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Have you had an affair and how did you get over AP

997 replies

bloomingdalelovely · 07/04/2020 18:41

Just that really - looking for input/comments from people who have been in this position.

OP posts:
affor · 20/04/2020 16:01

@Strawberry0998

The problem is I don't want to end it. I know I should but I have really strong feelings for him. In another world he would be the one.

We have known each other 5 years so the build up is strong. It's only now that we've spoken about and looked back that we realise we have taken every opportunity to speak, work closely, be around one another. We both separately realized the attraction last summer, and distanced ourselves without saying anything. It wasn't until January that we even confessed, and not until March that anything happened.

I know there’s enough judgment on affairs but I don’t even understand why I am doing it other than the excitement of it all. Which is just ridiculous when I type it down.
I don't find it exciting (beyond the usual start of a realtionship excitement). I'm actually scared shitless but I just want him in my life.

affor · 20/04/2020 16:05

@User2596
Thanks User. It's so hard isn't it. We spoke first thing but I am not contacting him further today as I need to not force the issue. But I can't help but know that not since this started a month ago have we gone this long without talking. And I know he will have reasons/excuses that are perfectly reasonable, but I still want to be something of a priority to him.

I think it might get easier when I at least can't see his work calendar. At the moment wherever there are gaps between meetings I expect to hear from him, and often don't. So it'll be better both when I don't know and when I have a new job to focus on as I'm so bored of this one.

I am single yes. We have had some very big talks about what all this might mean, and his original suggestion was that we would know by the time lockdown was over. But I'm afraid he'll make the decision before then and I can hardly blame him. It'll be much easier to stay in his marriage as I know he wasn't unhappy before.

Fedup2020 · 20/04/2020 16:47

@Sacredspace I’ve been NC for two weeks and have no intention of contacting him again. He’s a control freak, probably a narcissist. Glad I got out

Imolilo · 20/04/2020 16:57

I’m trying to get out.
I’ve messaged to ask where I stood after being ghosted for three days. I’m getting stronger.

User2596 · 20/04/2020 16:59

@affor Try to stay strong and not write to him, is what you want is to send him a message the best way is to let him wait and be the one to reach you.

I used to check AP's work calendar all the time! Now not so much... I think the best is that now I am not expecting anything from him, there is not anxiety because he hasn't written so in that sense I am much better. I think you are right, having the constant reminder of him makes it hard so hopefully the new job will help!

It is good that at least you are prepared if he decided not to carry on, it will hurt of course but at least you are somehow ready to take it?.
One of the hardest things for me is that I know that AP will come back if i just write to him, I really don't know how he can deal with all the guilt, I was such a mess a couple of weeks ago....

MLouise183 · 20/04/2020 17:02

@ArthurBloom do you still love your partner? Just that I wonder why you don't leave if your needs aren't being me and your partner isn't listening to you? Have you actually said how the lack of intimacy makes you feel?

ArthurBloom · 20/04/2020 17:59

@MLouise183
I do, I’ll admit I got upset and really told her how down her lack of intimacy makes me feel but it only changed for a week, if that.
I guess after what I did I now feel my needs don’t deserve to be met?

Fedup2020 · 20/04/2020 18:37

@arthurbloom this is my situation. I had to have the very difficult conversation with my husband that i needed the ability to have an open relationship, which he reluctantly agreed to. I’ve never acted on that physically, but meet people online. Unfortunately I got too close to one , hence why I’m here

MLouise183 · 20/04/2020 19:48

@ArthurBloom as you've probably worked out I'm not 'pro affairs' but I do think everyone deserves to have their needs met/acknowledged. Being dismissive of each others needs often leads to resentment. You're not going to be happy unless she acknowledges then way you feel.

MLouise183 · 20/04/2020 19:50

@Fedup2020 I'm honestly not trying to be patronising but if you've never met do you think it could be fantasy/infatuation? The reality might be very different to what you've built up in your head.

Fedup2020 · 20/04/2020 19:56

@MLouise183 it’s not patronising at all. I completely agree. In my case it’s addiction and like coming off a drug. Thankfully it means it’s far easier to get over once the withdrawal is over. I miss the buzz rather than the person if that makes sense

MLouise183 · 20/04/2020 20:18

@Fedup2020 maybe yelling yourself that it's not real will help you to move on?

Fedup2020 · 20/04/2020 20:32

@MLouise183 yes, I’m feeling far better about everything as my brain chemistry has rebalanced. I think it’s really important for those having affairs to acknowledge that they’re on a chemical high. That’s why it feels so incredible. As you say, reality is rarely like that

SadSausage44 · 20/04/2020 20:46

Still a load of selfish piffle from people cheating on their partners.

thebridgelooksbroken · 20/04/2020 21:45

Argh! it's posts like @Strawberry0998 that really wind me up. Just do the right thing and end your marriage before fucking a new guy. It's galling to read this crap. How can you be so cruel to the person you made a vow to?

Strawberry0998 · 20/04/2020 22:36

@thebridgdlooksbroken honestly I can completely understand your post. I have no excuse, I have no justification. It’s utterly selfish and I know it is. I have no defence, I know what I need to do but I don’t.

Travelonbusiness · 20/04/2020 22:51

Are these your first affairs? If so it’s just chemicals and you not fully understanding how your brain is reacting and so craving more of the same. I’ve had many emotional and physical affairs over the last 25 years. These feelings wore off very quickly once I got I have my reasons and I’m not going into them on here. Do be wary though ladies as men will say anything to her in your knickers.

BackseatCookers · 20/04/2020 22:57

@Strawberry0998

I have no excuse, I have no justification. It’s utterly selfish and I know it is. I have no defence, I know what I need to do but I don’t.

You know it's wrong, you know what you need to do and you know you aren't doing it.

But why?

Is it as simple as you don't know in reality if it would work with AP so you don't want to give up your actual partner in case it doesn't work with AP / he doesn't do the same and then you don't have either?

Won't you feel better about yourself if you stop being selfish and do the right thing? Don't you want to feel like you're a good, kind person? In the long run that will be what makes you happy and allows you to be at peace with yourself.

It just sounds like you're hedging your bets which is a horrible state of limbo.

Dadaist · 21/04/2020 09:00

@Strawberry0998 - I can assure you there is virtually no one who is married who would not understand the delicious thrill of sex with someone else. That feeling is not unique to you at all.
But the whole point of marriage is that you commit to being loyal to someone, and they to you, so that you both have that security.
The question is how would you feel if your DH was doing what you are doing. And lying to you and deceiving you? And loving the thrill of someone else. What would you feel toward him? What would you think of him?
I suspect you would see him with new eyes?

But once you’ve cuckholded him - he will never be the same person in your eyes. And there will always be at least the OM and possibly many more in time that know that your marriage is a sham.

In infidelity- It’s the deceit and humiliation of the person you ‘love’ that ends the marriage, not the thrilling sex.

Strawberry0998 · 21/04/2020 09:36

@dadaist

You’re right. Your comments hit home.

I need to look at my marriage/relationship and accept something isn’t right or working. I’d never admit what I did, but maybe I can work on my future self.

Dadaist · 21/04/2020 10:12

@Strawberry0998 - the thrill you’re experiencing is common - the first flush of romance, sexual discovery etc. It is like a drug and highly addictive. In fact addictive drugs mimic exactly the same chemicals in the brain!
But like any drug addiction the prognosis is the same. It gives you a little taste of heaven, but it will eventually drag you into hell. At first you want that feeling again, but gradually you need more often for the same hit, then eventually you can’t feel ‘normal’ without a fix. And you will lie and steal and cheat to get it.
And the only cure is cold turkey!
I think you need to see that there is a thrill from this that you aren’t getting from your marriage. It might not just be the novelty of another person - it might also be a different you.
If you want to save your marriage - try and introduce that different you to your DH?
What you’ve done is not just selfish - it’s more like the child pulling the legs off a spider - inflicting suffering out of curiosity. It will make you question who you really are.

You don’t have children-and therefore little reason to make your marriage work. But if you were single again - would you hide this history from your next partner? And who would blame them for not seeing you as someone they could safely trust?
Maybe look at getting some counselling to explore what’s going on for you too?

PowerToTheMeeple · 21/04/2020 10:51

Late to the thread, but would like to post.

My situation is a little different in that DH and I agreed to have an open marriage. Due to his own reasons he was happy for me to go and play, but he was not confident in himself to do the same. I joined Fab last year, had a meet a couple of weeks after and the sex between DH and I was mind blowing once I got home.

A few weeks later I started chatting to AP. DH encouraged me to go meet him, so the next night I did. With the first meet I spent weeks talking to the person first, but with AP we exchanged some lengthy messages first on Fab and then on WhatsApp. At that point I had a second phone to contact any potential ‘meets’ on, that I would take with me so I could contact DH. Anyway, I went to meet AP (who was and still is single) and we just seemed to click. I felt really comfortable with him and we chatted like we’d known each other a while over the few hours I was there. Afterward there was lots of messaging back and forth, it was quite full on. I’ve never had attention like that before apart from DH.

AP and I arranged another meet for the next month (with the blessing of DH) and again we got on really well. AP is 11 years older than me. We continued to message until AP went away for work where the messages dwindled to sporadic, then he messaged a bit more when he returned but it felt a bit different. We arranged to meet again at the end of that month (3rd month after we originally met) and had a good time, but AP had a little issue after his first orgasm of being able to get hard. We had sex again later on, but he lost his erection at least twice more. After I got home DH told me he didn’t want me to see AP any more in a sexual context. Ideally he wanted me to cut AP off, but I’d built a friendship with him and wanted to maintain that. I messaged AP saying I thought it wasn’t the best idea to continue sleeping together, we were getting too close etc. He agreed and his messages after then really did dwindle. He’d go days without responding to messages (by this time he had my proper number). We went to a gig together as friends at the end of May and then had a bit of a falling out a few weeks later. He blocked me on WhatsApp and Fab.

At the end of July I text him an apology for the falling out. I didn’t expect to hear anything back from him, but I wanted to say sorry and when he blocked me he didn’t allow me that chance. I assumed my number via text would be blocked too, so either way I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t receive a response.

I started to think about him less and less and then one day a couple of weeks later he messaged a response apologising too, also messaging the same thing on WhatsApp. All those slight feelings came flooding back. I told DH and again DH encouraged me to go back to see AP. I saw and slept over for the night with him in August, September, October and November, so once a month. We were messaging too in these months and I bought him a birthday gift in the September. In the November we went to a gig as well as staying over and I told him as we were lying in bed that I thought I loved him. He hugged me tight but didn’t say it back, which I didn’t expect him to. A couple of days later when we were messaging he said that we had to be careful not to involve our feelings, as too many people would get hurt. I didn’t tell DH how I felt. Again DH said he wanted me to stop seeing AP, only this time I didn’t.

I saw AP in the December, we stayed overnight in a hotel. We didn’t have sex, though I did give him two blow jobs and there was lots of kissing. We bought each other Christmas gifts and exchanged them. I arranged to see AP again in January and again we stayed over in a hotel. I’ve seen him in February and March too, but just to go to events that we bought tickets for the other to go to, not staying over. DH knows I’ve sporadically messaged AP, the messages aren’t anywhere near as often as they used to be, but he doesn’t know I’ve seen him at all this year. He has recently suggested I see him again (not during lockdown!), though I’ve been non-committal. AP doesn’t always answer messages, it shows two blue ticks on WhatsApp but then he will say a day or so later sometimes that he’s only just seen my message. He removed his last seen from WhatsApp months ago, which I’m not sure why but it’s not my place to ask. Sometimes we will message and he promises to reply later on but he doesn’t.

I know he isn’t seeing anyone else as we’d had a frank discussion about that, plus his living situation means he can’t just have people round - he lives with his friends at the moment but is due to move out to his own place as soon as he is able, it was in the works but lockdown has put a hold on it. Deep down I’m not sure if AP feels anything for me at all. I’m really confused at my feelings, I still feel the same as I did in November but he doesn’t seem to make time for me really, where as I do make time for him. When this started I wasn’t expecting to fall into anything like this. Part of me doesn’t want to let him go, as I feel we still get on quite well and sometimes I get mixed signals from him. The other part of me wonders how I got to this place. DH is still happy for me to see other people, though with AP he blows hot and cold. I don’t really want to see other people though.

Sorry it was so long, I just needed somewhere to vent a little.

TomNook · 21/04/2020 10:55

He’s just not that into you.

PowerToTheMeeple · 21/04/2020 11:19

@TomNook

Yeah I think I got that! Physically I very much doubt I’m his type at all, essentially I’m fat and he isn’t. He’s not been up for sexting for a number of weeks now either, so I think I’ve kind of got that message, though when I’ve asked he’s said he’s just stressed with work/his living situation/the current situation.

Travelonbusiness · 21/04/2020 11:32

@power

This is the problem with these types of relationships. I have had permission to do as I please. We have an open relationship. I have had lots of affairs/flings over the last 25 years since we agreed to it. The one problem I had in all of it was my at the time AP catching feelings. I can literally sleep with someone without feelings growing but it was always harder for the woman in the partnership and it looks like this is your problem. Your head is searching for answers while he is probably sat at hone not giving you a moments thought. Maybe speaking to more then one person at a time would stop this situation arising again.

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