Couples who've "swapped" long-term

[MrsCristoforou]

Just musing on this really. I can't imagine it's very common but does anyone know of any couples who were friends and then e.g. one partner from each couple left their partners and got together, and then the other two got together as well?!

Only in soap operas, never in real life.

Shania Twain and Robert 'Mutt' Lange, her producer husband. He and their nanny/friend had a thing and went off together, now Shania is married to the woman's ex husband.

Yes but it was a whole drama llama and of course they’re no longer friends

One of DH's friend's parents when he was a teenager. DH was recently invited to said friend's third wedding. Whether the two are connected who knows.

My ex and his brother “swapped” couples during a holiday together. My ex’s new relationship was short lived (like all relationships) but his brother and his new girlfriend stayed together until he passed and were very happy the whole time, probably one of the few couples I know that seemed legitimately happy long term.

I know two people who found out they were cheated on, are currently together after meeting to talk about it but we think it will be short lived and it’s more like shared trauma, really.

My brother found out his wife was cheating, and he ended up in a relationship with his wife’s affair partner. This relationship lasted about 13 yrs before they split (but remained best friends, so much so my brother gave her away at her wedding!).
His wife and the affair partner? Lasted about 2mths after they were discovered.
She always was a miserable, controlling cowbag.

Yes this happened to my friend. Two couples were friends with each other until they found out the other two were having an affair. Both the ones who were being cheated on split up from their other half’s and then ended up together as they became quite close to each other.

there no longer friends with each other but both of them got divorced from each other and married the other.

the original couple who started the affair are a bit rocky and surprisingly still together as they have had many up and downs.

but the other two are doing really well. Don’t think anyone thought they would last as everyone said it was a rebound but they seem to be really strong

A woman at work did, they were both married couples, and are now married again to the other partners. They went to each others weddings.

This happened to my friends parents when I was about 8 years old. I don’t remember many details but my Mum said it was quite scandalous at the time and there was actually an article about them in the Sun! 😮

Yes, some friends of my mothers. The two aggrieved spouses leant on each other for support and one thing led to another.

Funnily enough, their relationship outlived the relationship of the “cheaters”.

It was actually really nice for the DC I think.

Yes, affair was exposed on a joint holiday. The non affair partners got together not long after. Affair couple split after a few months. The non affair partners split after a few years (they’d got married) and he went back to his original wife. All the kids were at school together and really suffered in the fall out.

Wow, this seemingly happens a bit more frequently than I realised!

Credit to all who've made it work but it must be unnerving for any kids involved, to say the least. In terms of suitability, I guess there's an argument that if you (as a couple) get on well with and have lots in common with another couple, chances are they'll have the same values, worldview and interests as you to an extent, so I can imagine there's some overlap 🤣

Yes, my primary school friend's parents when we were about 8. Both new couples went on to get married and have been together decades.

Appalling behaviour from all the adults involved there. Actually shocking that anyone can care more about a relationship than their own kids’ happiness and stability

Yes, my ex boyfriend's brother and his girlfriend with another couple. The four of them all stayed friends.
I thought it was funny.

Yes, I had an aunt whose third husband began an affair with her best friend. They were all three great friends and they stayed that way, even after he went to live with the friend. Then my aunt became chronically ill and she ended up moving in with them and they cared for her until she died.

I remember the time I woke up one morning and the cars belonging to husbands were outside the wrong houses.

It was a little cul de sac. I lived there with XH and we socialised with both couples because we were all a similar age.

Yep, they'd swapped and stayed swapped!

When I was a teenager two middle aged couples near us swapped. I know they were together in the new pairs for a few years but no idea what happened long term. They hugely fell out after being good mates. No idea why they didn’t all move far away from our relatively small village but I also know 2 school mums who are married to their ex-best friends husbands. In one case the younger kids travelled past about 4 primary schools to go to the same school that the dads older kids went to (and a different school from the one the mums older kids had gone to) where everyone knew what had happened whereas I would have moved 200 miles away and changed my name.

Yes my dad’s cousin and his wife and the next door neighbours . they permanently swapped and got married. It was a big drama and actually ended up in the news of the world

When I was growing up we lived in a culdesac of 4 houses.Two of the houses swapped spouses with each other.

I'd forgotten that actually. It seemed to work out as far as I know- we moved when i was about 14

Yes. Many years ago, my friend spilt up with her partner and later got together with his best friend who had a girlfriend at the time. Her ex then got with said best friend’s ex-girlfriend.

Both couples then got married, friend is still married with two kids. Not sure about the other couple, not seen them in decades.

Obviously the men didn’t stay friends.

Yes, it happened to me but we were both romantically involved, not friends. I left my boyfriend and got with now DH and my boyfriend at the time was spurned and went to vent to DH’s ex. It’s been sixteen years and we’re all married with several DC’s. Also we never talk or see each other so that helps.

Yes in the 80s some friends of friends of my parents did.

Yes, when I was growing up there was a three way swap involving three houses in my close. I woke up one morning and saw the brothers from three doors down in next door’s kitchen having breakfast!
The funny thing was the same thing happened in the close that was next to mine.

Yes, my DPs parents. His Dad left his Mum for another woman and his mum eventually married her ex DH. They only met through his affair. Both couples stayed together until one died.