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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

Telling a woman about her husband’s gay affairs...

225 replies

saturnaliand · 08/11/2021 10:31

First off, I don’t actually intend on telling her anything, although I could.

I guess I’d be interested in knowing if you’d want to know if this were your man?

The man I’m referring to is middle-aged and was upfront with his wife from the beginning that he’d had gay relationships and she was ok with this in a kind of ‘as long as you tell me and do not lie’ kind of way. That’s easy to agree to when you’re young, in love (with a woman you want to marry) and not intending on doing anything with anyone else, male or female.

It’s harder when you’re older, children almost grown up, sex life with the wife non-existent and you were gay to begin with. This isn’t some new thing he’s been experimenting with, he’s always been gay but he wanted the normality (apologies for the word) of being in a heterosexual relationship as he disliked the gay lifestyle and was regularly cheated on by the boyfriends he’d had when single.

Marrying a woman who was a lot less likely to cheat and he could have a family with seemed the better option.

He’s had some flings over the last few years or so and has recently started a new one as the last one was cut short because of the lockdowns and pandemic. Rather than go back to the previous boyfriend (if that’s the right term), he joined one of the popular hookup sites (Fabguys.com I think) and has met someone from there.

They meet regularly under the guise of going to the gym and often book hotels for the other workouts they enjoy. They go for meals, to the theatre and it’s a real ‘bromance’. The new boyfriend is also married to a woman and has a family.

To the outside world, this man is just a respectable married man with a family, but he has a controlling personality that he seems to reserve for his boyfriends. One of his ex-boyfriends that he’s had during his marriage needed therapy to get over his possessiveness, his jealousy, his moodiness and his constant need for attention as well as the cruel way the boyfriend was dumped and replaced with another.

Some of his behaviour to his boyfriends is borderline ‘gas-lighting’ behaviour.

His wife sees a totally different side, the nice side, as do his children and, so far, the new boyfriend.

This man hasn’t no intention of leaving his wife or nice lifestyle and presumably no intention of confirming her suspicions that’s he has a new boyfriend. She’s not known about any of them, just has suspicions.

He doesn’t see he’s doing anything wrong as he’s not getting sex at home, his wife knows he’s gay and has a new best friend. She just doesn’t know for certain that her husband and his new mate are lovers.

If you were his wife, would you want to know?

OP posts:
TinaYouFatLard · 08/11/2021 10:34

I’d be very surprised if she didn’t already know.

UpThePodge · 08/11/2021 10:38

who is this man to you ? Perhaps they have a private understanding

YukoandHiro · 08/11/2021 10:39

He may actually be bi. The fact that he was upfront about it means he probably is absolutely ok with his own sexuality.
So the question isn't about man or woman but: should you tell his wife he's seeing other people? The gay bit doesn't come into it.
I wouldn't get involved personally, but others would say that the wife has a right to know.

YukoandHiro · 08/11/2021 10:41

Very good question @UpThePodge. Are you one of the boyfriends?

PlanDeRaccordement · 08/11/2021 10:41

How do you even know he is gay? He sounds more bisexual to me than gay. And how do you know that his wife doesn’t know?

Mantlemoose · 08/11/2021 10:43

I think she will already know

Kanaloa · 08/11/2021 10:44

If it’s all as you say I’d imagine she very much does know.

If my husband had been upfront that he was having gay affairs then started up a ‘bromance’ visiting hotels with another man I would (using my common sense) presume this was another one of his gay affairs.

SoupDragon · 08/11/2021 10:45

his wife knows he’s gay and has a new best friend. She just doesn’t know for certain that her husband and his new mate are lovers.

Of course she knows.

PlausibleSuit · 08/11/2021 10:52

I'd want to know why you know so much about it, and why you're happy to splaff fairly specific details of their personal lives on the internet.

As an out gay man myself I would say that in my experience, men who remain partially or entirely closeted and entangle themselves in these longstanding faux-heterosexual arrangements are like hand grenades pinned to catherine wheels; damaging everyone around them as well as themselves.

EvenMoreFuriousVexation · 08/11/2021 10:52

Are you a sibling or parent to this man?

JaninaDuszejko · 08/11/2021 10:53

Is he really as nice to his wife as you think he is? If she has some suspicions and he's lying to her that's gaslighting already isn't it? And I bet they are still sleeping together.

He's having his cake and eating it and I don't feel sorry for the boyfriends either since at least one was cheating as well as all of them knowing about his wife. There's not some special pass for cheating if the sex of the person you are cheating with is different from your spouse.

I'm assuming you are a jilted lover? Be glad you've escaped, tell the wife so she can make her own choice.

MMmomDD · 08/11/2021 10:55

She married a bi man. They have a nice life. Children almost grown. She doesn’t want to have sex.
Who is to say you need to go and throw a bomb into this.
She may suspect but not wanting to know for sure. Many people ignore difficult truths, or a how they deal with life.
So - she is happy with a relationship that is based on companionship. Let her be.

HollowTalk · 08/11/2021 10:59

I think he's the guy who needed therapy, otherwise how would he know about it?

Lindy2 · 08/11/2021 11:01

If she was a good friend and i knew her well, then yes I'd probably have a gentle chat.

If this was just a woman I knew off but didn't really know her well or her relationship with her husband, then no I would not say anything.

It would not be my place to do so.

Don't interfere with other people's lives unless there is a very good reason to do so.

mpz731play · 08/11/2021 11:01

Of course I'd want to know, OP.

Assuming you're a third party and not the husband nor the boyfriend, I don't understand how you can know what he's like with his wife or what side of him the wife actually gets to see? He might be just as possessive with her as he was with his previous boyfriends?

Opentooffers · 08/11/2021 11:03

Well I hope she already knows, I also hope that her 'new friend' is her own love interest. If they both are fine with there platonic lives as it stands, that's up to them. It's good that he behaves differently to her, sounds like the BF's get the rough end Confused. What counts is her being happy about the situation, and if she is, then leave it.

Cocogreen · 08/11/2021 11:08

Of course she knows. It suits them to be married and put on this act/show.
If he's nice to her and nasty to the boyfriends he's obviously very unhappy and needs counselling.
If you are the boyfriend I suggest you end it for your own happiness and maybe end your marriage too.
The situation sounds miserable. No one should live a lie in shame.

NameChangeNameShange · 08/11/2021 11:10

I'd bet money on the fact she knows and for whatever motivations is turning a blind eye. Now, you can judge whether she should do that or not but it's ultimately none of your business - unless you are someone very close to the wife and knows her well enough to think she should know (which based on your Op I'm guessing you aren't)

ApplesAreTheBaneOfMyLife · 08/11/2021 11:12

I’d want to know if you are 100% sure. She may well know or suspect but want proof?

saturnaliand · 08/11/2021 11:13

@PlanDeRaccordement

How do you even know he is gay? He sounds more bisexual to me than gay. And how do you know that his wife doesn’t know?
Well, he’s not had sex with his wife for many years and doesn’t cheat on her with other women, so I guess he’s on the gay side of bisexual whilst maybe not being 100% gay.
OP posts:
mpz731play · 08/11/2021 11:15

Also, how does the OP know that the wife knows the husband is gay?

MrsSkylerWhite · 08/11/2021 11:16

She knows already.
Why do you care so much?

mpz731play · 08/11/2021 11:16

I'm confused. How does the OP know that he does not have sex with his wife? Confused

saturnaliand · 08/11/2021 11:19

@YukoandHiro

Very good question *@UpThePodge*. Are you one of the boyfriends?
No, I’m not.

I’m a good friend of one of the previous boyfriends who’s still in touch mainly by text, emails and phone, but not seeing or having sex with, the man in question.

I’ve read some of the texts and emails and have a good idea how this man operates.

His life is compartmentalised in terms of being able to behave how he wishes towards the men he meets as no one officially knows about them and so don’t question anything.

If you knew someone who lived like this, and weren’t involved emotionally or sexually, you’d probably say something and he’d realise his actions are having consequences, just not ones that impact him.

OP posts:
hyperbyke · 08/11/2021 11:23

How do you know, are you the wife? Or the husband?