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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

I know it is wrong.

204 replies

Elderberries · 16/05/2016 18:52

This is going to be long and complicated and I have kids so it will probably 'drip' so I'll apologise in advance. I know I am in the wrong. I am hoping someone may have some insight into why I am doing the things I am doing. Maybe that will help me act better. A long time ago I had an affair. It was incredibly painful for all concerned. I fell in love with OM and I loved my partner. You can't have it all and I stayed with my partner. I have put it down simply but it wasn't simple at all. It took me and my partner years to heal. It also took me years to get over the OM. He was around. Due to work. Finally I closed the door and we built a great relationship. I love my partner so much. He is kind, supportive, clever, hard working. I am amazed by him. We are almost living the dream. Due to mutual friends I had seen OM occasionally in social situations. The spark was always there. I didn't worry. We would have a lovely time for an hour and I would walk away back to reality. A couple of years ago OM was around more due to work. He told me he was getting married. It shocked me. It upset me. Over the years OM had occasionally asked me for drinks. I had avoided. Once he was married I asked him for a drink. We flirted wildly. We kissed. I think I just wanted to know that I could still have him if I wanted..well at least a little of him. Shortly after this he started working in my team. Things changed fast. I have always found him intoxicating. If he is in a room he is in colour and everything else grey. I just couldn't look away. For a year and a half we have been dabbling with each other. No physical contact but all the other stuff that modern communication allows. Some months back he suggested going further. I was extremely conflicted. I wanted it and yet I was terrified. Guilt and lust and fear spun around in my head. It was quickly apparent that it wasn't possible for me to behave that way. And so slowly the relationship has been down graded. He has stepped back. I am in love with him - or at least an idea of him. He tells me he loves me too. He says he wants to be friends. That we will deal with this by not going out in the evenings and not drinking together. We can have coffee and lunch some times. I have agreed. It's all a load of rubbish of course. I have never been able to let go totally. Always just leaving the door open. And of course my partner...well I really love him. I don't want to leave. I am happy with him. He is a bit distracted and doesn't notice me as much as I would like but we never argue and muddle along quite well. So there you go. I know I'm going to get pretty straight talk and I think I need and deserve it.

OP posts:
ChicRock · 17/05/2016 10:19

Asked OM if he loved me. He said it wasn't a fair question for him or my DH. That I had to see my relationship through. If I was ever single we could see how things went.

You can flower it up as much as you like, the answer was a big fat 'no'.

TattyCat · 17/05/2016 10:20

Op, your behaviour is very, very unkind. These things do happen, but the way you are writing about it is really quite awful and so utterly disrespectful to your DH. Aren't you better than this? Are you really the kind of person who revels in hurting others? Because that is exactly what you're doing by behaving in this way.

What if you and OM run away together? He's already shown you who he is, so is that the kind of life you want, or has the last 20 years with someone who has stuck by you been worth and meant nothing? Pull the blinds up and have a really good, hard look in the mirror. Either leave your DH and have a life of 'excitement' dating other people, or OM, and all the drama that goes with that, or put your not unsubstantial energies into showing your DH that the woman he married is worth him putting any effort into.

Hop over to the step-parenting board too. What you read there may just show you what you are storing up for your children who may have to try and 'bond' with someone else who's taking care of them every weekend, or taking them on fabulous holidays every year that perhaps you won't be able to. Do you know whether OM wants to be involved with your children? Do you know whether he'll be kind to them?

You asked in your post for insight into why you're doing this. It's because you have low self-esteem, but you already know that (per another post above). Start working on that instead of concentrating on OM. All this doesn't make you feel good, really, does it? You don't much like yourself really, so find a way of addressing that so that you become someone you do like and respect. Then you will be able to respect those people around you who truly love you and have shown that they do.

FWIW, I've always had absolute admiration for people who talk kindly of their partners and come across as absolutely solid. It's a bit of a rarity so if you want to be different, be that person. Be the person in a relationship that other people want and wish they had. Not the cheap, throwaway dalliance you're entering into.

TattyCat · 17/05/2016 10:26

Just seen the post where you said you asked OM whether he loves/d you. He effectively said 'no'. That is all you need to know about how he feels.

You are destroying your life and those around you for nothing.

ChicRock · 17/05/2016 10:26

What if you and OM run away together?

OM doesn't want her.

She's just the most convenient and available woman that's willing to open her legs for him.

If she left her husband and said "ok, here I am" he'd shit himself and run a mile.

TattyCat · 17/05/2016 10:36

ChicRock Yep. Saw his response after I'd posted and absolutely agree. He wants a shag but not what else might go with that.

It's all very sad, for lots of reasons.

AgathaF · 17/05/2016 10:40

You talk about your good relationship with your H, about how much you love him, about your 'warm' love after 20 years together. Yet, he doesn't hug you (do you hug him?), and you seem to be missing the romance from this relationship. Has he pulled away from you because of your betrayal?

The OM doesn't love you or respect either you, his partner or your H. Neither do you, so you're well matched there.

You need to either fully commit to getting your marriage back on track, to proving to your H that you are worth his time, effort, commitment, love, or you need to walk away from it. You are being unbelievably cruel.

Littleballerina · 17/05/2016 10:40

op- you realised how much you 'needed' your husband? not how much you love your husband? want and need are very different.

TattyCat · 17/05/2016 10:43

The truth of these situations though is that one party always thinks they have 'something special'. That no-one else has ever felt that way before and that the feelings run so deep they just can't help themselves.

They are deluded and it's actually just sordid. I've just met a couple through work who last week left their respective partners after having an affair for years. Her husband had a private investigator & they got caught. They have no shame whatsoever and she has moved her children straight in with him - they don't know him. His young child is ringing him in tears and he talks about this as though he's detached from it. It's awful, awful, awful. They appear almost proud instead of ashamed and quite happily tell everyone.

GutInstinct · 17/05/2016 10:44

So OP, how did your DH find out about the affair last time?

You see, the reality is that the reason you are both still together isn't because you wanted to stay with him. It's because he didn't throw you out or end the relationship when he found out you'd been having an affair.

The truth is you're not in control of any of your life right now. You're lusting after a man who goes home and has sex with his wife every night and tells her he loves her, while in the meantime you're going home to a man who is only with you because he made the decision to stay following your last affair with the OM who is now having sex with his wife, you know, the one he married since having the last affair with you.

So the next time you lust after this man and live out your fantasy of your eternal together-ness, follow the fantasy to its conclusion and imagine the way it's all going to end. You know, the bit where your husband finds out, where he ends the marriage, files for divorce on the grounds of adultery, tells the OM's wife, your family, your mutual friends. And where even if they don't cut all ties with you, they will still judge you, somewhere in the backs of their minds they will be looking at you as that woman who shagged another bloke behind her husband's back.

Marriages end, and affairs happen, that is life. However, if you don't want your marriage to end, then the affair can't happen. And if you want your marriage to end, then end it before the affair does happen. Nothing good can come of an affair, ever.

This OM is like a drug. An addiction. While you have contact with him you will always feel that pull towards him. Don't kid yourself that you can be rational about it, you can't. Detachment is the only way. Block his number, don't engage with him, and find another job if you can. In the beginning it will seem pointless. You're friends after all, so why should you block him? But as time goes on you will feel less and less likely to want to be in contact with him. With time so also comes indifference.

I know all these things OP because I've been there. I had an affair which spelled the end of my marriage. In my case the marriage needed to end and it did, for various reasons. But that is irrelevant. The fact is that I had an affair, I compromised my standards, my integrity, my whole persona because I thought that the answer was with someone else who made me feel loved and wanted. the truth is that it was all a bit desperate. I was lonely and isolated and I stupidly believed that my life had greater meaning. It so happens that it did have greater meaning, but not at the cost of my integrity and self respect.

I didn't leave for OM, but he did remain in my life for some time after I left. Promising me friendship, and maybe more in the future, telling me how awesome we were together, if only things could have been different. And looking back the only thing I think is that it was so bloody pathetic. So one night I deleted his number from my phone, removed him from social media and never spoke to him again. And it was like a weight had lifted and I'd been given permission to move forward with my life.

I am with someone else now, and I haven't spoken to OM for over three years. Well technically I haven't spoken to him. My DP and OM know each other on a casual basis, so very occasionally he has e.g. Popped up on social media for instance. but now I am entirely indifferent to him and everything he represented. I have no inclination towards any contact with him. I could in fact sit down with him for a coffee and I know with absolute certainty that there would be no spark, no chemistry, nothing. But as it happens I in fact have no desire to ever encounter him again. He means nothing in my life, and that's as it should be.

If you don't want your marriage to end OP then this affair has to end now. you have the ability to take control of your future here OP, if you don't someone else almost certainly will. Your DH, the OM, the OM's wife, the possibilities are endless, and while you're in the middle you have absolutely no control of where your future is spinning towards.

Don't compromise your self respect for something which will end in nothing.

Elderberries · 17/05/2016 10:45

I don't want the OM. I would never trust him. I'm not sure if he loved me 15 years ago, probably not. Then again maybe. He has told me he loves me now. he has never proposed that I leave my husband and be with him and I have made it very clear to him that I am never leaving my DH. OM is a red herring. I am trying to find the strength to walk away from everything to do with OM. I know he should be gone but I've never managed to close the door completely before and I was hoping that talking it out here I would gain some clarity and just shut it out.

OP posts:
WellErrr · 17/05/2016 10:47

And have you found any clarity from this?

Psycobabble · 17/05/2016 10:50

Well I hope you have

You don't want to be with him and you do want to be with dh

Sometimes the simple answer really is the right answer !!

Cut him off !!

TattyCat · 17/05/2016 10:50

Then leave your job. Put that distance between you and focus on your marriage.

user1461437738 · 17/05/2016 10:52

I'm not here to judge you OP, but you should stay away from this OM, I know there's probably a lot of chemistry between you ,but he's now married and you are in the second chance of yours and this will end in tears.
I do believe you love your DH - as a brother or a friend- and that's not fair on him.
You need to be honest with yourself and decide what you want, but you can't keep on like this. Keep your nose clean; having a clear conscious when you lay down at night is priceless.
Good luck Smile

Elderberries · 17/05/2016 10:54

Leaving the Job is not so easy but I don't want to be specific. It will take time. A first step would be to delete him from Facebook block his number but I'm not doing it. It will be difficult to let go.

OP posts:
Ratbagratty · 17/05/2016 10:57

My DH and I are gamers, I'm talking constant gaming online and offline 30plus hrs a week, after work hrs, then we had our DD. Everything changed we get to play maybe 4hr a week now (she is 5months). We are of a similar age to your oh, so I'm going to be brutal, because you need it. This isn't right, you have another priority now and you owe it to your child to sort this out!

Maybe start by asking for a bit more interactions like others have said and build it up. Computer games are an addiction I completely understand it's pull and I'm still feeling it! Sorry bit of a rambling but I signed up just to post on this.

Ratbagratty · 17/05/2016 10:57

Sorry wrong post!

Elderberries · 17/05/2016 10:58

I am really thinking. Thank you for all the effort you have put in. God I feel like I've run 10 miles. I'll try and make your time worth it. And now I hear Yoda "There is no try, do or do not."

OP posts:
Elderberries · 17/05/2016 10:59

Rat:

OP posts:
Psycobabble · 17/05/2016 11:00

Gaaaaaah op !!!!

It will be difficult to let go !!

But it will be more difficult to let your husband go when he finds out trust me ! And all the rest that will follow plus still have to let om go anyway because he will prob shit himself if he knows your dh knows about you both

Elderberries · 17/05/2016 11:00

Sorry - that was funny Rat.

OP posts:
WellErrr · 17/05/2016 11:02

A first step would be to delete him from Facebook block his number but I'm not doing it.

OP in self centred shocker there.

Rarely have I read one of these threads where the cheater has so little care for the people they are damaging, and such a staggering degree of selfishness.

ricketytickety · 17/05/2016 11:02

Right, the OM - you need to reframe who he is in your mind. To me he sounds like a player - he's been playing you for a long time and enjoys the chase. The main reason for this is he will not say he loves you. That is because he doesn't, but also realises he can't say this as you are desperate to hear it so it becomes his great big carrot that he can dangle and get you all wishful for.

Once you take a step back and see him for who he is then it will make everything a lot easier for you. You might even see him as a bit of a letch who should learn to keep his hands to himself, especially with a colleague.

You will also realise this is not love at all. What you feel for your dh is love; soft and kind and gentle. What this man is doing is not loving. It's playing your feelings and you are feeling lust and excitement and you want his attention. But you are not feeling love.

Then, once you have cured your limerence generated by the player, you can think about what effect the affair will have on your dh. Have you been cheated on? I ask you this because if you haven't you may not understand the total devastation it causes you. It literally rips your guts out. You feel sick 24/7 for many months. You can't sleep. You feel like the one person you trusted took your trust and wiped their arse with it. This is what your dh will have felt before and will do again if you carry on. Rub your eyes and see what you are doing for what it is. It is cheating. And it will devastate your dh if he finds out you are at it again and 'in love' with another man.

Now, fantasies are one thing. Acting them out crosses a line. Unless you find a way to act them out with your dh. But don't make him do the 'pick me' dance so you can 'choose'. Really, who would you like to be sat beside when you are an older woman? The man who plays with your feelings or the man who loves you?

ricketytickety · 17/05/2016 11:07

Actually rat's post makes sense in terms of addiction - this is what makes a player so attractive. They get you addicted by giving a bit, taking it away, giving a flourish of excitement, then nothing.

It is also possible that you are behaving like a player too...is that something you might have considered? You are playing the om? Or is he the one who leads the dance?

Elderberries · 17/05/2016 11:07

I'm not say I will not delete him...I'm working up to it. I think. If this were easy for me I would have done it years ago. I have known OM for more than 15 years. It is going to be hard to let go. I am very very fond of him even with his many faults. He has listened to so much of my shit over the years and always, always been kind. And forgiven me when I've been very mean and angry with him. It does seem like an awful thing to just cut him out without explaining why. He would never do that to me. I know he wouldn't,

OP posts: