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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Should I divorce him? Husband and a younger ex colleague

55 replies

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 06:30

My husband doesn’t make a lot of effort with his friends. He rarely makes plans, and prefers to be a home. He has a few male friends, sees them less than once a year.

Background context- not long after we had our first child- who is now an older teenager, he had an affair with a woman from work and left. I stupidly took him back. There have been a few incidents over the years. One of his colleagues’ weddings where he was really friendly with a woman who he’d never spoken about and then ditched me with his work colleagues for hours- gut feeling about this one. He was super over friendly with a beautiful young neighbour who since moved out. Again nothing more than that as far as I know. Occasionally I’ve caught him looking at women, which he always denies. I haven’t made a big deal out of any of it.

Cut to now, and something possessed me to check his phone. After the affair and when I took him back I made a pledge with myself if I was going to trust him I would. I haven’t looked at his phone for all these years. There is a message there to a younger, beautiful ex colleague asking to meet up for a catch up. He says he doesn’t work near her on her days, but will ‘make an exception for her’. and he calls her ‘lovely’ which he does to women so not out of the ordinary. I told him openly what i’d done and seen. He says they’re just friends. I don’t know what to think but bad gut feeling and things have been up and down between us. I know he would like more sex. I’m exhausted with work and the kids. What should I do?

OP posts:
ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 06:30

Sorry should have said I’ve name changed so not to be outed!

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colachive · 17/03/2025 06:36

Sounds like a fundamental part of his personality really, and if it stresses you out / makes you feel undermined or upset then there is a compatibility issue. It’s unclear whether he’s just a bit sleazy or it’s more serious (apart from the affair obviously) but I would find it very hard going through life, aging etc with a man with a wandering eye. It’s always going to be in the back of your mind.

ExtraOnions · 17/03/2025 06:49

You refer to all of these women as “beautiful”, do you think this might be a self-esteem issue with you, going back to his earlier affair ?

You’ve never really got past it, you may have tried, but, you’ve spent years making a mental note of every woman he’s spoken to, or looked at. You see them all as a threat.

Nobody ever said you have to get over an affair, some people can, some can’t. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life continuing to make notes and worry about all these “beautiful” women.

I don’t think the texts to his colleague are out of the ordinary.. I probably have loads of messages on my phone saying “let’s meet” (half the time you don’t).

thepariscrimefiles · 17/03/2025 06:49

He had an affair and left you with a young baby. He is constantly sleazing over his younger female colleagues and other young women like your neighbour.

You say you made a pact/pledge with yourself to trust him. Unfortunately, he didn't make a pact to be trustworthy. What's the rest of your relationship like? He sounds pretty awful to me and I would probably be making plans to leave.

DustyLee123 · 17/03/2025 06:51

I don’t see how you can have a true relationship if you don’t trust him, you’ll always be wondering.

JingsMahBucket · 17/03/2025 06:52

@ByDreamyNavyDreamer divorce him and move on with your life.

Veryverycalmnow · 17/03/2025 06:55

Trust your gut as you can't trust him unfortunately.

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 07:00

thepariscrimefiles · 17/03/2025 06:49

He had an affair and left you with a young baby. He is constantly sleazing over his younger female colleagues and other young women like your neighbour.

You say you made a pact/pledge with yourself to trust him. Unfortunately, he didn't make a pact to be trustworthy. What's the rest of your relationship like? He sounds pretty awful to me and I would probably be making plans to leave.

The rest of the relationship has it’s ups and downs. He’s very family oriented but is also an anxious person, so can be snappy/ grumpy. In the past this has bordered on aggressive but we have had counselling and this has improved I like his company but I would like to have people round and be more social and he doesn’t like having other people here. He does a lot around the house and with the kids- but I definitely do more mundane dishwasher/ washing type stuff, he does outdoor stuff and hoovering- it probably evens out.
But on the trust issue, the counsellor told me people can suppress / shut down in that area so instead of just choosing to trust him, she says I was just not paying attention to how I felt- shutting down and in the long run it comes out in other ways. It’s linked to grief in childhood apparently.

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HomeTheatreSystem · 17/03/2025 07:07

It depends on what you want the rest of your life to look like. Do you want to be always wondering what he's up to, whether he's telling the truth or not, who he's fancying or not? It's the second guessing and uncertainty that is so corrosive. You gave him a chance when you took him back and the 8yr old boy inside him was just happy to have got away with it. A real man would have been glad of the second chance, deeply remorseful at the pain caused to you and been careful never to say or do anything again to cause you to doubt him.

I'd bin him off: you may not find someone much better but you won't be left wondering what he's up to all the time.

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 07:16

I think the replies here are so right. Although the message could be completely innocent- I don’t trust him. I really don’t feel like he’s an honest person- he lies about big and small things.
It’s really hard when you love someone- we’ve been together 20 years and we’re both still young- in our early 40s. I’m terrified of the effects on the kids. But I don’t want to live like this all my life.

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ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 08:13

It feels like such a small incident to divorce him over. I know he will double down and make it into me being jealous and insecure. I am so torn because I love him and he’s my best friend but I don’t want to be made to feel like this.
Any advice on how to support the kids would be appreciated

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Anchorage56 · 17/03/2025 08:13

Just from reading your opening post it jumped out at me that I think he has or would cheat again. He strikes me as the type who would cheat given the chance and is possibly trying to make that happen with this ex colleague.

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 08:15

Anchorage56 · 17/03/2025 08:13

Just from reading your opening post it jumped out at me that I think he has or would cheat again. He strikes me as the type who would cheat given the chance and is possibly trying to make that happen with this ex colleague.

Yes I think this too. I think he probably has but I don’t have any evidence at all.

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HomeTheatreSystem · 17/03/2025 08:19

Re the kids, yes, there will be an effect on them whether you stay or go. You stay, and your mind will be elsewhere, anxious about what your husband is up to. The kids will pick up on that but also they will see it as a normal way to live and seek out the same for themselves in a partner later in life (because it looks familiar to them). You leave him and there will be changes in their lives (which are normal in fact) but mum is more relaxed and more present. They are not sensing your distress every day. The hardest thing will be not having 2 parents under the same roof.

BTW not being able to trust him because he lies about the insignificant and the significant is not a little thing: it is inherently destabilising. You're fixing too much on whether there's anything to that message and not on the fact that he's untrustworthy.

Barrenfieldoffucks · 17/03/2025 08:20

Essentially, he sees nothing wrong with the concept of lusting after and mildly pursuing (all apart from the actual affair) other women on a regular basis. Whether he realises it or not, there is a part of him that thinks of himself as available.

It is up to you whether or not the feeling of knowing that about him, and putting up with it, out weighs the upheaval and uncertainty of divorce.

Everyone is different in that regard, personally I wouldn't be able to live with someone who felt like/behaved like that, so would look at splitting now while there is still the opportunity for amicability, which there is unlikely to be if it drags on and he does it again.

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 08:29

Barrenfieldoffucks · 17/03/2025 08:20

Essentially, he sees nothing wrong with the concept of lusting after and mildly pursuing (all apart from the actual affair) other women on a regular basis. Whether he realises it or not, there is a part of him that thinks of himself as available.

It is up to you whether or not the feeling of knowing that about him, and putting up with it, out weighs the upheaval and uncertainty of divorce.

Everyone is different in that regard, personally I wouldn't be able to live with someone who felt like/behaved like that, so would look at splitting now while there is still the opportunity for amicability, which there is unlikely to be if it drags on and he does it again.

I agree with you. I think he’s likely to focus on/ convince himself he’s done nothing wrong (that I have evidence about!) and so I’m so unreasonable this could cause the same animosity.

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CheesePlantBoxes · 17/03/2025 08:36

Do you not see that it's literally impossible to trust him without consciously shutting off your gut? Your gut is right but it can't be right while you have a relationship with him because the two do not go together.

So you have to choose. A relationship with him and your gut instinct about who to trust cannot coexist.

And its not just affairs, this is classic, unintentional, Not My Nigel stuff. None of these beautiful young women want his attention. They are uncomfortable and find him a sleaze but don't think they can speak up because they work with him, or he's friendly woth their parents or they are just too young to know that they don't need to respect their elders or out up with this shit because they are too scared to make an awkward atmosphere.

Didimum · 17/03/2025 08:42

Oh, OP. You get ONE shot at this life. Please don’t have it look like this. You’re so young with potentially such a happy and fulfilling life ahead of you. You’ve wasted 20yrs hoping for this to get better – it hasn’t, it won’t. Please don’t waste the next 20 and wake up mid 60s at your life spend being continually anxious and base-level unhappy.

There is no chance he hasn’t been cheating and looking to cheat for the entirety of your relationship.

Fennish · 17/03/2025 09:49

My marriage was like this and my most recent relationship has had hallmarks of it too. It's exhausting feeling like danger is always just behind the door.

It's incredibly hard being with a man who is constantly looking at what else is out there. For me, my husband telling me his latest fancy was prettier than me because she was younger was the final straw. I suppressed it for six months then cracked. You may try and block it out of your mind but your body knows.

Things are in many ways harder, partially because I'm not completely free yet while the divorce is going through, but also so much better. I've found my own strength and independence. I feel safe and less anxious, even though I'm sometimes sad. I've made lovely new friends and found new hobbies, but also revisited hobbies from childhood. There has been great joy amidst the wreckage of my old life.

I'm learning that I only want to make space for someone that cherishes me. When I wrote down a list of values I wanted in a partner, my ex had few of them. He just wasn't kind.

You deserve better.

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 11:37

CheesePlantBoxes · 17/03/2025 08:36

Do you not see that it's literally impossible to trust him without consciously shutting off your gut? Your gut is right but it can't be right while you have a relationship with him because the two do not go together.

So you have to choose. A relationship with him and your gut instinct about who to trust cannot coexist.

And its not just affairs, this is classic, unintentional, Not My Nigel stuff. None of these beautiful young women want his attention. They are uncomfortable and find him a sleaze but don't think they can speak up because they work with him, or he's friendly woth their parents or they are just too young to know that they don't need to respect their elders or out up with this shit because they are too scared to make an awkward atmosphere.

I don’t know if that’s the case to be honest. The neighbour was about 10 years younger and constantly asking him for favours/ being over friendly with my kids. The woman this time is just as friendly back on the texts. Not the point, but I wouldn’t put up with him being an old disgusting letch.

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ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 11:40

It feels pretty unanimous here that people think i’m not being unreasonable even though I don’t really have any proof of cheating. It’s such a huge decision I don’t know what to do

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Garlicgarlicgarlic · 17/03/2025 11:46

It's not a small issue, it's just the fact that he's a shit person, fundamentally.
An aggressive, cheating liar is not marriage material.
He can double down all he wants, there's no need to argue with him or indulge him in drama. The marriage is dead, just grey rock him until the house is sold.

ByDreamyNavyDreamer · 17/03/2025 12:07

Garlicgarlicgarlic · 17/03/2025 11:46

It's not a small issue, it's just the fact that he's a shit person, fundamentally.
An aggressive, cheating liar is not marriage material.
He can double down all he wants, there's no need to argue with him or indulge him in drama. The marriage is dead, just grey rock him until the house is sold.

I don’t disagree with you. He can be very loving, pick up the slack when I have lots on at work, can be thoughtful, and my kids think the world of him. It seems so harsh when you see it written down- like that- but that’s what he is. I just need the push to actually go through with it!

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Garlicgarlicgarlic · 17/03/2025 12:29

Kids think the world of their parent/s until they're old enough to see them for who they are.
He'll still parent them whether he's continuing to cheat, lie and be aggressive to you, or is divorced.

Focus on your future. Imagine the peace of a house free from some angry man.

The sheer audacity of the man- cheating, lying and then being aggressive and taunting you for being insecure.

Nowvoyager99 · 17/03/2025 12:44

He cheated on you, had an affair.

It is almost impossible to win back the trust that is lost, and this man isn’t even trying.