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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

Advice I am the other woman

377 replies

emilysof1 · 09/03/2021 09:50

Hi,
I am looking for some constructive advice.
I am in an awful situation that is ruining my life.
I have been in a relationship with a married man for several months. It started out as a one night stand and became quite intense quite quickly from there on in. He is in a long term relationship with young children. He is 10 years my senior.
I know what I am doing is wrong and believe me I feel terrible for it but I am in deeper than I ever thought I would be and I don't know what to do.
My man tells me he is leaving his partner. That they have drifted and that they no longer have a connection. But he never talks badly of her. Says that she doesn't love him and doesn't care about their relationship anymore. Cliche I know but he tells me that they have no sexual relationship and sleep in separate rooms etc. People may laugh but I do believe him. The thing is, months down the line and he has not left. He keeps promising after this occasion or that occasion but it never happens. This sounds really selfish but I have fallen in love with him and I hate the thought of him with his partner. I am jealous. He tells me he loves me and wants to be with me. We've spoken about the future. But I am becoming so frustrated with this situation and can not carry on. We speak every day. We see each other frequently but he still spends time with his family, goes on family holidays etc and I hate it. Will he ever follow through and leave? I am starting to wonder if this is worth it?

OP posts:
crackingcrackers · 09/03/2021 11:32

Even if he does leave her to be with you, he will most likely cheat on you too. It started off as a ons for him. He's probably had others. He will have others if he's with you as he's selfish.

If his marriage wasn't working the he should have been trying to fix it or ending it. When his solution was to stick his penis into another woman, it really tells you all you need to know about the level of effort he's willing to put into a relationship and the level of effort he's willing to put into getting what he fancies. It will be the same for you as that's who he is.

KaptainKaveman · 09/03/2021 11:32

If you do really want 'constructive advice' then it's this: leave, now. You will never get what you want. You and he are both deceivers and even if he did leave his family he'd just do it to you later on down the line. All the stuff about 'separate bedrooms, no sex' - yada yada...Hmm.

RealisticSketch · 09/03/2021 11:34

You have 2 children and you're dishing out consolation to the poor man whose sex life has suffered for the arrival of children and who prefers to seek action elsewhere than address it with the person he thought was his life partner not so very long ago, for the price of multiple broken promises he makes to you. Crack on then and enjoy your consequences. You don't seem to be hearing any of the understanding or wise advice you're here getting anyway.

MarshmallowAra · 09/03/2021 11:34

I already have 2 children

What happened with your relationship with the father/s of your kids op?

Do you think you could be vulnerable in any way as a result, and have gotten into this situation at least partly because of that?

As an aside a lot of these men can be convincing because I think they do convince themselves at times that they're going to leave their partner; but when push comes to shove and the realities and huge disadvantages of leaving are on the table, they won't.

IsThePopeCatholic · 09/03/2021 11:34

Do you get a thrill from being with someone else’s man? He’s not your man and never will be. Leave him. He’s a shit. Don’t continue this destructive relationship.

AryaStarkWolf · 09/03/2021 11:39

The only constructive advice anyone can give you is to leave him. He's a liar and a cheat and if you believe him and his wife have separate bedrooms and never have sex then you are an idiot

Giraffaelina · 09/03/2021 11:42

Have you posted before OP? I am absolutely certain something almost identical has recently been taken off.

CelestialGalaxy · 09/03/2021 11:43

I have been the wife in similarish circumstances. I wish someone would have told me so i could decide my future rather than being left at the mercy of a duplicitous man. If they had I would have gladly handed the cheat over.

NerrSnerr · 09/03/2021 11:44

Get some self respect and get an STD test. If he's shagging you he could be shagging others too. (It's not like he's got form for honesty considering he's having an affair).

BigSandyBalls2015 · 09/03/2021 11:45

Oh dear, don't fall for his crap OP. You're only a few months in, not years, so just block him. It can never end well. Even if he did leave his wife and kids, which is very unlikely, can you imagine the fall out, the 'blending' of families, the financial situation …. the list goes on and on. Nightmare. You barely know him, meeting for sex and dates isn't real life. He really won't seem so appealing when you're with him 24/7 trying to juggle all the shit that you've both caused.

EL8888 · 09/03/2021 11:45

You need to draw a line in the sand e.g. he needs to leave her by the end of this month. Statistically he won’t and then will try to buy time with various excuses. The bad news is it’s never a good time

The other bit of bad news is this is a terrible way to start a relationship. Not going to lie my 1st husband left me for a friend of mine, it tickles me that it probably still casts a shadow over their relationship. For example he says he working late, l wonder how much she believes that or if it unsettles her etc?

CoffeeAndCaramel · 09/03/2021 11:46

Vile behaviour. Imagine if he did leave his wife and poor kids to be with you and your kids instead. Put yourself in his wife's shoes. He's not going to leave her. Your his bit on the side!

MarshmallowAra · 09/03/2021 11:46

Op you're not some young girl out in the workplace, naive and inexperienced enough to be taken in by lines that neanderthal man was using to get his bit on the side (and they already old lines when he was using them) ... You are a mum of two kids, you have life experience, you have responsibilities ... Don't be letting men like this fuck you around and upset you.

You say you're jealous, that the situation is really badly affecting your life, you're clearly unhappy .. and no wonder in a situation like this. Thus is affecting your mental health and happiness and by default it's probably affecting your parenting. Hard to be a fully present, relaxed, confident, happy parent when you're unhappy. It's not fair on you and it's not fair on your kids.

Get rid of him. If he hasn't left by now he's unlikely to, if it's all soul mates and blah blah, he will finish his relationship sooner or later and come after you. If he does that and truly stays finished you could consider entertaining him. I don't think he will.

Even if he did, he's still a cheater and I doubt you were his only illicit ons.

Get rid of him, take some power back. He's got it all) you've given him it all.

The only way to fall out of "love" is to stop seeing the person, stop being intimate with them, try meeting other people (don't rush into anything, just be aware there are other possible partners out there for you).

And forget about "winning" against at his wife, there was never a real competition for the simple matter that he met and got into a relationship with and had kids with her first .. so he's invested and leaving her has lots of disadvantages he's likely not prepared to take. And just think; if he'd met, gotten involved with and had kids with you first; you'd probably be the one being cheated on. No-one's all that special, esp to men like him.

Candyfloss99 · 09/03/2021 11:48

If he wanted to leave his wife he would.

TwinkleStar88 · 09/03/2021 11:48

Of course he’s not going to leave his wife and kids, that’s his security. You’re someone who is convenient for sex and that’s all!
Do you really feel comfortable about trying to convince a married man to leave his wife and kids?
Would you trust him, knowing he cheated to be with you?
Honestly OP, stop being gullible and have some self-respect!

bettertimesarecomingnow · 09/03/2021 11:52

Oh op I feel sorry for you. I truly do.

The truth is tho even when he tells her (if he does) then there will be months of upset and crying and trying to 'make it work' and you will still be no further forward.

Then he will realise he has to stay for the kids, for her or the dog or some shit and he will cut you off, hurting you more than you can imagine.

At that point you'll just about because mad enough to murder him and want nothing more to do with him. And then a few weeks later when you are starting to get over him, he will call, tearful, can't live without you etc etc and it will all go back to square one if you let it.

At this point I told him to fuck off and never come near me again. Should have done that on the first night i met him....

Never ever get involved with a married man op. It never works out and even if it does you can't ever trust them.

Bourbonbiccy · 09/03/2021 11:56

Oh OP, you have got yourself in the situation that everyone hears about, knows people in and it just never ends how the married man tells you it will. (Sorry but he's not your man)

He will stay with her until she kicks him out.
He is still sleeping with her
If he loved you he would leave her.

Can I just say, please just end it, once he gets kicked out and it has devastated his children, he will come to you, you will take him in, and then you will be sooo controlling and anxious because let's face it, you know what he's capable of.

Your life then ends up miserable as does his, you stay longer than you are happy to because you want to prove this relationship was worth all the devastation is caused.

I know it's hard, but you deserve better as do all the kids involved.

If he is unhappy in his joyless, sexless marriage let him leave because he wants to, not because of you. I doubt very much he will, they never do until they are caught out.

Sstrongtn · 09/03/2021 11:58

I disagree with everyone saying you deserve better.

You don’t.

crackingcrackers · 09/03/2021 11:59

A family member of mine had an affair with a married man for years. All the old cliches were trotted out; he and his wife weren't having sex, she had forced him into parenthood, the relationship was all but over, he'd never done anything like it before, etc.

He did eventually leave his first wife and marry my relative. Their marriage ended after she found him in bed with another woman. Funnily enough, he and my relative had still been having sex. And when he moved on with the new woman she had kids and he happily became their step dad. Who knows if they're still together, but we all know sure as hell that he won't have been faithful. And he totally abandoned his child from his first marriage. He's just a selfish man.

This is what you'll be setting yourself up for. It'll be painful to end it now, but it'll be even more painful down the line when you are even more invested. And depending on how invested your kids get, painful for them too. He's shown you who he is, and who he thinks of first.

flappityflippers1 · 09/03/2021 12:01

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Nollopian · 09/03/2021 12:06

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requitalissima · 09/03/2021 12:08

What happens to women when they start a relationship with a married man?

It's like all their cognitive ability goes, woosh, out the window and what's left has the IQ of a fucking tomato and a naive one at that?

Atalune · 09/03/2021 12:11

Leave.

This is toxic for you.

StCharlotte · 09/03/2021 12:12

Cliche I know but he tells me that they have no sexual relationship and sleep in separate rooms etc

And before you know it, she's pregnant.

Seriously OP, get some self-respect and move on. He's an absolute cliche.

VodselForDinner · 09/03/2021 12:14

@requitalissima

What happens to women when they start a relationship with a married man?

It's like all their cognitive ability goes, woosh, out the window and what's left has the IQ of a fucking tomato and a naive one at that?

There’s a flaw to your argument. Men don’t typically looking for the best and brightest when they want an affair, do they?

Like, the bar is pretty low. They want someone who’ll put out, keep quiet, and believe their lies.

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