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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

Husband grieving for OW

999 replies

Filly2011 · 14/02/2020 21:25

Anyone had experience of this?
Husband had 14 month affair with woman at work. Told me about it when she finally dumped him in favour of her husband. DH says he wants to keep marriage and willing to work at it. After months of counselling he now admits he is very upset as still loves her and knows he’s lost her. I feel very cut up by this. Can’t stop thinking about it.

OP posts:
TheReef · 16/02/2020 19:20

Good on you OP.
So what if he's upset, wtf does he think he's been doing to you for years

Filly2011 · 16/02/2020 19:22

I sort of don’t care if he’s upset or thinks I’m vindictive or a stalker. I actually think looking at a video on a forum shared by many of our friends is less reprehensible than waiting until someone is away on business so you can go to her house and shag her husband. Also following her son on social media throughout time shagging father.

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 16/02/2020 19:23

You are dealing with pondscum.

cstaff · 16/02/2020 19:24

@Filly2011
I love your way of thinking. I would have done the same thing sending the video. I know it's small minded but so what. You have every reason to be angry . And your poor dh is upset. Well boo fucking hoo. How the fuck does he think you feel.

As for telling one of your kids - well done. That can't have been easy. And you know they will talk amongst themselves. So it is out there which is a good thing. Wine look after yourself.

SEE123 · 16/02/2020 19:24

Ah the old "my wife doesn't support and understand me". You deserve better OP. It's never too late to have a happy life.

TheMotherofAllDilemmas · 16/02/2020 19:24

That’s fine, as long as you don’t give a hoot about him and don’t want him back, that’s perfectly ok, reasonable and expected.

SalmonOfKnowledge · 16/02/2020 19:34

Id block her, block her H, block their son, block your husband!

MrsWhisker · 16/02/2020 19:51

I'm glad he's upset. He's a truly nasty piece of work.

whymewhyme · 16/02/2020 19:59

What a twat@ good for you sending the video and if u were you i wouldn't go to therapy!

MsPepperPotts · 16/02/2020 20:26

@Filly2011
Please stop the couples counselling....he is emotionally abusive and you are definitely not supposed to have joint counselling with an abusive spouse.
Do not tell him that you are not going just don't turn up...you one him absolutely nothing
Put yourself emotional and physical welling first now and in the future ....always Flowers

SW16 · 16/02/2020 20:59

“He told me I was mad and vindictive and it had upset him v much

He isn’t even trying to hide that he is distraught that she is with her H instead of him. You can’t possibly pay to sit in a room and have him complain about you!

Your newfound driving confidence and a supply of mini magnums will be FAR better for your self esteem, healing and emotional respite than that.

Noshowlomo · 16/02/2020 21:17

He’s the ultimate victim and whatever happens in his shitty life will always be someone else’s fault.

Starlight456 · 16/02/2020 21:19

Do you know the greatest form of revenge. Getting on with your own life . ... been truly happy and not caring what they do. It won’t happen overnight but will.

Filly2011 · 16/02/2020 21:29

Starlight I LONG for that to happen

OP posts:
Starlight456 · 16/02/2020 21:37

It will but small steps. Today you made a huge one.

mathanxiety · 16/02/2020 21:44

I am glad you told your oldest son. You need to tell the others soon.

mathanxiety · 16/02/2020 21:45

Apparently she wanted to break up with dh but stay friends as they were always such good friends before the affair. She wanted to carry on getting projects from him as his company was her main source of income.

My dh says she’s just a really nice person who couldn’t help falling in love and is in unhappy marriage.

LOL.

It's true that there's no fool like an old fool.

FlowerArranger · 16/02/2020 21:48

@Filly2011 it's going to take a lot longer if you don't stop obsessing and poking the bear! Remember no contact means no new hurts, but the reverse is also true. Grey rock and focusing on your new future is altogether healthier than trying to get the better of him.

Ellie56 · 16/02/2020 22:00

I LONG for that to happen and it will happen but you need to stop thinking about the arsehole and just think about you and what you want.

I suggest you start by knocking the joint counselling on the head and finding a new counsellor just for you.

UYScuti · 16/02/2020 22:07

he is angry and going to get meaner
and when you see that nasty side it'll be easier to kick him to the curb, maybe keep provoking him until both his feet are shot to bits?
(obvs not if he might be violent)

Filly2011 · 16/02/2020 22:09

Why should he be so angry? He’s done all this?

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 16/02/2020 22:13

She really turned his head that’s for sure.
I’m not saying it’s her fault - not at all - it takes 2 etc. But I just think for my sake he could at least pretend to be over her if he wants marriage to work.

You have no evidence whatsoever that he wants the marriage to work.

In fact you have mountains of evidence to the contrary, some of it direct admissions in his own words (he still loves her and pines for her) and some of it in the form of his disgraceful treatment of you.

Going to marriage counseling is not evidence of wanting to sort things out and find a way to move forward. Your H is in counseling in order to prove to the counselor that you are a horrible woman who has blighted his life and won't even give him a shoulder to cry on now that his only chance at happiness has been snatched away. The counselor has bought his narrative.

When your decision not to continue with marriage counseling becomes known, your H will use it as proof that you are unreasonable/ cold/ selfish/ have checked out of the marriage. The counseling is a mind game he is playing. Don't engage. Try not to be affected by any lies he tries to tell about you. Practice indifference. Your H is going to tell lies about you anyway - you won't win any of the games he is playing right now. He has set you up to lose and while you're at it, play the role of personal garbage can and emotional punch bag too.

Emotional detachment, why and how:
www.theneurotypical.com/emotional-detachment.html
For all their crocodile tears and hyper-sensitivity, abusive narcissistic, borderline, histrionic and sociopathic people are emotional predators and bullies. If you stay in the relationship, the best you can expect is more of the same. You may achieve some periods of “peace” (remember, they say they are not responsible for their behavior; you’re responsible for their behavior and your behavior and all the other problems in the universe), and maintain your boundaries.

“Happiness reflects the difference between what you expect versus what you actually get in life—so if you keep expecting good things to happen, but they never do or take a turn for the worse, you will suffer constant unhappiness.” (Sutton, 2007, p. 134) Your spouse is abusive. They probably have significant characterological pathology and are unlikely to change. Therefore, keep your expectations for their behavior low, but continue to believe that you will be okay once you remove yourself from the situation and/or stop giving them the power to hurt you.

6. Do something that removes you from the abuse and centers you. Meditate or whatever your version of meditation is—reading, walking, woodworking, painting, music—anything that’s restorative. Find pockets of sanity and safety with friends and family or physical spaces like your office, the gym, the pub or social/professional organizations. Find activities that will take you out of the line of fire and minimize your exposure to them and their abuse. Find a hobby or activity that makes you feel good about yourself and restores your confidence and esteem. Ignore them when they become jealous or puts down these new activities and friendships. They do so because they see them as threats to their control.

7. See the big picture and don’t get distracted by their minutiae. The ultimate goal is to not let their abusive behavior effect you anymore and to end the relationship. Expect them to hit even harder—emotionally and/or physically—when you stop reacting to their tried and true button pushing. It seems counter-intuitive, but if they become nastier in response to you setting boundaries and detaching, it means your new behavioral strategies are working because they are fighting harder to retain their control. By detaching, you’re taking back the power that you unwittingly ceded to them.

These new behaviors will take time for you to learn and perfect. It takes a while to develop indifference. It runs counter to our fundamental beliefs about love and relationships. However, if you’re in a relationship with someone who verbally and/or physically attacks you, devalues you, makes you feel less than and who raises themselves up at your expense, you must learn how to make yourself less vulnerable and eventually immune to them. Abusive neurological/biological disorders have no soul and they will destroy your soul if you let them.

Check out the whole article.

You are ahead of the game in one really important respect - the two of you are living separately.

What is holding you back here is dread of pulling the plug. It's not fair that he landed this information and responsibility for the decision that arises from it into your lap, but as many PPs have advised, go to a solicitor and see where you stand so you can at least see more clearly into the future. You don't have to act on the legal advice immediately.

Get counselling for yourself.

AcrossthePond55 · 16/02/2020 22:14

Oh, so you're 'vindictive' and you 'upset him', eh? Aw, diddums.

That just goes to show you how bone deep his selfishness is. He can't even stop to consider the pain and hurt that may have prompted you to send the video. The only pain is his pain. Your pain simply does not register and no matter how many ways you try to tell him about it, it never will. Another reason to just stop talking about it to him and start talking about it to a counselor of your own.

Personally, I think you sending it is actually a step in the right direction. You've done something in anger instead of just being frozen in pain. Good for you!! I think you'll find that now you've taken this first step, the others will follow.

UYScuti · 16/02/2020 22:20

Why should he be so angry
because he's been made to look a complete tool, he has been exposed and humiliated, this is an attack on his reputation as a person, on his esteem, his anger is retaliation for the attack.
Instead of backing down and admitting he's a stupid low life he's trying to keep his status and rank by doubling down and spinning everything, his anger also occludes whatever capacity for empathy he had

AcrossthePond55 · 16/02/2020 22:20

Meant to add....Don't be afraid to feel the anger. So many of us (women, esp women of 'our age') feel that we aren't entitled to get ANGRY!!! It's not 'ladylike'. We must suck it up and 'be nice'. So the only emotion we allow ourselves to feel is hurt and sorrow.

So get angry. Anger isn't necessarily 'mean' nor results in nasty behaviours. Anger can be healthy and move us to do something about a situation.