Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Relationships

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

How do i stop throwing dh affair back in his face?

17 replies

longwaytogo · 18/12/2005 22:30

Dh had an affair 6 months ago, and i cant stop saying things like How do I know your not going to go back to her? or you could have seen her today if you wanted, or you not got a clue what its like to have the kids all day on your own,

I really think i should learn to bite my tongue but its so flipping hard.

Have had a really s**t week. The dyson fell apart so i stood there and cried, the cupboard was a mess so i sat on the floor and sobbed. Have been driving the car and suddenly start to cry.

This is so unfair, life has changed so much or rather my lifee has changed so much he gets a job, meets new people has new things to challenge and stimulate his mind where i on the other hand have had everything taken away from me. Not that i begrudge the kids the time or attention but its just so hard.

Help please !

OP posts:
snowfalls · 18/12/2005 22:42

I imagine you are only throwing his affair back in his face because it is still a big issue for you, so biting your tongue will only make you feel worse.

Would relate be an option?
Do you still trust him?
could you get a part time eve job?

Pixiefish · 18/12/2005 22:44

Sounds to me like you should go and see your gp and have a chat with him/her.

Mincepiedermama · 18/12/2005 23:10

Longwaytogo - it's early days for you. It's still hurting badly. Do you believe he wants to stay with and commit to you? Are you able to trust him?
If not then you need to do more talking, however painful it is.
Perhaps you don't feel he's attoning enough. You're obviously still very hurt and you need to address that. You seem to be blaming yourself for being hurt but you mustn't. You've been badly betrayed and you're right to be hurting.
Make sure you keep on talking.
I went to Relate with my dh (I had to practically force him) and it was of great benefit.
Sorry you've had such a crap week and I really hope things get better.

gravity · 19/12/2005 01:27

i think we are on par together. 6 months since i found out.
i dont mean to throw it back in his face but it happens constantly.
the topic gets brought up every day.
the pain stays like a numb stabbing in the heart, you feel betrayed an let down.
driving down the road and start crying! yep...... like a maniac!!!
i am now at the stage of how did he let it get to where it got...... i am so disappointed in how it did we spke about if a litle more in depth than previous times last night
giving two girls a lift to their car and then for coffee and the rest is history.....
Longwaytogo you sound real down - was there too a couple of weeks ago. I was going to see my dr about ad's, but I hung in there and beat that real DOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNN feeling thank god.
I posted back then, i think now at 6 months is nearly as or harder than when i first found out.
Your whole life has been turned upside down by the person you care about most...... Why? Why me?
People told me gotta keep going for the kids.... barely kept going.
It is nearly the end of this f*ing horrendous year, something to look forward to.
Longwaytogo - we can do this! xxxx I am here if you wanna chat anytime - (swap notes) xxx

sevensuzyswongsaswimming · 19/12/2005 01:51

OK I'm going to wade in here, tread on some toes and be berated, but you know it takes two to create the conditions for an affair.

The adluterer is of course far far more to blame than the injured party and their behaviour should not be condoned or excused in any way. However, it may be a way of getting out of the "why me, why me?" helpless victim if some measure of accountability is discussed. It may also open up a dialogue that is different and more progressive from the recriminatory and remorseful, and somewhat stagnant, dichotomy you may find yourselves locked in to.

Discuss

gravity · 19/12/2005 04:10

thankyou for your opinion. nice my toes are feeling rather flat.

i can assure you i DID NOT HELP CREATE CONDITIONS FOR MY DH"S AFFAIR THANKYOU VERY MUCH

we spend six months trying not to blame ourselves, this blame adds to our self confidence being shot

we take comfort in supportive mumsnetter's and try to remember we did not make the decision for our loved one to cheat on us,it happened, it was their choice

i give myself the luxury of feeling sorry for myself every now and then because, yes Suzyswong, i have had a sh*t year. the conditions to my dh's affair was I was flipping eight months pregnant and apparently he wasnt getting enough "luvin". That is a piss poor excuse that I will have no part in taking responsibility for.

our talk may be stagnant, remorseful etc but it will remain as such until I know what I need to know to move forward.

i will also probably get condemmed for this message, as i understand Suzyswong was giving her part of advice which we open up to when we come here, but this is still raw to me and I am touchy and this did upset me

i love my dh and I will work this out but dont you dare tell me I am accountable in anyway for his selfish act that did nearly destroy me.

sevensuzyswongsaswimming · 19/12/2005 04:47

but I do dare

each person is accountable in some measure, how ever infintesimely tiny for what goes on in a relationship

have you ever considered that I may be one or two steps ahead of you in the process and am therefore being kind enough to give you the benefit of hindsight?

nuffsaid · 19/12/2005 06:37

Please no bickering on this thread. The members of MN are here to support one another and offer their views and opinions.

Suzy I understand fully what you are saying. It takes two to make a relationship, but also two to break it.

Dont get all upset and feel like people are stepping on your toes LWTG, but this is very true.
Your DH had his affair because he says he wasnt gettin enough luvin from you. Understandable when you were 8 months pregnant. There were reasons for his affair and maybe you will never get down to the real nitty gritty as to why it started, but that was in the past, he is with you now and you need to move on.

I know how hard it is. My DH had his affair years ago, but I still have my raw moments. There are days when I feel like I could easily pack his bags and throw him out and he's done nothing to upset me. It can be the simplest of things that tip me over the edge.

You need to decide if you can lay yourself open to trust your DH again. you nned to tell him that you are. You love him so much that you will be prepared to stay with him until he strays again, but the boundaries need to be set very firmly. Your DH needs you to tell him that there are no second chances. He does it again and he looses you. No ifs buts or maybe's, he strays, he pays the ultimate price and thats to loose you.

You need to take some control over your relationship. You set the goals for a while.

Start of small. Organise a night out for you and DH. Dont tell him. Just do it and surprise him. It will give you something to focus on, make you feel better, surprise your DH and hopefully you will both have a great night out. a mael in a quiet resturant is a good one. Candle light, nice food and abottle of bubbly. You need to get back all those dizzy feelings you had for one another when you first met.

You can carry on throwing things back in his face, but where is that going to get you? He knows how much he has hurt you. You have told him how you really feel havent you? Have you told him how much the pain hurts, how the love you have for him has kept you together? If not then you need to off load it all. You need to sit down and think about all the things you need to say to him. Tell him in advance that you need to off load a few things. You need to dump your baggage. Then do it. Let it all out. DH must sit and listen. He musn't offer his point of view. This is about you getting all those feelings out. Dont shout, raised voices will just cause more upset. Let him hold you, cuddle you and tell you he's sorry.

When you start to get negative thoughts you need to find something to detract you from them. Put on a CD, crank up the volume and enjoy. Have a few photos dotted around the house. Photographs taken since you found out. The negative feelings start coming, look at the photo and say to yourself we survived XX day when I found out and look at us we are together, we are a family. You have to look for the positives in everything.

All these coping strategies I was given by my Relate counsellor. I tried them all and 7 years down the line when I feel myself slipping I do them again. I never thought I would get through it. My Dh's affair would have destroyed me, if I had let it.

Sure its fine to feel sore, hurt, betrayed etc you deserve to and its only because you care so much about your Dh that it hurts so bloody much, but how long can you keep hurting and feeling bitter before it starts to affect your relationship in big ways? The last thing you want is to become bitter and twisted because that will give him the perfect reason to stray again.

I've been following your posts and I wish you all the love and strength in the world to get through this. you can do it, just give yourself some time.

Take care.
Nuffsaid.

gravity · 19/12/2005 07:08

thanks nuffsaid, your advice is lovely.i really like the photo idea. but they must be since photos, i really understand that. photos from before just remind we of wat i thought we had

suzyswong - sorry hun, i know where your coming from, i think about it everyday and wish there was someting i could have done to stop it, even while i was in late stages of being pregnant i thought i was keeping him happy, its such a cop out to be told i wasnt and it was worth risking our relationship and family. just still very touchy. i'm sorry

Reindior · 19/12/2005 08:36

Gravity - you have nothing to apologise for IMO.

maturer · 19/12/2005 10:49

Hey everyone-the whole experience of an affair makes you question and doubt just about everything in your life.
Suzywong- your opinion is just as valid as mine and there are some people who bury their heads in the sand and perhaps need to be shaken by opinions like yours. however everyones situation is different in how the affair came about- we all share common feelings of hurt, pain and saddness trying to get over it - but how it happened is slightly different for us all. I don't agree that in every case the "victim" has to share some blame- affairs happen for all sorts of reasons and sometimes they are not at all to do with the rekationship the adulterer is in- external factors can sometimes send people off on a journey that results in an affair eg the death of a loved one, redundancy, illness etc If you read any of the self help books they all warn you to look at your realtionship but be careful it may be one person who is having the problems which then impacts upon your marriage in such a devistating way.
I went through a lonh period of trying to find what I did wrong-my dh affair came completely out of the blue after 20 years tigether and 20 great years. fter counselling (both of us seperately) we concluded there wasn't a lot wrong with us it was a culmination of time and circumstances0 things going on in my dh work life that "caused" him to tummble into an affair. He accepts it was ultimatley his choice he closed his eyes to the dangers and now has to live with the consiquences.
what was going on with he and I was not a raeson for him to have an affair and he will not accept I had a part to play init- rather that he "got lost" had some sort of crisis and "lost the plot" for a while.
Like many others I do feel it unfair that he's now moved on and I am still picking up the pieces and trying to make sense of it all.
However we are getting there and we know it is worth fighting for- if one partner makes a mistake you have to decide do I stand by them and work through this painful time or do I cut my loses and run. 20 years of a great relationship weighed up aginst a year of madness made me decide to stay at it. I do not however agree that every "victim" carries some blame for an affair after all we are all adults with free will we make our own choices- it boils donw to how strong your character is at the time and how strong your morals are!

maturer · 19/12/2005 10:57

nufsaid- thanks for some great words of experience.
You are right it's about not hiding those feelings but letting them out in a controlled way otherwise they become so destructive and you can't get back from that.
I did counselling just for that reason I could see how the pain and hurt could very easily turn to bitterness and resentment and then you lose sightof love.
Counselling taught me coping stratagies and how to push the negative thoughts away - at times- focusing on the good things that were happening in my life.
We started having a night out a week without fail- at first it was my chance to off load my feelings - inpublic so it had to be controlled and for dh to respond. After a while i had no need to do it all the time and now we just enjoy a good night out together.

overdrafttopayforchristmas · 19/12/2005 14:27

Hi Gravity

What we were talking about the other day. The pact not letting other people get us down.DON'T. These are the exact veiws I was talking about.Unless you have been through it you just don't understand it.To be honest these were the same veiws i might of had a year ago.
As maturer said most affairs are not the victims fault.Hate that word to because reading these threads and talking to you all i can say that you are all strong women and are no way victims.

overdrafttopayforchristmas · 19/12/2005 14:36

from one realationship book i have been reading.

Why do men cheat?

It must be because they are not happy at home: that's what most of us naively belive. Unfortunatley, It's not neccessarily true. According to the expert, many men who love their partners and have great sex at home, still never turn down the oppertunity to have a bit on the side.56% of the men sampled who had had affairs said their marriages were happy (versus 34% of women). Men in long term marriages who have affairs report to be of very high marital satisfaction. Women in long term marriages having affairs report the opposite- they have the lowest satisfaction of all.Everyones marital satisfaction went down the longer they were married, except the men who had affairs.

Scary isn't it.

maturer · 19/12/2005 20:00

Hi- I raed a great book which I've recommended before "After the Affair" by Julia cole (I think). It looks at booth perspectives and helped both me and dh.
A while ago another MN suggested an article- can't do links- but if you type into Google
psychology today shattered vows- you find the link to this article it's really good. It also dispells the view that affairs are always about problems at home and that you are "not getting enough etc"
see what you think I found it a good article.

MistletoeMiggins · 19/12/2005 20:24

agree
the boo9k was fab and the article was too

pity my H didnt read the book or the article

longwaytogo · 19/12/2005 21:24

thanks for all your replies, as for the affair being my fault no way. We both went through the things that contributed to his affair. We both had 24/7 jobs we both had 2 babies in 2 years, moved house twice and job but i didnt go and have an affiar did i. Although i can see how these things contributed to what he did.

As for getting a night out together no chance. No family our babysitter was the other woman.

Yes i am sure he is 100% commited to me and this was some sort of midlife crisis.

I am dreading the new year. When the things we have to face are going to be so difficult. I hate the situation this has put us into.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread