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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

My wife / partner of 25yrs is leaving me for another woman.

91 replies

saddad2021 · 26/06/2021 21:44

So i guess i should just cut to the chase. My wife (43yrs old) who was apparently happily married to me, prior to this uncontrollable infatuation with another woman (37yrs old) has told me she has unfortunately fallen in love, and she can't stop the feeling. and this other woman who's also married with 4 kids, feels the same about my wife. She's sorry for all harm and destruction its going to cause but its apparently like a freight train that neither can stop. i have two boys 14 and 16 who are still none the wiser on what's going on. Making matters worse is we're all still living in the same household together, and my wife doesn't even try and hide it.. Like right now, she's on the phone to her in her car somewhere. Been there for an hour. I know this sounds like she's a complete c word. and right now she is, but this was one of the kindest caring humans i and many others felt about her. A month ago we were holding hands watching a sunset telling each other how rock solid we are together, and now she's on the phone with her new lover. She has NEVER EVER cheated on me. Always been faithful. Actually i was the douche at the start of our relationship. I went out for a lunch with a girl from work, testing the waters 20 yrs ago, and she nearly had a breakdown over it. She smashed my phone, was uncontrollably crying for days, lost weight from not being able to eat and while we got over it took yrs before she fully trusted me again. i know she isn't full on lesbian, because she really did love me, and crave me. Perhaps the last yr, she did seem like she started transitioning. Spending much more time talking to her female friends, some of which i know as a friend, (not the lover though) meeting them for beach walks. And she actually started going out more often with the couple of female friends she has, but respectful. Never a woman who said she was going somewhere and went somewhere else.. Actually she told me before actually doing anything with this other woman, that both had fallen in love with each other, before they kissed. Everything in our relationship has been shared since we got married at least. There's never been any secrecy. i know it all sounds like complete madness, and it really is. She's in tears (perhaps a little crocodile tears at times feeling sorry for herself, and feeling she's let her family down) she isn't saying, i'm going to end it with this woman and fix things with me, she is genuinely trying to figure out how to make it all work.. Her and this other married woman with her kids. all somehow living together ??? We're financially solid together. Paid off all our debts, don't owe a penny to anyone. Have a beautiful home in paradise. (SW Florida) We both moved here together in 2004. then had our two children. We're both british so have a lot in common. I'm trying to make sense of all of this. How powerful must a woman on woman attraction be for her to want to throw absolutely everything away on this ??? She's always been a bit tomboy ish. Like never wore makeup well or never felt comfortable in a dress. But she's very attractive. Pretty and cute, petite and one of those bodies that never puts an inch of fat on. A little bit like Ellen Page was before she / he all went transgender. If i was to describe a woman that reminded me of her while not exactly, but it would be her. Kinda cute and dinky and magnetic. I know she's had lots of attention in the past by other men, all of which she brushed off with ease. What i loved about her apart from being an amazing mother prior to all of this, is she's never looked for attention. Her hair is just tied back, no makeup or very little when going to work where this other married woman works, but for whatever reason, its like this lesbian attraction has an unbelievable hold on her.

I don't know for sure, because the final kill for me is when she tells the our kids, She called her parents this morning in England today to tell them everything, both of which said STOP and think about what you're doing. I even spoke to her dad, who obviously loves his daughter but knows only she can make the right decision.

I'm going to see a therapist on Tues to figure out what i need to do. i know what they're going to say. Break away make a fresh start, you don't need to be tortured like this.. BUT i am trying to save the marriage. You don't just give up on your family so easily.. We seem to just be bickering now more than being best friends. But even during some of the last week, we both used each others shoulders to cry on. I told her this needs to stop, either its me and our family or this other woman. But she's definitely leaning towards this other woman, even though its a train wreck waiting to happen. Any advice from a woman who perhaps is that way inclined, who may understand what she must be going through would be appreciated.

OP posts:
bitheby · 27/06/2021 09:47

Rumours were PS was having an alleged affair which is why he came out. I felt sorry for his wife. It was all about him and how stunning and brace he was and nothing about how he'd lied to her for years. I'm bisexual myself and have very little sympathy for someone who says they've known they were gay for years and hid it from their partner.

Sakurami · 27/06/2021 09:50

I agree with @bitheby. Poor PS's wife wasted her life with a man who couldn't love her like a man should. How someone could do that to someone else is despicable. He should have come out years before and definitely shouldn't have married a woman.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 27/06/2021 10:01

To be fair the PS situation is very different to many others - it was openly known for donkeys years in the industry that he was gay but loved his wife dearly and that she had a don't ask don't tell type policy.

PiccalilliChilli · 27/06/2021 10:38

I understand you are hurt and angry but focusing on image and success has been your downfall. Yes, your wife has cheated and that's awful, but from your initial post I can see you don't see the bigger picture. Too often men are so driven to get the house, the car, the membership at the local exclusive golf club they forget what's important. If your wife has found fulfilment elsewhere maybe it's time to take stock and think why she feels she is better off with her new partner. What she has done is wrong, but your post is so full of image and material stuff. I can see why the marriage might have failed if that's all you care about.

candyflossss · 27/06/2021 11:01

I actually think I understand why you've mentioned the fact she is attractive and the stuff about attention. are you saying it because you wanted to get the point across that this is totally out of character/she didnt go out of her way to look for attention despite her being a very good looking woman?

aside from this, I'm sorry that your marriage is breaking down. that must be very hurtful and confusing for you. I'm not sure I can offer any advice but I think you need to come to terms with the fact that this is probably it now anyway. even if she decides actually no she doesnt want to leave, this was just an infatuation trust issues will remain.

she must be feeling very confused too. all round it is a hard situation to navigate and I wish you all the best with it. there will be other people on this site who have been the partner in a situation where their other half had an affair/cheated and how they came to terms with it. hopefully, you will have some on soon or you can look for threads from the past.

I am sorry you've had some very harsh responses as well when you were clearly coming here for some support and to gain some kind of clarity. I think some have just read into the way you've worded things a bit too much!

worktrip · 27/06/2021 11:05

Unfortunately this is MN and a woman cheating with a woman will be given a huge leeway that a man doesn't get. If this was a husband openly cheating on his wife, and expecting her to suck it up and keep quiet, there would be no end of support.

So that is what she is doing. Openly cheating. It's irrelevant whether this is a man or a woman. She has opted to leave the marriage. Whether this is because she has decided she is bi or gay isn't this issue. She has fallen in love with someone else. She doesn't love you anymore, at least not in the same way.

See a lawyer. Start divorce proceedings. Talk as a couple to your children and join a dating site. Personally I wouldn't waste a minute of my time on a cheating partner. They would be dead to me.

bitheby · 27/06/2021 11:08

I have some sympathy with the OP. I think he's trying to work out how his loving wife is suddenly a lesbian and how she looks and behaves is probably what is running through his mind as he tries to work out if the last 25 years has been a lie. I know a little of how that feels as when I discovered my father had been having a 20 year affair, I questioned everything. It's really shocking and like an earthquake in your emotional life.

But I think in this case that it's an unhelpful line of questioning. People can fall in love with people irrespective of their sex. It doesn't mean she didn't love the OP first. It doesn't mean she can't love this new woman now.

Snookie00 · 27/06/2021 11:19

Not sure why you posted on here. Many women on here seem to take real pleasure in being unpleasant to men and tying themselves in knots excusing bad behaviour in other women. As you’ve seen by the responses above they will blame you for her affair and subsequent awful behaviour and try to make her blame-free. Says a lot about them that they will try to justify it. You would never see a thread where a women whose husband is having an affair being told it’s their fault.

Hopingforabagofbuttons · 27/06/2021 11:24

I think your DW is just your everyday garden variety cheat . It doesn’t matter of the sex of the person she’s cheating with.
Make her stand by that decision, start the separation process. I’d say that to anyone man or woman.
There are some women here who I have seen in recent posts positively delight in posts where a married woman is cheating on her husband. It’s a kind of celebratory fuck you to all men.
Op , as a man you won’t get an unbiased reply from dome posters.
I do agree the detail in which you posted about her physically at such length was an error of judgement on your part. It looks as though you may have been over focussing on her looks. However, that still doesn’t give her the green light to cheat and you should still give her the divorce she wants. You’ll both be happier

Karmalady · 27/06/2021 11:59

Cheating is cheating. If she wasn’t happy, she should have had the courage and the morals to end the marriage before embarking on another relationship.

Applies to both men and women.

Wherearemymarbles · 27/06/2021 12:01

You need time away from each other.
I can understand your wife is probably in a bit of a mess as her lover is married with 4 kids who may or may not leave her husband and even if she does she can’t exactly blend all the children and expect them get along etc and accept the situation

From where i am standing your marriage is over. Pandora’s box is open and I suspect even if she ends the affair it will be because of the complications of pursuing something with this woman rather than wanting to stay in the marriage.

Get lawyered up and try and keep the house, last thing your children need is your wife moving her lover and 4 children in.

TheLeadbetterLife · 27/06/2021 12:10

Oh ffs, she's fallen in love with someone else and told her husband all about it, yet some people are still all, "she's an evil cheat!"

She can't help how she feels, she's been honest with her husband. Yes it's horrible for him, but what else is she supposed to do?

I don't understand what rules some people on MN seem to have - is it never, ever falling in love and leaving a marriage? Ignoring it if you do fall in love with someone else? Seems unrealistic, and a recipe for misery.

And yeah, OP does sound a bit homophobic with the whole, "how powerful can a woman on woman attraction be?" Like he doesn't believe lesbians are a real thing.

TheLeadbetterLife · 27/06/2021 12:13

@Karmalady

Cheating is cheating. If she wasn’t happy, she should have had the courage and the morals to end the marriage before embarking on another relationship.

Applies to both men and women.

Well if what OP says is true, that's pretty much exactly what she has done.

It's OP who is trying to stop the marriage ending.

Regularsizedrudy · 27/06/2021 12:22

God why do men always type so strangely on mumsnet. It’s always a novel with loads of unnecessary detail; we don’t need to know that’s she’s dinky and doesn’t wear makeup fgs. She’s an absolute shit of course to do this to you but sadly it is beyond your control. I would think less about winning her back and more about practical ways you can protect your kids from this mess.

Tistheseason17 · 27/06/2021 12:45

OP - stop trying to find an answer as to why it has happened. Her cheating reflects on her - not you.

Yes, it is hard to get your head around someone would prefer to be with someone of the same sex rather than you but this does not reflect on your masculinity or her desire to be with a woman. She has simply fallen in love with someone else and cheated.

Once you start focusing on the "she has cheated, we need to end things and focus on the children and getting the divorce sorted" you will have a way forward. You cannot save this and forcing it will not make it happen.

Hope your chat with the counsellor goes well.

SheldonesqueDoesNotBelongHere · 27/06/2021 12:55

Nope.

My days of buttoning up the back are long gone.

Twylar · 27/06/2021 13:09

Your wife sounds like a dick. She has no respect for you, your kids and your life together. Leave her!

Notamumonhere · 27/06/2021 13:13

The double standards are well and truly here today. My god, I’m sorry your going through this op please ignore the stupid comments saying she broke free. Honestly I doubt any of these posters would say anything like that to a woman who’s husband was having an affair. Op I would ask her to leave and start looking legal representation on where you stand. Good luck

Karmalady · 27/06/2021 15:16

Quite. It doesn’t matter if she’s having an affair with another man, a woman or a donkey….it’s still cheating.

If men are bastards when they have any sort of extra marital relationship, then women are as well. Anything else is double standards.

There are no excuses..if you’re not happy, or you love/fancy someone else, then end one relationship before starting another.

ForeverFloating · 27/06/2021 15:35

If you have been together over 20 years, it sounds like she was quite young when you met. It’s easy to get swept up in a heteronormative life before figuring out who you really are. You said she told you the truth before even kissing this woman, so she hasn’t actually cheated, she’s been honest about what she wants. As for How powerful must a woman on woman attraction be for her to want to throw absolutely everything away on this ???
When you discover a part of you that you didn’t know existed, extremely powerful.

ForgottenWhyImHere · 27/06/2021 23:39

Actually, to all the people saying that it doesn't matter who the affair is with, my ex left me to come out as a gay. Most straight partners in that position say they find it more traumatic than a 'conventional' affair. Not everyone feels that way, but most seem to. For starters, you can't fight for a relationship if your partner is fundamentally not attracted to you. There may have been love at the beginning, but it often turns out that it was platonic love on the part of the gay partner. And even if there was a reasonably healthy sex life in the gay/straight relationship (mixed orientation relationship or MOR), the straight partners also tend to report that they didn't realise there was something lacking until they subsequently experience a relationship with a straight partner. So someone might say they had a good sex life without knowing what a truly fulfilling relationship is like.

It was widely reported that Philip Schofield had been having an affair, before the story was shut down (presumably by his PR machine). At the time, the media showed some interest in reporting on other relationships that had broken down due to the husband coming out. However, on the whole, the media is only interested in reporting about couples who have remained friends. Not about the trauma and devastation. It's all rainbows and glitter for the 'brave' person coming out. The straight partner left behind is largely forgotten.

Absolutely nobody should ever have to hide who they are. However, I would like to see more recognition of the hurt and loss experienced by the straight partner.

It is absolutely devastating to hear your partner tell you they are gay.

Some of the frequently reported reactions/feelings include depression, anxiety, insomnia, suicidal thoughts. Issues around trust, self-esteem and confidence... Am I really masculine if my husband is gay? Can I only attract a gay man? My husband has been lying to me since forever - he never loved me. My whole marriage was/is a lie. I'm a fool. I must be so stupid to not have realised I'm married to a gay man. The sense of rejection goes very deep.

Onthedunes · 28/06/2021 02:45

The way you speak of her and how she has behaved over your 20 years together sounds as though you had the perfect wife.

You state she was loyal, dependable, never lied and wanted you with such ardour that many years ago she was utterly heartbroken to the point she had a breakdown when you were 'a bit of a jack the lad'

Maybe your behaviour over the years has taught her that you didn't really care about her the way she cared for you. You sound disbelieving that a woman on woman relationship is possible and in denial that you don't want to take it seriously.

I'm sorry she fell out of love with you but your wife was more than just a beautiful object and an obedient wife, she clearly needed much more emotionally and maybe you both were just not compatible in that way.

Just as you weighed up your options with this ow years ago, your wife is now doing the same and has decided her happiness lies with this woman.
It could have years ago quite easily been you who had left for someone else and over the years this probably had a profound effect her her and her confidence.

I don't wish to be harsh but it does sound like you are just starting to appreciate how wonderful you wife was.

QueenBee52 · 28/06/2021 03:29

the hypocrisy on this Thread is astounding.

SandyY2K · 28/06/2021 04:45

Pp are saying the affair being with a woman is irrelevant, yet when a poster says her DH is sleeping with men it's not irrelevant.

Actually she told me before actually doing anything with this other woman, that both had fallen in love with each other, before they kissed.

I think you're rather naive tbh. Ending a marriage with kids (both of them) for someone you haven't even kissed...

There's something about your post that send quite off to me.

Kanaloa · 28/06/2021 06:58

You have a lot in common because you’re both British? British isn’t a personality type, the only thing you have in common from that description is being from the same place.

Cheating is wrong, but if I heard my husband describe me how you talk about her I’d be really put off. Her being ‘kinda dinky and cute’ and ‘never putting an inch of fat on’ is totally irrelevant? It sounds distinctly Reddit like.