Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

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 help a friend cope with her DH's affair?

1 reply

Pixie83 · 08/08/2012 13:52

Have namechanged and need to be a bit vague for obvious reasons... Sorry for length but don't want to drip-feed.

My friends H and left left her for OW, nearly two years ago. She and he had been together about 10 years and had 2 DC. She had no idea they had problems and was completely shocked. He said (and still maintains) that there had been no physical relationship with OW yet because he didn't want to cheat.

He went to stay with his parents whilst he was 'sorting himself out' (she's pretty sure this is true). Within a couple of days he was back, crying on her doorstep and begging for forgiveness, saying he'd not seen OW since he'd left, he realised how much he was giving up, he still loved her and he'd been an idiot who'd been flattered by the attention (he'd just turned 40). She took him back and they are still together - as far as I know he is behaving himself and hasn't seen the OW anymore.

But I am getting more and more worried about her. At the time obviously she was in a terrible state, lost lots of weight, cried a lot, and ended up on anti-d's from the doctor. We would talk about it whenever I saw her, as she would do with her other friends and family members. Her medication helped, but recently she's stopped taking it because she thinks she should be getting over it by now. But I saw her this morning and she seems to be back to how she was two years ago - tearful, anxious and frankly a bit of a mess Sad.

I think the problem is that she can't move on because (from what I can see) she is so determined to make it work that she goes overboard to appear happy and loving to her H, and doesn't want to tell him how upset she still is. They never talk about it now, and stopped talking about it within a few weeks of it happening. He didn't seem to think they needed to keep going over it because, in his words 'nothing ever happened', and she seemed to get to the point where she didn't want to keep thinking about it either. But I look at her now and see somebody who (I think) really needs help. But what can I do?

I have tried suggesting counselling, but she practically laughed in my face, saying that she doesn't want to rake it all up again, and that there's no way her H would do it anyway. And she doesn't want to go back on her anti-d's as she says she just wants to 'move on'. But I am worried about her. What can I suggest or do to help?

OP posts:
panicnotanymore · 08/08/2012 15:13

Don't do anything other than be there for her, listen to her, ask her how she is doing, take her out for coffee or lunch, and provide a shoulder whenever she needs it. Avoid giving advice, opinions, or instructions. She doesn't need that from other people, she needs to process all of this herself and come to her own decisions, and feel that those decisions came from her. The problem with wading in with your own views is you will become the bad guy later if she feels you influenced her do do something she later regretted.

It takes a long time to heal after something like this. Men seem to think they can swan home like nothing has happened and all will be well.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page