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Relationships

Should I trust him after possible infidelity

164 replies

lydiajane01 · 11/09/2015 21:55

At the start of the year I saw some messages between my husband and a female friend from work. They seemed to be discussing his potential infidelity not with her but another woman in their department. Husband swore blind that he hadn't actually gone through with it just had his head turned by this woman.

The female friend he was chatting to about it is someone I know. I wouldn't say we are as close friends like she is with my husband, as they spend time socialising as a group with some other friends from work, but I would say we are friends. She's invited me out to her birthday's and some "girly nights" over the last few years

Husband and I almost split up over it but we decided to work through the issues. There was a lot else going on at the same time which lead him to say he felt neglected by me and when the OW had started to "come on to him" he'd felt flattered and enjoyed the attention.

The things he was telling his female work friend was fairy graphic but I do believe him that nothing actually happened with OW. He admits he didn't intend for me to see their messages, he said he used to delete anything that wasn't purely innocent friendly chat, so I would like to believe that he didn't physically cheating otherwise he would have given his female friend the details in that conversation

I was very angry and became rather jealous of his friendship with his female friend because a) he was discussing his potential cheating with her b) that he was obviously confiding in her over me on a rang of other issues. I've never had any problem with their friendship before as she is very nice and friendly but as part of the getting through what he'd done I asked him to talk to her a bit less until I was over my jealousy.

My issue comes now that although he did stop talking to her so much for a while he's been talking to her an awful lot again recently. He's open with his Work laptop (another condition of us not splitting) and I admit I had a look a few nights ago. His email account is full of emails from them! some work related but others are obviously just long chatty emails. I felt a tiny bit jealous again but was prepared to let it lie until I noticed something slightly odd. In a few of his emails he says things like I will text you or check your whatsapp. At first she questions why and he makes it clear whatever it is he wanted to say isn't appropriate for email at work.

Husband took passcode off his phone at my request after I saw him talking about cheating. I took the chance to look at his phone and found hundreds of messages between him and his female friend on whatapps. It looks like they message on it during work, most evenings after work and occasionally on weekends. Now they are good friends so I would expect the to chat a bit but I now feel very insecure and jealous about the amount he talks to her! I read a large chuck of the messages and they are all totally innocent but it just really bothered me.

I checked his normal text messages because my Husband specifically mentioned that she should read her text messages in an email he sent last week. I may be being over suspicious or paranoid but I definitely feel like he's been deleting some of the messages. I also got the impression from one conversation just before the bank holiday they were meeting up somewhere. It was a bit odd as it was clearly during the day at work. He said he was leaving now and she said see you in 5 minutes. I don't really see why they would need to go meet up somewhere as they sit near each other

I can't decide if I should believe my husband or not when he says he didn't actually cheat. I also don't know how much I trust his friendship with his friend. Its clear they are still very very close and talking all the time and although the chats are very innocent I have this gnawing feeling that he's deleting messages again. He would only be doing that if he had something to hide. He's very open with his phone, laptop and work laptop which makes me feel like I must be being silly. If he was cheating he wouldn't let me near them surely?!

In all their chats I've seen no mention of the original OW so I fully believe him when he says he cut all contact with her but this last week I've been questioning his "friendship" with this female friend. I feel like they are too close but he obviously has no intentions of giving up his friendship with her

She is in a long term relationship, engaged with 2 daughters

I realise this was very long but I really needed to get it off my chest

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cozietoesie · 12/09/2015 15:02

So the whole thing was pretty well turned to outside factors, eh? (You, work, you, you ............) Did he take any responsibility for it a all?

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RaspberryOverload · 12/09/2015 16:10

I agree he's blaming anything other than himself.

If there were really issues betwenn you and him, then the decent and honest thing to do would have been to talk it through with you, not use it as an excuse to go and look for another woman.

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Duckdeamon · 12/09/2015 16:12

He doesn't sound trustworthy or committed. Doesn't sound like he takes responsibility for his actions at all. So what if there were issues in your relationship: no excuse!

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Jw35 · 12/09/2015 16:25

I read the op but not all the comments or your other replies

I just think trust is the most important thing in a relationship and that's a real problem for you now. He's already admitted feelings for someone else so it's not going to be easy to trust him again.

Constantly checking his messages is no way to move forward although I do understand why you'd want to. For me I think I'd want to leave. I know that sounds heavy but for me it would be too much fear, worry and jealousy

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Whatifitoldyou · 12/09/2015 16:29

Hang on , this woman is supportive of your husband cheating on you yet has the balls to invite you out on occasion ? Fuck that.

I would consider the sort of conversations they are having a dealbraker .

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WickedWax · 12/09/2015 16:40

He learned nothing from his last affair, did no real work on himself and it sounds like he did the bare minimum to attempt to repair the relationship.

He's just got better at deceiving you whilst apparently being 'open' with his phone/laptop/etc.

He hasn't changed any of his behaviours and doesn't seem to have any appropriate boundaries in place.

I agree with PP's that have suggested that OW and this friend may well be one and the same person.

This female friend of his is no friend of yours and certainly no friend of your marriage.

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lydiajane01 · 12/09/2015 16:55

The more i read replies on here the worse I feel its looking Sad

Do you really thinks its possible FF and OW are the same person?? Like I said they specifically names OW in a chat and FF was telling Husband to be careful because OW would want more and more of him and he told her she was right that he needed to be very clear with OW what it was to him

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cozietoesie · 12/09/2015 17:06

Personally, No - I don't think she is. But is it really relevant even if so? He's clearly having an inappropriate relationship with a colleague even if she wasn't the OW.

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Hissy · 12/09/2015 17:09

I also have the feeling that FF and OW are one and the same. It makes no sense otherwise. What is FF getting out I some old married bloke lusting after little Miss A N Other?

Why would you trust him? What has he genuinely done to rebuild your trust? What were the consequences of you having discovered how he spoke, thought felt about the object of his ardour?

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Jw35 · 12/09/2015 17:12

Yes I think the friend is the OW

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cozietoesie · 12/09/2015 17:13

Sorry - that should have read 'I don't think she was' Who knows what is happening now?

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Hissy · 12/09/2015 17:15

Tbh, he's actually having TWO inappropriate relationships if the OW is not the same as FF.

Not only is he getting his jollies thinking about the OW, he's titillating the FF.

No married woman would have this kind of relationship with another married man and her own dh be happy about it. This is so wrong on every level.

You need to ask lover boy to find somewhere else to live for a bit.

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lydiajane01 · 12/09/2015 17:18

Hissy I don't know Sad i mentioned in an earlier post FF and Husband talk about their sex lives with each other stuff like "their top 3 sex acts" etc so i assume its part of that. Like I said I'm not sure how i feel about that because I have friends I talk to about Sex but I can't help but feel he shouldn't be talking to her about that sort of thing. But they are close friends so then I feel like a hypocrite to tell him he can talk to his friend about stuff I would talk to mine about.

I told him that if he didn't cut contact with OW I would be packing up the kids and leaving. He agreed to de friend her from facebook, deleted her number in front of me and then he as my request removed all passwords on phone / laptops so I would know he's not just back to talking to OW. I also said he needed to talk less to FF for a few months just until i was over the jealousy that he was confiding information to her

He's due back with the DCs very shortly. I think once they are in bed I need to talk to him.I need to tell him how he's making me feel and find out why he has to talk to FF so much

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lydiajane01 · 12/09/2015 17:19

Sorry - that should have read 'I don't think she was' Who knows what is happening now?

This has been going through my mind all day.

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cozietoesie · 12/09/2015 17:22

lydia

This isn't his bestest buddy that he meets down the pub - if she wasn't the OW, she was still the woman who connived and supported him in his dealings - whatever they were - with the OW. And he's still close to her?

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Whatifitoldyou · 12/09/2015 20:29

This friend sounds like some sort of fucking deviant.

What sort of women happpily listens to what some married perv would like to do to a female colleague? If someone was having conversations like this about me I'd feel violated. Vom.

Op your husband is a perv. And he's not even hiding it.

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lydiajane01 · 12/09/2015 21:10

I told him I'd look on the work laptop and seen how much him and FF are chatting again.

I asked him why he had to talk to her so much? and also that he mentions that she should check her texts / whatsapp so that I'm feeling jealous he's obviously putting a lot of effort into talking to someone that didn't tell him NOT to cheat on me!

He wasn't annoyed just rather calmly and smoothly told me that he had stayed away from FF for the first couple of months keeping all their conversations work related but they easily feel into the same rhythm of friendship again. Especially as they are part of a close nit group at work. He assured me that he hasn't spoken to OW again since he was caught out so I don't need to worry.

He showed me his phone most of the messages are still there but the ones describing their top 3 sex acts that really turn them on are gone! There are some of the other general chit chat ones about sex. When I asked about why he felt the need to talk about sex with FF he said it doesn't mean anything its just talk, he talks to the guys in there Friendship group at work about the same stuff too although he did admit he'd told FF some things he wouldn't tell them. He feels that he can be open with her about all of his life whereas with some friends he feels like he has to be this person they expect him to be. He said that he feels like family, friends even me all expect him to act a certain way or want something from him and he just liked having FF to talk too because she had no expectations of him she just accepts him for who he is.

We're now sat on the sofa in silence. He hasn't touched his phone since so he's at least not talking to FF but I don't know if this can be fixed.

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DrGoogleWillSeeYouNow · 12/09/2015 21:14

She's the only one that understands him, the only one he can truly be himself with.

It's all so clich??d isn't it?

I think he's having an (emotional - at least) affair with this woman under your very nose.

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lydiajane01 · 12/09/2015 21:20

DrGoogleWillSeeYouNow when this all came out originally I had a few moments when i wondered if FF was a threat but he always had a logical explanation for everything. When i clearly saw them discussing OW by name I felt a relief yes I was annoyed at FF fro not saying don't cheat but I was glad It wasn't her because we were sort of friends but now i'm starting to re think it all.

Maybe OW was all a cover?

He's still not said a word to me just sat on the other end of the sofa reading a book drinking tea.

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Whatifitoldyou · 12/09/2015 21:21

I agree it's an emotional affair

What he really meant was that everyone else expects him to behave in a normal appropriate way. Only this like minded deviant accepts him the way he is.

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TRexingInAsda · 12/09/2015 21:31

Maybe she was asking what he was going to do with 'OW' because she wanted him herself. In any case, it's clear they are having an inappropriate relationship now - he's deleted texts you've seen, and who knows what else he's deleted that you haven't seen. Your conditions were that he's open with his email/texts etc. Well he's not, he's been deleting them. Are you going to put up with it, or are you going to leave?

He knows what he's doing is not ok, you've told him what you want (openness), he can't or won't do it. I'd get rid tbh.

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imjustahead · 12/09/2015 21:33

this is not appropriate chat between a female friend and someone's husband.

He's deleting stuff, you know that now. I suspected from the off she WAS the OW, and if not, she's colluding with him to be a home wrecker at this rate.
From experience, your dh has disconnected from you, and is as a new no1 woman in his life to talk to.

It's totally unacceptable op, and he's trying to normalise it.

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lydiajane01 · 12/09/2015 21:37

You are all right its not an appropriate relationship. Whenever I've questioned it or been jealous he's always managed to make me feel like the unreasonable one. She even tried to befriend me Sad

When I found the original attempted affair with OW he seemed so remorseful didn't want to loss me and the kids but his actions just don't show that.

I'm not even sure what counts as an emotional affair

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cozietoesie · 12/09/2015 21:38

He's playing games and it's clearly enjoyable for him to do that. You know he's lying to you because you saw those other texts.

I couldn't live with that sort of thing myself - I'd tell him to cease all non-work contact with her forthwith or I'd walk. I really would.

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cozietoesie · 12/09/2015 21:40

(Well actually, I'd be walking anyway - but I appreciate that you may not feel in a position to do that.)

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