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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

Devastated and feeling lost after infidelity

9 replies

missmeggymoo1988 · 01/09/2017 09:20

Hi, Newbie here.

Where to start? Right, so my husband and I met when we were 17. You could say love at first sight. We adored each other and have been inseperable since. We got married, had 2 beautiful children and bought a house. Who could want more from life?

Anyway, just after Christmas, my husband started with depression caused mainly by childhood trauma. Something I've always known about but never discussed in depth as he never really wanted to talk about it.

He went to the doctors and started on Prozac in March and in April he started his affair with a colleague.
Our relationship never changed other than he was a bit more down than usual which was to be expected. Around 2 weeks after starting his meds he started with suicidal thoughts which concerned me deeply as he is usually such a strong man. I worried every single day about him. Whether or not he would come home.
It started with him coming home late more often (joys of his job and nothing out of the ordinary at the time so no real reason to suspect anything).
Then in April I discovered I was pregnant. I never wanted anymore but he had always said he wanted 3 children so when he suggested abortion I was shocked. I went on to have the abortion because ultimately for me it was the right decision but I couldn't understand his reasoning behind HIS decision for it. By the by, we had the termination and soon after we went on a family holiday to get over it all. We had a lovely time and the day after we got back he had a work trip which meant staying over in a hotel somewhere. Again, this wasn't out of the ordinary as its part of his job so I suspected nothing.
June rolled round and it was elections night when I found the text from the OW telling MY husband that she loved him. Wtf!?
I dragged him out of bed, questioned everything and he reeled everything off to make it out to be some emotional affair. He had needed someone to talk to and this woman at work was the person. Massively hurt by it all but almost sympathetic we decided to give it another go.
We tried and tried and things were looking up until last week when I had a bit of a melt down. I'd had the niggling feeling that there was more to it. I had from the start but wanted to believe what he told me was the truth. But I couldn't and I just needed proof.

I had a massive clean and clear out at home. Just to take my mind off my "irrational" suspicions until I found his old phone. I completely forgot about it. He had upgraded around the time of the holiday.

I went into a turmoil and couldn't help myself so I charged it up and checked it. It had been reset. Of course it had.

So I decided to do some research on how to restore old data and downloaded some software to do so.
While the phone was scanning my heart was in my throat, my stomach was in knots. I wanted so much for him to have been telling me the truth but I knew deep down he hadn't.
Scan complete and there it all was. In black and white. EVERYTHING. He confessed his love for her and vice versa. They had been meeting up after work (late days) going on nights out together (I thought these were nights out with the lads), the work trip? Yeah, you guessed it, he was in a hotel with HER! Whilst I was at home trying to console my son when he was crying because Daddy was away on a work trip and wouldn't be home for bedtime. I was lying to my son.
The texts were vile. Cooking up stories to tell each other's partners, code words, pictures, telling each other ins and outs of MY marriage and her relationship.

It had been going on for 3 months and neither myself nor the OWs partner were any the wiser.
I confronted him, text him telling him not to come home from work and that was it. He told me he would tell me everything when he came home. He confessed to everything. And now I'm distraught.

It has been a week now and I can't even look at him. I feel hideous, I question why he's here, does he love her, does he love me, out kids, why would he do it!?

We've talked and talked and I don't feel were any further forward. We've arranged marriage counselling for next week in hope that we can try salvage our marriage but I just genuinely don't see how it could help now. I feel unwanted and used.

Has anyone been in a similar position and could tell their stories? Sorry to vent I just had to get it off my chest.

OP posts:
jeaux90 · 01/09/2017 10:47

There is an infidelity support thread at the moment. Pop along to that. Lots of support, advice and some very good links.

RidingRossPoldark · 01/09/2017 11:01

I hate it when one half of a relationship cheats and the onus is on the betrayed party to 'work things out' to see if they can stay together for the sake of the children(usually). A break up is an awful thing to happen to you and your kids but it's already happened, you are not causing it. Don't beat yourself up that you can't beat to stay when you know counsling can't help. Take as long as you like but if you decide to leave its because he put you in that situation, don't blame yourself. Flowers

RidingRossPoldark · 01/09/2017 11:02

Argh, typos, you know what I mean...

Illfindmyownwaydown2 · 01/09/2017 11:43

I understand how you feel . Sending you some love . Look after yourself and treat yourself you deserve it xxx

dingodon · 01/09/2017 11:47

He put you and your family through all that just to get his leg over and only when you found out the truth he is coming "clean" fuck that. He doesn't deserve anything and he should be doing all the work in fixing things if that's what you decide but personally LTFB.

yetmorecrap · 01/09/2017 11:55

Ah, I've been there OP, even down to the stuff on old phones, except in my case it was quite formal arrangements for meet ups that I knew nothing about, think this was probably at the point after they agreed to be just friends. My stuff was from11 years ago but only found by accident last year. I now feel like a consolation prize , at least you know the truth, all I have is a load of self written poems/song lyrics that he then recorded and kept and massive over texting on the bills, I am told was all in his head . I don't think I can ever feel the same about someone I trusted 100% and still undecided, although still together. If I had conclusive proof at the time I would have kicked his arse out. Don't be me, you have proof, it's a very very hard thing to get over when love is involved, personally I find it harder than any one night stand. Don't rush it, give it time and see how you feel and in the meantime make sure you know your position, it's hard when just them being in the same room gets your heckles up but protect yourself first and formost!!

GlitterSparkles17 · 01/09/2017 12:23

He had his chance to "come clean" and tell you the truth yet he still decieved you, it's only because you had a gut feeling that you found the rest out and now he wants to "come clean" how can you trust anything he says? He's a liar, plain and simple.

It's not you breaking up the family if you decide you can't live with this, he did this, it's all on him and his selfish behaviour. Personally I couldn't live with it, it would never be the same again.

Bedraggledmumoftwo · 01/09/2017 21:07

Sorry you are going through this op. My husband started his affair around the same time, maybe there was something in the air!

I would be questioning whether it was retrievable mostly because of the lying- since you first caught him and he chose not to come clean at all! I have no idea what my husband would have said if he had been successful in snatching his phone off me when I saw the first"I love you" message. Instead I left the house (in my nightie) and didn't come back for a good few hours, by which point i had read enough (and exported the rest) and gathered my evidence so that when I eventually let him tell me I already knew the answers! I'm pretty sure he would have tried to write it off as a ONS/fling/emotional affair if he'd had the chance to cover his own arse.

The biggest question for me is what did he do in June when you found out (other than lie and minimise). Did he actually call it off with her or have they been carrying on since with extra subterfuge?

jonsnowsbuttocks · 01/09/2017 21:57

Can he live somewhere else to allow you some time to clear your head? Whilst he is constantly in your space I doubt you will be able to think straight.

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