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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

he is leaving her and she is destroyed

71 replies

deburca · 04/04/2011 20:39

So here is the story, married for 17 years, together over 20, one child, early teens. 2 rounds of relate and during the second round he admits to one affair years ago and one taking place right this minute. The girl concerned is about 10 years younger than him, pretty , good figure etc etc but from what i hear from people who know her (but dont know about the affair etc) she seems to be a lovely person also. I know both of the people, ie the wife/husband, they have approached me individually to talk and honestly I dont know what to say. this has been trundling on since last summer, wife veering from trying to sort it out to telling him to go.

To be fair to him he has been honest with her from what I gather, he said last summer that his marriage was over, business failed and tied up in mortgage of the house so both of them sitting tight etc regarding living arrangements. DH has openly said both to me and his DW that he is in love with this girl and that his marriage has been over for years. DW is understandably bitter towards this girl, sending nasty texts - which she hasnt replied to - phonecalls where she is calling and then saying nothing (the girl contacted the police and had the number traced and when found out it was her boyfriends DW wouldnt press charges). I feel so bad for the DW but I think she is hurting herself more now by not just kicking him out and letting him get on with things - Ive told him this also - I was cheated on but have managed to move on from it and I think that is why I have been approached on this topic. Any MN advice out there.

OP posts:
deburca · 05/04/2011 10:48

I agree spring, but I dont see how shouting the odds at the husband and telling her he is a bastard helps anyone, least of all their child. I have told her to move on that it is hurting her but dont want to give an instruction hidden as advice, ie dont be a fool, get rid of him etc etc. I have told him to seek accommodation elsewhere several times.

I have actaully steered away from mumsnet as I have found - as have others who use it - that if topics like this comes up it appears to be an excuse to call the man a bastard etc etc and point out how its his fault, dont get me wrong sometimes it is , but its not helpful and its a bit childish. I feel sorry for some of the people on here with teh stories they tell. I know how it feels to be cheated on - I had it happen to me and I was devastated but I also know that there is no mileage is becoming bitter and aggressive. That only hurts you.

Anyway going off to meet the lady concerned for a big hug and and open ear.

Bye all

OP posts:
dignified · 05/04/2011 10:51

Deb , if that guy was my freind i would have no qualms at all telling him that conducting an affair whilst still living in the family home is ridiculous and damaging for everyone in the family . In fact i beleive it to be emotionally abusive behaviour , as was his affair and his lies to his wife .

I could not support someone who was behaving in an abusive and selfish manner and sometimes , being a freind means telling people things they dont want to hear . He should have ended his marriage before he embarked on this affair , but seeing as he didnt , he should at least now leave the marital home instead of conducting this affair under his wifes nose . Im afraid i couldnt be arsed listening to him bleat about it and i would be asking him to consider the effect of his actions on his family. That would be being a freind Deb.

And yes , i would tell her to throw him out . Hes made his choice and he needs to go . Ive never heard anything like it . I cannot imagine how hurt i would be if this happened to me and my H was getting a load of sympathy from a mutual freind.

I note youve mentioned man bashing and im not sure why . I would say exactly the same if the wife was the one behaving badly.

mozette · 05/04/2011 10:55

deburca you are either the "man" in this relationship or the Other Woman

SpringchickenGoldBrass · 05/04/2011 10:56

It's not wrong to decide that one relationship is over and you want to embark on another. It is wrong to expect the partner you are dumping to carry on servicing you domestically and smile.
I appreciate that you don't want to take sides, so you can sympathise with both partners but the message you need to keep transmitting to them is 'You can't go on like this, one of you has to move out.'

dignified · 05/04/2011 11:05

This poor teenage girl has to watch her dad conduct an affair under her mothers nose , and probably has to witness all the upset that goes with it.
Its not fair , and its a very damaging experience at a vulnerable and impressionable age .

Never mind he cant afford to move out , why can he not go and move in with Ow ?

WhenwillIfeelnormal · 05/04/2011 11:29

deb I'm amazed that you can't see why your thread has attracted such hostility. As someone who dislikes man-bashing and letting women off the hook for bad behaviour as much as you profess to, I don't think sexual politics is influencing the respondents on this thread, but I do think it's influencing your approach, massively.

It was obvious from your original post that you have more sympathy for the man in this situation and apparently huge reserves of empathy for the OW, including your decision to post wholly unnecessary information about her physical appearance ("pretty , good figure etc") and her character ("Lovely person", "Chose not to press charges").

You then say that you believe your male friend to have been "honest" with his wife. Can you not see that his decision to stay put in the marital home and to keep telling his wife that he is in love with an OW but it's inconvenient for him to stand on his own two feet, is cruel?

Having an affair is not honest. No friend really knows what went on in their marriage, but one truth transcends all others. Having an affair as a response to marital difficulty is sure as hell the worst remedy to effect change and is in fact the behaviour of someone too weak (again) to stand on his own two feet and leave honourably, before meeting someone else.

What you also might be hearing is a load of post-affair rationalisation from him, with exaggerated tales about how awful his marriage was - so awful that he stayed in it all these years...Hmm

Of course his wife is furious. Quite apart from the fact that she is being treated cruelly by a man who won't give her space to lick her wounds, she is no doubt hugely angry that she was lied to and deceived for so long. If she's only a few months along from this and the situation is still not resolved, with daily reminders of her husbands "love" for another woman, her anger won't dissipate for some time.

If your male friend had an ounce of human compassion and sympathy for his wife, he would move out and let her grieve. If you were a really good friend to them both, you would urge him to do this from a humanitarian perspective rather than a selfish, financial standpoint and be there to challenge some of his delusions about his own behaviour and that of his OW's. If you were a good friend to his wife, you would let her rage and dissipate her anger, gently challenging her if her anger is solely directed at the OW and not her H. Yes, you should discourage her from sending angry missives to the OW, because that will damage her most of all, but you of all people should understand why she feels the way she does. She needs to discharge her perfectly righteous anger in ways that won't harm her, most of all.

It's really hard being a friend to a couple in the midst of a crisis like this, but IME it doesn't help if you try to sit on the fence and fail to challenge what is cruel and indefensible behaviour. In your shoes, I would wonder why you have had this reaction and whether you are more prepared to tolerate the indefensible in someone, just because he's a man?

wannabefree · 05/04/2011 19:03

I'm convinced OP is the other woman. You hit the nail on the head, WWIFN, when you picked up on the 'she's 10 years younger, has a nice figure and seems to be a nice person' rubbish. I mean what has that got to do with this, and why would a 'friend' drop something like that into a description about the situation?

Glad you're not returning to this thread deb, you're insulting our intelligence!

dignified · 05/04/2011 19:28

I agree something doesnt sound quite right here . As wwifn says , you apear to have much more sympathy for the man for some reason . Are you more freinds with him than her ?

If any of my freinds sat listening and sympathising with my cheating lying H and described the Ow as you have done they i wouldnt class them as a freind for much longer . You seem to be more than willing to overlook his incredibly horrible behaviour.

Thundersighs · 05/04/2011 19:35

I agree it does sound like the OW. Anyone else couldn't fail to be totally sympathetic to the wife. The 'man' sounds like a total prick. What a complete arse.

FabbyChic · 05/04/2011 19:51

Why cant the man move out and live with the OW? Surely that would be the best thing all round.

Thundersighs · 05/04/2011 20:04

That would be the reasonable thing to do but from the sounds of it this wanker guy acts like he is entitled to hang around causing misery for his poor W and DD while shagging his 'lovely' trollop who sounds like she could be married too given the circs. Cock!

romneymarsh · 05/04/2011 20:30

Agree, definitely think the OP is the OW! Why would she mention the lovely figure etc, theres something that doesnt ring true about this story.

PeterAndreForPM · 05/04/2011 20:49

Perhaps the man described here is HoldMyHand 's partner

She has a long running thread going, and the scenario is very similar

I expect there are some women showing him disproportionate amounts of sympathy too Hmm

spidookly · 05/04/2011 21:03

You are a shit friend.

prettyfly1 · 05/04/2011 21:13

OP as someone who has been on both sides of this coin, if this were a friend of mine, I wouldnt be pussy footing around. I would tell him his relationship future is his business but he should have told his wife the truth, moved out and then got on with it before embarking on a new relationship.

Look at what you actually said. They were in RELATE when he confessed to it- relate is for people attempting to resolve their relationships and decide what to do - not people who have already made it clear it was over. This man willfully betrayed his wife at a time when she would clearly have thought they may still work it out. It isnt for you to tell her to move on or act in any particular way. She is obviously angry and whilst I think she is wrong to direct that all at the wife, just picking herself up, accepting it and moving on is probably not an option right now.

She needs to grieve and go through all the processes that involves. And your attitude is so entirely unsympathetic or compassionate towards her that I am not sure you are the right person to do it. I appreciate that means I will also get called an immature rat - not the case. Just a bit curious as to why you got so angry at women doing exactly what your friend needs - calling an unfaithful man who hurt his wife an utter wanker.

prettyfly1 · 05/04/2011 21:14

"direct all that at the wife" should read "direct all that at OW" damned phone....

TantePiste · 05/04/2011 22:45

deburca, you said "sea, i dont think he can afford to move out, bankrupt etc etc, living hundreds of miles away from any family (my house getting renovated so living between 2 rooms myself really so cant put him up)."

And yet elsewhere you write that you are currently married. It is odd that you would refer to 'my house' and 'you' putting him up.

What does your DH think of all this? Is he willing to put up the husband too, then?

Why it does not occur to you that the obvious place for the husband to go, is to stay with the OW....

I think you flounced out upon your dignity because you were sussed.

If you are the OW, it is beyond anything for you to be unwilling and make excuses against putting him up, renovations or no.

Aislingorla · 05/04/2011 23:13

deburca is gone because she's been rumbled! Don't really get her and what she expected to gain from starting this thread!

positivesteps · 06/04/2011 11:40

Yep I agree what sort of friend are you ?

deburca · 06/04/2011 13:09

Ladies, for your info, I am not now nor have I ever been the other woman. I highlighted the fact that the girl was pretty etc because that was the information I had, his DW also told me this.

FFS judging by some of the threads I read on here do you think I would be so stupid as to post on this if I were. As for my husband, he is very supportive of us helping out this couple.

I am a true friend, you are judgmental and more interested in giving your opinion and being the moral judge of everyone involved.

I stopped this thread and will not respond again clearly because of this sort of carryon. People making accusations etc. Its actually laughable.

It is not my place, nor anyone elses, to be shouting at this guy and telling him to do this or that. It will only make things worse for their child. I will listen and always have done to all my friends and tried to help - it is up to them both to decide a way forward, all I wanted was some advice to help them through and be a friend, not this vitriolic outburst.

As I have said before I have been cheated on - its not pleasant but the last thing I needed at the time was well meaning ball busters telling me what I needed to do and say. What I wanted was support and someone to listen to everything without judging.

Some of you come across as absolute bullies at times honestly.

Think what you like, I have actually asked a Counsellor friend of mine now for advice on this - you know - someone who is unbiased and not bitter!! some of you wont of course recognise this cuz you certainly are.

Good luck to you all and lets hope your own marriages/relationships survive your version of friendship

deb

OP posts:
spidookly · 06/04/2011 13:15

You're not helping out this couple.

There is no couple, and their interests are entirely at odds.

When one person totally fucks another person over there is no sitting on the fence.

Your refusal to take sides means you are siding with a man who has treated his wife appallingly over many years.

She deserves support and love, not to be told by some selfish asshole that her feeling don't count because they are inconvenient to her continued friendship with her ex.

ike1 · 06/04/2011 13:22

Deb would support a serial killer in a 'non-judgemental manner' if he was her friend. What a loadda bollocks!!!

amberleaf · 06/04/2011 13:29

phonecalls where she is calling and then saying nothing (the girl contacted the police and had the number traced and when found out it was her boyfriends DW wouldnt press charges)

Thats bollocks, if you start an investigation on malicious calls you are told at the outset that even if it turns out to be someone you know they will still prosecute ! you cant not press charges!!

BelleBelicious · 06/04/2011 13:35

Deb

I've been cheated on in the past. It doesn't make me a saint or my opinion any more valid re. cheating. In fact, a lot of betrayed women sadly seem to go on to be OW - sort of validating it, 'everyone cheats, everyone is unhappy, it happened to me, so some other poor cow can deal with it.'

People are pointing out that you are being a terrible friend to this poor woman. You don't seem very concerned about her welfare and she must be really suffering. Her husband is behaving hideously towards her and you are just 'oh well, mustn't judge.' No one is telling you to shout at him, so get off your high horse. People are just amazed that you show so little compassion towards a woman who is being kicked hard in the teeth.

Yes her husband is upset and yes relationships end, not always well, but it was his choice. He is an adult not a child. And you still don't answer why he can't go and live with the young, pretty, police-coy OW with the wonderful figure.

Why can't you tell him that it is an unacceptable way to treat his wife and tell her it's an unacceptable situation and she shouldn't have to put up with it?

I'm sorry, but it seems fair to question what sort of a friend you are.

BelleBelicious · 06/04/2011 13:39

ike1 - Exactly

My friend recently cut up his grandmother and buried her in the garden. The police are looking for him, but he's had it tough over the years and sometimes his Gran was a bit annoying. How can I help him through this difficult time? My Gran was murdered too, but I know these things happen and I don't want to be judgemental at the moment.

I'd let him hide out in my house, but unfortunately it's being renovated at the moment.

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