In love with a woman

[AndAnotherThing1]

I'm married with 2 DC and have never considered, even fleetingly, that I was anything other than heterosexual. My marriage is fine - with ups and downs and dull bits like all marriages. Around three years ago I started working with a woman my own age who is openly gay. I've always found her bright and fun and enjoy spending time with her but in the last year I have developed strong feelings for her. She has made it very clear that she feels the same. I am worried that our friendship could very easily tip over into something more. But equally worried that it won't. I am consumed by thoughts of her. I don't really know what advice I'm looking for but just wondered if anyone else has experienced a similar situation.

You're not teachers are you? ;)

Yes i have been through something very similar. It was intoxicating and I was crazily in love. It lasted for a couple of years but ended very very badly.

I know 2 other people who have been in the same situation and it didnt last in either case.

I'd advise you to proceed with caution.

I haven't been in your situation but the only advice I can give is to consider whether or not you want to be unfaithful to your husband and consider the damage that the fallout from an affair might have on him and your DC.

I know it is very easy for me to say but maybe you should walk away from the temptation in front of you.

I read an interesting thread recently about a woman who assumed that she was hetrosexual and developed feelings for a woman and then realised that she was in fact gay. She had been trying to surpress the fact that she was gay all her life and was really struggling with it. It was really sad to read about the torment she was going through.

I wish I had some advice but I don't. Life can be so unpredictable. I hope things work out for you.

Do y want to end your marriage and start a relationships with her ?

We're not teachers and I'm not looking to end my marriage. I just feel incredibly drawn to this woman. My attraction to her is emotional, physical and intellectual. It puts every other relationship I've had in the shade.

The fact you are attracted to a woman and didn't expect to be is romanticising a stark fact. You are married and need to decide if you want to remain so or not. Man or woman doesn't matter - if you have such strong feelings for someone else then you either need to distance yourself even if that means changing jobs and work bloody hard on your marriage or be fair to your husband and separate before going any further with an affair, be it emotional or physical.

My attraction to her is emotional, physical and intellectual. It puts every other relationship I've had in the shade.

I felt exactly like this. I was not married, but i was in a relationship with a man which i then ended to be with her. I couldn't have resisted at all, i was hopelessly and helplessly in love. I do wonder if same sex relationships are often more intense in this way - sexual, emotional, spiritual, everything.

If you genuinely dont want to risk your marriage then you probably need to cut your friendship with her and change jobs.

Change your job, go NC and go back to your kids and DH.
Only by taking that action you can save your marriage and family.

Try to direct your thoughts somewhere else.

Good luck

What you are saying about this woman is what every unfaithful person in the history of the world has said about their OW/OM; you are not unique and this is not something special.

Don't turn into the sort of cheating scumbag who has an affair, your DH has done nothing to deserve being treated that badly.

And please don't think 'what he doesn't know won't hurt him', the cheaters' mantra, because there are enough threads on here from faithful partners to disprove that theory. They know in their hearts that something is wrong, feel their partner's emotional distance and preoccupation keenly, and go quietly mad wondering what they're doing wrong.

Cut all contact and focus on your marriage or leave honestly before embarking on any new relationship.

I agree. This is marginally more confusing, and definitely more intriguing than if this was a man, but it needs to be dealt with in exactly the same way.

You said you don't want to end your marriage .

So unless you are planning to be a cheating scumbag who fucks up their kids and partners life, you have only one other option - stop seeing this woman and change jobs.

You've been attracted to her for a year and have done nothing to stop it . You've been playing with fire . Now grow up and end it

I agree with the other posters who say it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman . What were you expecting - that people would congratulate you for your open mindedness or " finding yourself " sexually ?

There have been 2 threads this weekend where OPs have fallen madly in love with women and seem to want to be told it's fine. Same sex relationships aren't some pale imitation of the real thing, same sex affairs aren't affair-lite. Grow the fuck up. Either leave your DH or stay with him but don't piss about pretending your affair is different and special and understandable because there isn't a penis in it.

Something

That's a great post. Good luck to you

I've always found her bright and fun and enjoy spending time with her but in the last year I have developed strong feelings for her. She has made it very clear that she feels the same. I am worried that our friendship could very easily tip over into something more. "

Um.... news flash: it already HAS tipped over. If the OW has "made it very clear she feels the same", whether actual words have been spoken or not on this, the fact that you both know how the other feels and what you feel is an attraction far outweighing just friendship, then it is already an emotional affair.

You need to proceed on healing your marriage and saving your family life and not messing up your kids lives on that basis. If your marriage was relatively fine before this woman came along, then as Something said, it's a crush.

Please realise OP that things don't "just happen" whether that is an affair or building a strong marriage. An affair is not something you accidentally fall into - it comes about based on ignoring the little warning voice in your head and by making concrete decisions to do and say things that bring it about.

You really need to get your head out of the fluffy pink clouds and see this relationship for what it is: something that will destroy your marriage and bring devastation to the hearts of your husband and children. Is it worth it? Are you will to play with their lives and hearts? That's what's in the balance. Tread wisely.

I know that affairs are awful and don't believe I am any less culpable simply because I wasn't actively seeking one. I also know the fact that I am in love with a woman rather than a man is immaterial. You're all right to say this is nothing new. But nothing on this relationship board ever is. It is just new for me. I'm not sure that renaming my feelings as a crush rather than love helps very much. They overwhelm me nonetheless but my desire not to hurt the innocent parties involved is equally as strong.

Yes this is new to you, but you have asked for advice and opinions, and you are receiving these from women who have already been through it.

I've been on here long enough to know that your current path will end disastrously for everyone involved.

My friend's DH felt like you when he embarked on an affair with a younger work colleague. He described it as love and all-consuming infatuation, that continued until his DW found out. He now says that, at the exact second the bubble burst, he realised what was important, and they are still working through the devastation.

Decide whether you want your marriage or this woman, please don't try to have both.

Renaming downgrading it to a crush is just a cynical attempt to continue what your doing.

Isetan

The OP did not say it was a crush, other posters did.

I've been on here long enough to know that your current path will end disastrously for everyone involved.

This is only one scenario.

People leave marriages for other people all the time. yes, there is hurt but it's not always all doom and gloom forever.

I know a woman whose DH left her for her best friend round the corner.
They are now divorced, she has found love again with a man, who was single and has teenage DCs, ( he was widowed) and her ex H is marrying the 'OW'.

This has all been relatively civilised and the 'blended' families get on okay-ish.

People end up hurt when marriages end- and 40 % of them do.
Some people leave for someone else, some people just leave. Is the pain worse with the former? Debatable.

Hollie, why did you ask if they were teachers?

I also applaud somethings advice, and I would add - do you think your friendship with this woman gives you something you don't have elsewhere (not necessarily from your husband)?

When something similar happened to me, it was the feeling of security my friend gave me that I was craving. In a way she was something of a mother figure for me and I became very attached to her still miss her

Apologies, I misread.

pinkfrocks, I agree. Sometimes it is best to leave a bad/loveless marriage and it does work sometimes with a new person if they happen to be truly compatible. Of course if the DC are very young, it's best to give it your all to try and save the marriage, but if doesn't work then it's not a crime of fhte century to leave.