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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Was the OW now the DW - AMA

661 replies

Ivgotasecretcanyoukeepit · 13/07/2018 20:29

I was the OW now the DW so AMA if you’re interested.

OP posts:
TheMonkeyMummy · 17/07/2018 07:35

Here we go. I am going to try again...

@Ivgotasecretcanyoukeepit

bellows so she can hear me

GOOD MORNING!!!!! Fancy asking some questions that have been asked (repeatedly) on you 'ask me anything' thread?

Here goes:

Exactly how many years have you been married?

How long were you together before you got married? (So far you have only told us you were together 18 months in total before he left his wife, one year EA, 6 months PA).

What signs would you look out for in the future that might suggest he was cheating?

Are you planning on starting a family? (You have alluded to possibly having more children than your DSD but have neither confirmed nor denied. Just ignored.)

@Andromeida59 asked
OP, I asked what your biggest achievement was outside of this man. Would you mind answering?

Also, what makes you think that you're so different to all of the other women he has had affairs with?

@greenberet asked what was your relationship like with your father?

*Please can you answer?

thank you.*

Maybellissimo · 17/07/2018 07:54

I sincerely hope you get cheated on. Then you’ll know how it feels to be on the other side of it. It amazes me how someone can be so intentionally destructive knowing the pain it will cause.

Ophelialovescats · 17/07/2018 07:55

Have you checked your husband's phone recently ? Pockets for receipts.... lipstick on his collar ...??
Because your posts here indicate a very insecure woman in a fragile marriage which began with deceit and lies and basically you are trying too hard to paint a picture of a happy marriage.

MorrisZapp · 17/07/2018 07:59

Well that's sexist isn't it. Karma in this instance would be the married person ie the man being cheated on.

But that doesn't interest the MN guillotine knitters who want women to pay the price for all sexual wrongdoing, while married men are treated like children who can't be expected to know better.

Age old double moral standard.

TheMonkeyMummy · 17/07/2018 08:09

@MorrisZapp I haven't met anyone on here who treats men like they don't know any better? They didn't accidentally fall and stick their willies in some poor bystander or sleep walk into someone else's arms, did they?

DaisyTwirl · 17/07/2018 08:42

No double standards here either MorrisZap.

The cheating liar is always 100% responsible for their cheating & lying, regardless of sex.
The affair partner is 100% responsible for their choices too - actively colluding in a lie is a choice.

I've zero respect or time for either party in these circumstances.

Honesty & integrity are really not unattainable qualities - in men or women.

Would it have killed the bloke (in this instance) to have been honest with his wife & end their relationship if it was so horrifically bad?
Would it have killed OP to tell him she wasn't going to collude in his lies?

(Spoiler alert! Answer to both is 'no, it wouldn't')

Shortstuff08 · 17/07/2018 09:03

Well that's sexist isn't it. Karma in this instance would be the married person ie the man being cheated on.

How is it sexist? Karma would be either party being cheated on, as they were both part of the cheating. The OP happens to be woman. I don't believe if the poster was an OM, the responses would be different.

Reading this thread, I can't see anyone who hasn't laid blame at the ops husband door.

SweetheartNeckline · 17/07/2018 09:16

Apologies if this has already been asked.

Why did it take DH 18 months to leave XW, given the connection was so strong and so instant?

greenberet · 17/07/2018 09:28

Don't think the man will get off Scot free - he will get his karma don't you worry - it may not be in the cheating vein - more likely when he's old and frail and wondering why the fuck his kids want nothing to do with him - or maybe he will lose his coveted "director" role which no doubt is what boosts his ego and thinks that he is above it all!

Karma is not so straightforward - it's not going to present itself so that it is easy for you just to think oh yes this is it - it's going to smack you in the arse where you least expect it so you have to figure it out where you fucked up!

JennaTools · 17/07/2018 09:44

Did you have a church wedding?

MountFuji · 17/07/2018 10:36

Very sad thread. Heart goes out to everyone who is suffering.

Affairs happen. It seems rather distasteful to come on here and sort of rub peoples face in it. Have some dignity and empathy. We all make mistakes in life that can hurt other people but we mostly make amends where possible and if not possible move on as quietly and respectfully as possible. Certainly not gloat about it.

Not meaning to be condescending but the person you are in the 20s is not the person you will be in your 40s. I think you will look back on this and cringe.

greenberet · 17/07/2018 10:41

And here's a story as to how you make a choice in life

I knew I wasnt happy - I was going to say in my marriage but that would be an easy copout - but at the time that's what I thought it was but deep down it was me that wasn't happy - I had all the material trappings of a very good life yet still felt lonely - this would hit when in a 5 star luxury holiday resort - so all the day to day activity that kept you busy kept you distracted wasn't there - and I noticed a lack of connection with my DH at the time. Not just once but several holidays.

I asked myself a question is this where middle aged women turn to younger men for a bit of attention - see the cliche can work the other way round too - if so I could pretty much understand why this could happen - had someone caught me at this time who knows what I would have done!

But in an attempt to boost myself I turned to dancing something that I had always loved - I've always wanted to learn salsa/Ceroc and so I asked my DH if he would come with me - he wouldn't He was too busy with his business.

So eventually I went with a girlfriend - I was too scared to go on my own at this time - but despite finally having the opportunity to learn something that I had wanted to do for a long time - I felt uncomfortable - I felt uncomfortable dancing with men that were not my husband - I knew I was vulnerable and I could have been easy prey - I asked DH again if he would go with me he said no. So I stopped going - I then found Zumba - this gave me the thrill I needed without the danger and I use the word danger because I reckon you give off something when you are like this even though you may not know it _ and the men there could probably spot it a mile off - all they needed to do was give you a bit of encouragement here a well done there and suddenly you would be putty in their hands!

I believe my DH was going through something similar - this mid life crisis is only a crisis when you follow the cliche - the unsettlement we feel is an opportunity to look at ourselves and work out where we go next? Except most people ( mostly men) think this unsettlement is something that needs fixing on the outside so they look to see what can be responsible for this feeling - the easy target is the wife - the wife who is busy with kids, the wife who is doing too much, the wife who is feeling exactly the bloody same as her DH and struggling with her own identity so unable to pander to his ego! The wife who has got older, the wife who is no longer the pretty young thing and BTW I'm not italien!

And then comes along a pretty young thing ( not really but we are talking cliches here) who has lost her job and so has her DH ( both worked for same company) and they are desperate because they have two kids! They happen to work in the same industry as my DH who is pretty much top of his game - they approach him for some help - can he do some professional training for them!

I remember this because he talked to me about it - but at the time he was too busy trying to keep on top of the workload he already had! They were desperate they were prepared to pay but he was still too busy - so then came another opportunity she could perhaps come and work for him - she flattered his ego which was beginning to wain as it does in mid life!

And then his dm died - totally knocked him as I knew it would - I took his burying himself in his work as his way of dealing with grief - that he needed to work through it in his own way - gave him the space to do this - what I did not know is her DF had died and she used this as a way of getting him to talk- and that's how they became close - the emotional affair - now you may think I would not have understood but you see I did - I had lost my own dm!

Had this OW any self respect she would have backed off knowing he was married but no the lure of our lifestyle, the lure of bagging a head honcho when her own DH was unable to provide financially was too much! As I say the death of his DM was a catalyst!

But she showed her true colours pretty early on he was wavering and back here - so what did she do - she threatened me with the police for so called harrassment for looking at her linked in profile and him for not keeping his wife in check as a director of the company she worked for!

This can only come from a place of weakness and yes it is evil - making a decision to threaten someone into losing something they hold dear - not me by the way but the business! An evil decision!

And so the rest is on MN

I don't really need you to answer my questions - I already know your answers - not the version you give out on here but the version you cannot admit to but is also human - but it depends which side of the spectrum you are on and despite what you think yours ain't love! So all your reasons for doing what you did have nothing to do with love ?

I guess the only one I'm interested in is what was your relationship like with your own father - I suspect not that great that's why you have gone for the older man - a sugar daddy? See life is full of cliches - because you know what the same patterns repeat over and over and over again!

If we got what we are supposed to live life by we would not see these repeating patterns -in your case yours are negative because this is how you chose to live your life - there are positive cliches too for those that live this way!

I'm intrigued as to where you are on the internet - have you gone looking elsewhere to get your ego bolstered as you failed miserably on here - that really show how desperate you are!

Do yourself a favour remove yourself from this man - get out now and you are young enough and still a looker to find your own man- let your dsd go back to her mother who is the only person that will ever have her best interests at heart again despite what you say - if you don't believe this find the thread where the SM has kicked off for not being included in her DSd wedding - a whole ugly can of worms exploding here - all because the SM feels entitled for loving the dsd as her own for a long time!

You have been giving a warning here - not by the ex wives club but by the universe - see we are not stupid enough to think this is within our control but there are a hell of a lot of men out there who believe they can do this - I expect your DH is one of them!

Good luck and actually I surprise myself here because I mean this as sincerely as I can given the circumstances! I would love to hear that you took on board some of what has been said to you - you garnered together some self respect and got out now - better late than never - rather than read on here a bit further down the line that you are another victim, that your world has been turned upside down and you are struggling to keep it together and more to the point your kids world has been torn apart.

Do this right and they can come out unaffected by this and they are still young - but hang on in there for your own ego - to prove us all wrong - well the odds are already stacked against you!

MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 17/07/2018 11:00

I'm pleased the OP started this thread. It is interesting to hear about what goes on in an OW's mind.

I'm an ex partner who tried saving a broken relationship to a serial cheater. It was hell trying to save a broken relationship - I wasted so much time whilst initially being unaware he was off playing with younger women. Then I believed his promises of changing.

I had less time to devote to him after our child was born. I didn't make enough effort with my looks or make him feel special (baby and I were in hospital several times, on and off for a few years).

Now he has a new younger version of me - not any of the bitter OW - who were (un)lucky enough not to be marriage material. She is lovely and I want stability in their household for my daughter. I don't think he has changed though.

Ophelialovescats · 17/07/2018 11:07

What an amazing , comprehensive, well written post greenberet!

Keepingupwiththejonesys · 17/07/2018 12:29

Hmm, I see this thread has turned into yet another that's bashing age gap relationships, can we all please stop that. The assumption there is "daddy issues" disgusts me. I get on great with my dad, my husband is ten years older.

Op- I'll get slated for asking this but I'm curious. Had his ex 'let herself go'

Robin2323 · 17/07/2018 12:50

Even if she had 'let herself go '
You've still got the Cheryl Cole argument..,,,,,,

dogzdinner · 17/07/2018 13:29

OP - How did his wife find out about the affair?

Cuttingthegrass · 17/07/2018 13:31

There’s some really good questions on here. Is this the first AMA that the OP isn’t answering ?

AhhhhThatsBass · 17/07/2018 13:33

Hi OP. Wanted to say that while I in no way condone cheating, (and would save most of my distain against the cheater rather than the OW), I am shocked at the level of vitriol being directed at you. I have no doubt that many of the posters have been devastated by being cheated on and in no way would even try to diminish how they feel or how their families have been ripped apart. But the level of personal attacks indicates that there is a large subset of posters who are substituting you for their cheating spouse and other woman. You’ve said that you felt guilty which IMO is justified (albeit to a lesser extent than your now husband) but everyone assumes that there is only outcome ie a trail of disaster amd can’t even contemplate that these things can turn out ok. Not always, evidently, but occasionally. I doubt that you are any more likely to be dumped than the next person, on the contrary if you really have found your soulmate in your now husband, probably less so.
Good luck and well done for sticking it out, I’d be well gone by now.

AhhhhThatsBass · 17/07/2018 13:33

*for, not against

Ophelialovescats · 17/07/2018 13:43

She has gone.......

Shortstuff08 · 17/07/2018 13:47

I doubt that you are any more likely to be dumped than the next person, on the contrary if you really have found your soulmate in your now husband, probably less so.

Sorry but this rubbish. Ops dh admits to being a serial cheater. 2 full blown affairs and several flings. She is more likely to be cheated on, because he is a cheater.

Many people cheat on people they claim are their soul mates. Ok hasn't even said they are soul mates. Just that they are very compatible. You can be compatible with someone and it still not work out.

Keepingupwiththejonesys · 17/07/2018 13:48

Cheryl cole is pretty and all but she may be a complete cow behind closed doors. Maybe the sex life wasn't great either.

Cheating is always wrong and any person that wants to pursue another relationship should end the one they're in. That I do believe. I am just curious of peoples reasons

Robin2323 · 17/07/2018 14:55

Fair. (C Cole)
I do want to know what goes through the OW's head.
Surely if they knew the pain it causes ...... no one would deliberately do that to another person no matter what ....
Surely?????

ReggieKrayDoYouKnowMyName · 17/07/2018 15:10

Okay so, weird perspective here but I’m going to give it.

I actually wrote a bit about this relationship on another unrelated thread about teachers and students the other day, but I was an OW (of sorts- more “Other Girl” to be honest) to a married man in my teens. He was my teacher, I was his student. He left his wife after some time. We did have sex- a lot- while he was still with her. Some of it in her bed. I’m not proud of it. I was young (some of it under age) and a fucking moron of the highest order.... but I can’t claim to have not known it was wrong. I hold marriage in high regard and always have- parents have a lengthy and happy marriage etc. So yeah, I was probably more sinned against than sinning but I wasn’t exactly doing a solid for The Sisterhood. But I digress.

The relationship went on until I was in my early twenties and back then I would have said all the things this OW has said- “sometimes people meet the right person and the wrong time” etc. We did however end up splitting when- quelle surprise!- he cheated on me!!!

Now with a bit more experience under my belt and with life experience that I didn’t have 20+ years ago I will say that I have no idea how anyone goes from OW to wife. Hello, he’s a lying piece of shit. Even if the old adage isn’t true that “if he can do it with you he can do it to you” (and I think that actually probably is true) you’ve seen him lying and scheming and cheating. It’s horrible and not the kind of thing you want to know for certain that your life partner and father of your kids is capable of. I’m married now to a very kind man, and one of the very nicest things about my husband is that I know he’s not a liar (or if he is, I don’t know about it and it’s not been directly demonstrated to me that he definitely is).

So, OP, if you’re still reading- I get how you can end up in an affair or affair situation in the first place as the OW. It doesn’t make you one step down from Hitler and we all do stupid things when we are young. But a) don’t be catty to other women, especially not those with more experience than you who have seen this shit a thousand times before and b) sleep with one eye open. I mean that in the kindest possible way. Leopards do change their spots, but more often than not they don’t. Good luck.

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