced and we started seeing each other. Unfortunately in the job we do this is utterly banned and within 2 weeks we were discovered and he was sacked on the spot. He also lost his home at the same time as it went with the job. I was protected because he was my boss and so was considered a victim. DH had to move in with me and I supported him while he searched for a new career. I wanted a commitment from him and he proposed in a very theatrical way within 6 months of us getting together and it was wonderful – or so I thought.

It turned out that he had immediately got in contact with Sarah when his marriage failed and was messaging her several times a day. They also met up at her house. She told him not to marry me. At this point I understood why DW1 hated her. We got married anyway. It’s fair to say it’s been a pretty tempestuous union. My career has skyrocketed and I’ve moved up through the ranks. He’s struggled to find work and earns now a fraction of what he did when we worked together. I knew that he still thought about her and once he called out her name during sex.
When his mother died Sarah turned up at the funeral. I was furious that she should insert herself into our family grief. When DH father died a few years later she also came to that funeral and had the cheek to bring her husband and child as well. I told him in no uncertain terms that if he spoke to her there that the marriage would be over. She glared at me the whole time.
After the funeral I said he could never speak to Sarah again and told him to remove all social media links to her. I don’t understand why Sarah’s husband hadn’t stopped them speaking to each other.
It’s been 6 years and I really thought she was out of our lives and then on NYE his phone pinged.I checked his phone and it was a text from Sarah saying HNY. I then realised she is never going to be gone from our lives. Our respective kids are almost grown up. AIBU to think now is the time to call this a day. I’ve never even spoken to this woman and yet I want to kill her. I hate what she has done to my marriage. Do I really want to spend the last part of my life with a man who is in love with someone else?

OP posts:
Brightlittlecanary · 11/01/2026 10:52

cauliflowercheeseplease · 11/01/2026 10:39

So you are telling me, if your partner called out another woman’s name during sex, you’d be happy for them to maintain contact, regardless of whose fault it is?!

I still can’t see how irs Sarah’s fault either, or how banning contact solves the issue. The issue is with him. He’s the husband. If he prefers another woman, then banning contact doesn’t mean he suddenly prefers you as you’re all that’s available.

cauliflowercheeseplease · 11/01/2026 10:39

Hegharty · 11/01/2026 09:37

And that’s Sarah’s fault because….?

So you are telling me, if your partner called out another woman’s name during sex, you’d be happy for them to maintain contact, regardless of whose fault it is?!

Hegharty · 11/01/2026 09:37

cauliflowercheeseplease · 11/01/2026 01:48

He called out her name during sex with his wife???

And that’s Sarah’s fault because….?

3luckystars · 11/01/2026 08:49

I’ll tell you what I think, Sarah is the decoy. Your husband is having an affair but it is not with her.

She was the decoy with his first wife too.

Of course she would go to his parents funerals, she has as much right to be there as you do.

Trust your instincts here, he is having an affair, or about to start one, but it’s not with Sarah. She has done absolutely nothing wrong, and is lucky she avoided a relationship with him, he is slimey.

Goingootforawalk · 11/01/2026 04:45

cauliflowercheeseplease · 11/01/2026 01:48

He called out her name during sex with his wife???

Yeah and that doesn’t contradict what that poster said about Sarah not doing anything wrong.

Not sure if it happened before or after the funerals but how would Sarah know about this?! There’s no indication anyone informed her that OPs husband called her name out in sex 😬

And that’s a him problem anyway, why should she not attend the funerals of her family friends that were like parents to her, because he’s calling out her name in sex?

She has no idea what he’s doing during sex with OP and sent a HNY text to all her old friends probably like many across the world did. Why would she leave him out? Because Op doesn’t like it?

I would be massively concerned if a childhood friend’s husband or wife banned them from contacting me. And I would want to continue staying in touch with them even if only occasionally. If they (the friend) didn’t like that they’re always welcome to block me and tell me to go away. However in the absence of that I wouldn’t just end the friendship on the say so of their spouse - especially given the circumstances under which they got together and married.

Goldengirl123 · 11/01/2026 04:39

It’s awful for you to banish her from his life. They are lifetime friends. She attended his parents funeral’s because she had known them for so long.

you have never spoken to her but you have this hatred for her

UncannyFanny · 11/01/2026 04:33

ponytailcapbadge · 10/01/2026 19:40

ok I admit we did get together when technically he was still married ,but their marriage was over, she was extremely abusive towards him and I was a shoulder to cry on and developed from that. What I'm struggling with is why wont Sarah just leave him alone. She knows I dont like her. She knows that he is meant to be no contact with him. Why doesnt she stick with her own husband rather than messaging mine? i cant sleep since I saw that text. It makes me wonder what else is going on.

Why wouldn’t you just leave him alone? His marriage was none of your business. Well I suppose at least you know what it feels like now to have another woman sniffing around your husband.

Xkk · 11/01/2026 03:45

Sarah has done nothing wrong. At any point. Sarah is the villain in your story because of you. You got with your husband while he was still married. You thought then that if he blow up his job and lost his house it was for the all consuming desperate love he had for you. Making sacrifices an'all! The truth is starting to show it's face now. Your husband did not sacrifice anything, he just happened to get caught and you became the default provider. It was easier to marry tou then to start over financially. You also realise that your husband is flaky not to be trusted a.ss who can be easily swayed. You also realised that you are afraid. You are afraid the Sarah is like you. Ready to snatch your husband regardless of friendships and anything else. You know you don't have much morals, you don't trust your husband and you are afraid they are more like you out there. You will be always looking over your shoulders and there will be always a woman you will hate. Because of how you set the foundation of your relationship.
P.S. you have no right in any circumstances to dictate who comes to your in laws funeral. None. Get you narcisistic head out of your arse.

IridiumSky · 11/01/2026 02:45

OP, I suspect you’re a copper, probably middle-ranking, and used to giving orders.

You need to leave that stuff at work.

Relaxd · 11/01/2026 02:19

Your husband and his unrequited love is the main issue here. Whether she is around or not, that likely remains the issue. There is no evidence she is in love with him, she has had plenty of opportunity if she was. You are not being reasonable in your view and treatment of Sarah here, going to a funeral or sending a HNY text is quite normal. You’re getting wound up as you sense she has always been his first choice. She’s not after him just because she suggested he shouldn’t marry you. If he doesn’t love you or was rushing things, then that was reasonable advice. It was you after all not him that was pushing to rush a proposal. Don’t you wish now that you’d both waited? Decide if you can cope with what is at best a crush and can stop being paranoid over a glance and can stop trying to control others. If you can’t then this seems pointless to continue.

ExpectZeroContext · 11/01/2026 02:17

It's all your fault. You should have realised that marrying this man was a foolish Idea.
I was appalled when I read you berated the man when he was mourning the death of his mother. What a pathetic display of abhorrent behaviour.

Morecoombe · 11/01/2026 02:08

Is it possible she’s more like a sister to him ? A relative not someone he’s attracted to? She’s married too. They didn’t want to be together or they would have been .

cauliflowercheeseplease · 11/01/2026 01:48

ElegantFowl · 10/01/2026 19:16

I can’t see what’s wrong with her attending the funerals, nor sending a HNY text.

He called out her name during sex with his wife???

InterestedDad37 · 11/01/2026 01:47

He's probably in love with her, and yes, you should probably split up, but NEVER try to police anyone's friendships! That's a real no-no in my book, and for that, YABVU!

Franjipanl8r · 11/01/2026 01:38

Sarah’s the only sane person in all of this. You and your DH sound absolutely bonkers and not in a fun eccentric way.

WilfredsPies · 11/01/2026 01:16

You got together with your friend’s ex husband? What did she think about that? And you did so in the knowledge that he’d been in love with someone else throughout their marriage. Did you think you were different? That you had enough about you that he’d forget about Sarah and just be madly in love with you? And you married him in the knowledge that he had no income and nowhere else to go? You’ve made a royal fuck up here, haven’t you? What a waste of all that time when you could have been happy with someone who chose you.

And if you have to keep your marriage going by banning your spouse from contacting people, it’s already dead in the water. There is no way on earth you two are going to be happily growing old together.

Allisnotlost1 · 11/01/2026 01:11

FortnumsWeddingBreakfastTeaPlease · 10/01/2026 20:58

@ponytailcapbadge

I think you've had some really harsh responses. His first wife wasn't imagining it, and neither are you. Women like Sarah are sly pieces of work.

I worked with one. Obsessed with this guy she had been friends with since childhood, but he never wanted more than friendship from her. Saying how they were "best friends." Announcing her own relevance and importance, because she was going to make sure she was a woman in his life, because she couldn't accept she wasn't the woman in his life. She wasn't letting him go and she hated anyone he was with. If it wasn't for her one sided initiating, with a good dose of "omg, we've been friends since forever, you need to relax" to the guys wife, the guy would have lost contact with her years ago.

The question here, is what responses is your DH giving? Why isn't he closing it down?

I don’t think Sarah’s the one with the obsession here. A HNY text and attending the funerals of people she’s known all her life aren’t really obsessive behaviours. The DH called out Sarah’s name during sex (such a weird thing to do anyway, honestly I’d be so turned off by someone saying my name, so forced and fake). OP obviously quite ok with that as she’s still in the marriage.

TheHiddenVoice · 11/01/2026 01:04

Wellshellsbells · 10/01/2026 22:27

I think if Sarah wanted him,she could have him.She probably feels pity for him, he blew up his marriage and career and then his parents died and that HNY text doesn’t sound very personal, probably sent it to loads of people in her phone.You’re scared because you know what he’s capable of. I bet his first wife didn’t realise it wasn’t Sarah she should be worried about, but her friend.

Agree, Sarah probably became the unknowing decoy.

The ex wife probably knows the score now.

What goes around comes around.

Daygloboo · 11/01/2026 00:54

Daygloboo · 11/01/2026 00:53

I find it strange he has feelings for someone he's known since he was 4. I knew a boy five years older than me who was son of my parents best friends. We knew each other since i was born and he was 5. I devrloped a crush on him when i was 12 and he was 17. Then i think he develooed a bit of a crush ehen i got to sbout 28 and he was 23. But by then i didnt have a crush any more. We have seen each orher on and off at family gatherings for decades now but the.thought of anything romantic or sexual ever happening between us actually makes me feel physically sick..So i find it almost impossible to believe that your DH feels that way about Sarah. Are you absolutely sure it's not more of a sort of bond as if she was a dister or something ?

18 not 28

Daygloboo · 11/01/2026 00:53

ponytailcapbadge · 10/01/2026 18:59

Sorry this is a name change and a long one so as not to drip feed. I would like to hear people’s opinions as I am considering leaving my DH as he is in love with someone else, lets call her Sarah. He has known Sarah since they were 4 years old. Their parents and grandparents were all friends.She is who is parents thought he should and would marry and she is utterly adored by his who family. She called his parents mum and dad. My husband claims they were never an item (although he wished they were) and they have only kissed once when they were teenagers. She’s nothing to look at but has done very well in her career. We are now all in our late 50s.
This is a second marriage for both me and DH. I met him and his DW at work. I was friends with his DW1 and she would often speak about Sarah and how much she hated her and how she had banned her husband from ever contacting her. When DH marriage broke up, I was already divorced and we started seeing each other. Unfortunately in the job we do this is utterly banned and within 2 weeks we were discovered and he was sacked on the spot. He also lost his home at the same time as it went with the job. I was protected because he was my boss and so was considered a victim. DH had to move in with me and I supported him while he searched for a new career. I wanted a commitment from him and he proposed in a very theatrical way within 6 months of us getting together and it was wonderful – or so I thought.

It turned out that he had immediately got in contact with Sarah when his marriage failed and was messaging her several times a day. They also met up at her house. She told him not to marry me. At this point I understood why DW1 hated her. We got married anyway. It’s fair to say it’s been a pretty tempestuous union. My career has skyrocketed and I’ve moved up through the ranks. He’s struggled to find work and earns now a fraction of what he did when we worked together. I knew that he still thought about her and once he called out her name during sex.
When his mother died Sarah turned up at the funeral. I was furious that she should insert herself into our family grief. When DH father died a few years later she also came to that funeral and had the cheek to bring her husband and child as well. I told him in no uncertain terms that if he spoke to her there that the marriage would be over. She glared at me the whole time.
After the funeral I said he could never speak to Sarah again and told him to remove all social media links to her. I don’t understand why Sarah’s husband hadn’t stopped them speaking to each other.
It’s been 6 years and I really thought she was out of our lives and then on NYE his phone pinged.I checked his phone and it was a text from Sarah saying HNY. I then realised she is never going to be gone from our lives. Our respective kids are almost grown up. AIBU to think now is the time to call this a day. I’ve never even spoken to this woman and yet I want to kill her. I hate what she has done to my marriage. Do I really want to spend the last part of my life with a man who is in love with someone else?

I find it strange he has feelings for someone he's known since he was 4. I knew a boy five years older than me who was son of my parents best friends. We knew each other since i was born and he was 5. I devrloped a crush on him when i was 12 and he was 17. Then i think he develooed a bit of a crush ehen i got to sbout 28 and he was 23. But by then i didnt have a crush any more. We have seen each orher on and off at family gatherings for decades now but the.thought of anything romantic or sexual ever happening between us actually makes me feel physically sick..So i find it almost impossible to believe that your DH feels that way about Sarah. Are you absolutely sure it's not more of a sort of bond as if she was a dister or something ?

BrokenWingsCantFly · 11/01/2026 00:45

What has Sarah actually done wrong?

If your DH is calling out her name in bed, then it looks like he may have a thing for her, bur it doesn't sound like he could ever have her. She is married with a child.

She attended his parents funeral. Why do you think you got the right to be the gatekeeper to his parents funeral? She had mutual love for his parents, known them for decades longer than you have and is much more likely to have her own grief towards them passing.

She sent a happy new year message. She probably sent this to all her contacts. Even if that isn't the case, it was just a happy new year text.

She warned him off marrying you. Where was your friends and family to not beg the same of you? You had barely started this relationship, he was married to someone else part of that 6 months. So messy. He hadn't even had enough time to get use to not being married to her but he was already being pressured to making a commitment to you. Why did you demand that so soon. You must know it is abnormal to expect that so quickly. You must be very insecure, thinking putting a ring on it will cement this relationship. Cos that worked out so well the 1st time.

You should leave. You will always feel insecure in this relationship. You rushed in head 1st before seeing if this relationship had what it takes to stand the test of time 1st. No doubt he will be engaged to someone else 6 months later, that someone will not be Sarah

Christwosheds · 11/01/2026 00:15

Tdcp · 10/01/2026 20:52

Seconded.

Thirded

Christwosheds · 11/01/2026 00:13

ElegantFowl · 10/01/2026 19:16

I can’t see what’s wrong with her attending the funerals, nor sending a HNY text.

Same. She has known his parents since she was a toddler, why wouldn’t she go to the funeral of someone she was very fond of ?

oldmoaner · 10/01/2026 23:57

All I can say is I messaged men that I've known all my life, I'd never dream of going out with them they're just friends, but if my husband told me I couldn't have them on Facebook etc., or message them I'd tell him in no uncertain terms we may be married but he doesn't tell me who I can speak to. You sound as if because you earn better money than DH that you think you are better than him and either you totally control him or you don't want him. Maybe he'd be better off without you trying to control him.

Hiphopboppertybop99 · 10/01/2026 23:50

I don't think this is Sarah's fault.
You can't blame her for attending the funerals.
You can't blame her because she has known your DH longer than you.
Idk if Sarah was in a relationship when you started a relationship with your DH, but my guess is even if she was she didn't want to be and told your DH not to marry you so they could eventually be in a relationship.
Your DH need you and your home because he lost his job and home because of your relationship.

Swipe left for the next trending thread