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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

Revenge on the OW

233 replies

Revengeisbittersweet · 06/12/2021 16:48

Now i've name changed for this for obvious reasons.

Back story for you. A while back now during a particularly bad patch in my marriage when my dh and I had all but decided to separate he ended up having a drunken ONS with someone i knew relatively well.

Well unbeknown to me (as he never told me) he realised it was a massive mistake, gave him a massive kick up the arse and he decided he wanted to save our marriage. Again all unbeknown to me. BUT his behaviour from that point changed, he became so much nicer to me, so much more tolerant. He stopped drinking.

Anyway our relationship improved quite a lot and we stayed together, all the while i was oblivious to the ONS. Well it turns out that the OW fell head over limerence with my Dh and spent the following year tearing herself apart and imploding her life because she couldn't understand why he had made her feel there could of been a chance of a relationship only to tell her immediately after that it was a mistake. Now all of this was unbeknown to my DH, he was under the impression that she was on the same page as him and was as desperate as him that i never find out. But she proceeded to involve many of our mutual friends and they spent the following 12 months of dealing with her emotional fallout over it. And helping her to get over it but from all what i've heard she became completely obsessed, convincing herself every innocent interaction they had after was some secret sign of his love.

Anyway it all came to a head and she finally told me the truth. In a rather dramatic disclosure but basically told me they were in love and had had the most intense love affair over the space of 6 months when he broke her heart. She was very detailed in her disclosure and this was where she shot herself in the foot as she listed things and places i had been as the start of there affair and it ended when i was somewhere else (bear in mind the disclosure came over 2 1/2 yrs later). I keep a diary and on going back over it and double checking it with her the two events were only 14 days apart but the affair she claimed went on for months and months. She also threw our mutual friends under the bus saying they all knew and betrayed me. It turns out there were quite a few people who knew - humiliating much! Anyway this was another downfall as everyone said the same story - it was a drunken ONS, my husband was completely guilt ridden after it happened and told her it was a mistake, she lost the plot and convinced herself they were in love and he was tormented by not being able to be with her.

Anyway if you've made it this far congrats . Sadly the disclosure resulted in the end of our marriage, there was no bog fall out. I didn't particularly blame him for the ONS as we were in theory on the verge of splitting and there was a lot of unhappiness at that time. But it was the fact all this was going on afterwards with people we knew all party and i never knew. It was all a big betrayal of truat. ANYWAY HERE IS MY ISSUE.

I never confronted her, i never called out and said it was bullshit, that her dates didn't work out. I just thanked her for telling me. She desperately wanted us to meet but i declined she then sent a really unnecessary message detailing things they'd done in bed and things he'd apparently said about me. It was cruel but i think it was her way of really getting the final kick in for my exDH Who she still claims is her soul mate and has ruined her life.

Anyway i'm over everything else I've moved on, luckily we had no children so it was a relatively swift aplit. I have a great life, great friends etc i'm very lucky, my exH has paid the ultimate price for his mistake but i am somewhat consumed in those quiet moments where i want to kick her arse still, i want her to have a miserable time, i want revenge as she was a friend of sorts and i was only ever nice to her before, during and after. Others have said this will have driven her mad she wanted the drama and my not reacting or responding has really given me the higher ground, i haven't publicly aired my dirty linen. But i still want to get her back?? Why and will this feeling ever go? Or should i dream up some kind of revenge that she can't track back to me so i can finally move on?

OP posts:
Buildingthefuture · 06/12/2021 19:22

You want revenge because she wronged you. I cannot abide the OW apologists…..yes, he was married to you and is obviously a colossal tosser. He treated you appallingly. But so did she! She was your friend and she knew he was married - to you!. This also makes her a colossal tosser. And her behaviour in terms of telling you and telling everyone else was despicable. She’s vile. They both are. End of.
However, in terms of revenge….she hasn’t got her happy ending has she? He didn’t go to her, despite her telling everyone that he was desperate to (which it seems he didn’t say to her at all?) And, can you imagine having to face yourself everyday having behaved so badly?
To move on, do some reading on mindfulness and the negative bias. Reflecting on how much you’d like to stove her head in merely strengthens the neural pathways, so you think about it more and more often. Whenever it pops into your head, deliberately focus on 3 things you are happy with right now (literally anything…it’s not raining, my nails look nice, I’ve got steak for tea….whatever) this takes deliberate effort but definitely turns you towards a more positive mindset.

Wishywash · 06/12/2021 19:26

Minutes before that i was thinking really must go out and clear the dog poo from the lawn does that mean im obsessed with picking up shit? Damn i need more help than I thought

No because, that was one thought. I literally pointed out that you said “I am consumed in the quiet moments”. I’m really confused why you wrote an OP clearly stating that you think about revenge a lot and question whether you should carry out revenge but then spend the whole thread complaining that people misread the OP and you actually don’t care about revenge. You clearly do and regret not having revenge by confronting her. Honestly, I really think going to a therapist is a good idea for you so you can straighten out what you are feeling and just move on. You clearly are obsessed and there isn’t much separating you and the other woman in that regard, much as you think you are better than her.

As for her limerence good, i hope it goes as terrible for her

You hope someone suffers badly from mental health issues? Wow… Completely lost all sympathy for you. I hate to break it to you but it sounds like you are having your own mental health issues.

I honestly hope you and the other woman are both able to get the help you need.

PinkLadyFriday · 06/12/2021 19:26

Your husband cheated, why is your revenge not more focused on him? Yes she knew he was married but she didn’t make vows to you?
I’m not the OW.

Moonface123 · 06/12/2021 19:29

" Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. "
l can understand you feeling as you do, and revenge might make you feel better temporarily, but it won't change what has happened.
There are always three sides to a story, his, hers and the truth.

Ellen888 · 06/12/2021 19:33

wishywash,
I find your reply a tad patronising.

Being cheated on causes a form of PTSD

www.modernintimacy.com/what-is-betrayal-trauma-learn-how-to-heal/

LuluBlakey1 · 06/12/2021 19:35

Interesting that he never blocked her and still replied to her messages- what was that about?

Wasabipeas · 06/12/2021 19:35

I’ll hold my hands up and admit I took revenge on the OW and it felt great

But, the opportunity handed itself to me on a plate (she disclosed in texts to ExH that she had been abusing her network access at work to look up info about people, so I put in an anon report on the company whistle blowing hotline and got her sacked. She then popped up working at a friend’s place of work so the friend let slip to HR why she had been let go at her previous job and she got sacked again)

I’m not sure how far out of my way I would have gone to find a way to get revenge but it was undeniably something that helped me move on because it took away the power imbalance that was eating me inside

Btw I did it with full disclosure to my then-therapist about what I was doing.
She didn’t encourage or discourage me, but did ask me what I would think if my actions resulted in the OW doing something stupid like harming herself or me

She did neither, and I don’t know if she ever actually worked out it was me behind it

But several years on, I don’t regret it and would do it again

PuttingOutFires · 06/12/2021 19:35

Well I'm clearly in the minority but I'd do something untraceable, anonymous and deeply spiteful to her... it woukd make me feel better 🤷‍♀️

TillyTopper · 06/12/2021 19:37

Sorry you've been through that, but honestly I think that you are no where near over it - even though you think you are. You need to let it go because nothing is to be gained from getting back at her. Have you thought about counselling or talking it through with a counsellor?

TillyTopper · 06/12/2021 19:37

Sorry - you have been through a lot...

DillDanding · 06/12/2021 19:41

As others have said, you’re not over it. Counselling might help you make that step.

Also as others have said, keep your dignity intact. Vengeful behaviour will just reduce you and the very best revenge is living well.

Wishywash · 06/12/2021 19:41

I find your reply a tad patronising.

Being cheated on causes a form of PTSD

www.modernintimacy.com/what-is-betrayal-trauma-learn-how-to-heal/

Why was my reply patronising? I suggested that the OP go to a therapist and likely has mental health issues themselves. I didn’t mean that as an insult. I don’t support the stigmatisation of mental health issues. I had sympathy for the OP until they hoped that the woman was suffering from her mental health issues. That is inexcusable but I still hope OP can move on with their life as both OP and the other woman are the victims of her ex-husband’s actions.

OldTotty · 06/12/2021 19:43

I give people knick names if they abuse or upset me. Makes me chuckle. Not harmful really.

TorchesTorches · 06/12/2021 19:45

I think the lack of reaction is best but I can understand the frustration! In a similar situation, I did a "boycott" which was petty but made me giggle. My revenge target was from New Zealand so I decided to boycott all New Zealand products (which turned out to be apples, lamb and wine, mostly!) So if I was at a restaurant choosing wine, I would boycott the NZ wines etc. Kept it up for years. Didn't impact on anyone and the pettiness of it made me laugh, but crucially I felt like it was a minor act of revenge.

MizzFizz · 06/12/2021 19:47

OP this sounds so traumatic for you. I would suggest seeking out some EMDR therapy which will help you let go of the emotions. It's a pretty powerful, evidence-based treatment. It has allowed me to release the emotions behind some pretty intensely painful experiences so I could move on. Invest in some for yourself so you can move on and live your life without this anger dragging you down.

Ellen888 · 06/12/2021 19:50

Wishywash

"I had sympathy for the OP until they hoped that the woman was suffering from her mental health issues."

Can't you see that when people are abused they want to retaliate and hurt the abuser (or in this case the co-abuser)? The OP's reaction is normal. The OP has been emotionally abused, she is still a victim.

Just cut her some slack.

ballsdeep · 06/12/2021 19:52

I always thought I'd want revenge, then I look at someone like Alice Evans and think she is absolutely heart broken, screaming for revenge , but what good does it ultimately do? Ioan is happy with his new partner and she is tweeting like a lunatic, putting herself out there for the world to see , and actually, her ex probably doesn't give two hoots.

Move on with dignity

ittakes2 · 06/12/2021 19:53

The biggest revenge is that she thinks you have been unaffected by this because you have not lost your shit with her. Do something and she will be very happy to feel she has made you sad. I am sorry but unfort that is the way of the world.

CornishGem1975 · 06/12/2021 19:56

I call complete and utter bullshit on the fact it was a ONS. Not a chance.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't waste any more energy on it, it's done isn't it? Your marriage ended. Why stay in the past? Head up, move forward.

Wokahontas · 06/12/2021 20:01

But I think you have had your revenge though OP.

You've been able to watch this as a bystander with your dignity intact.

You admit that you were on a break. He slept with her and then told her it was a mistake. He basically told her that she was nothing and she flipped her lid over it and lost the plot. You've been able to pull up a chair and watch with popcorn at her hysteria.

I think you need some therapy to move on and also dump those friends who knew. They have no integrity. If you were my friend I would have told you, even if it cost me that friendship.

You are well rid of your ex and well rid of his affair partner.

logsonlogsoff · 06/12/2021 20:03

‘ Missing the point, thanks for the responses so far ....I'm asking why I can't let it go. ’

No, you were asking if you should take revenge of some kind. I wouldn’t bother, it’s only going to harm you. And she sounds like she’s suffered enough in her own way.
Get some talking therapy - it will help you find out why you can’t get over it. It help you process what has happened.

sassbott · 06/12/2021 20:04

@Wishywash are you for real? 😂😂😂. Omg.

I don’t really think anyone else on this thread could give a hoot that you no longer have sympathy for the OP.

FFS. I really have heard it all. Have pity for the OW because limerance is real? 🤣🤣🤣

NataliaSerene · 06/12/2021 20:04

I think it's normal to sometimes remember someone that wronged you like this and get upset all over again.

I had a friend betray me in a different way. Two years on and I still think of things I'd like to say to her. I even recently wrote a full letter ~ which now I know I will never send.

This woman seems unhinged - why on earth was she so angry with you that she was posting this kind of childish vague nonsense on SM? As if you had somehow wronged her instead of the other way around.

I can promise you it absolutely kills her to this day that you handled it with so much grace and dignity. She was hoping to bring you down in the mud with her and you did not comply. That is the perfect revenge.

If the topic comes up with anyone I would throw in a "I just always felt so sorry for her. She really was delusional and made quite a fool of herself." Let that get back to her. (Ok, maybe not, but it's fun to imagine.).

GrumpyLivesInMyHouseNow · 06/12/2021 20:04

It took me over 3 years to stop feeling anger towards the OW, I never spoke to her or confronted her, I found out reading texts between them so got all the info from that and my exdh. It just takes time I think. I realised that I was finally over my ex when I stopped feeling anger and didn't think about her all day, every day. Be kind to yourself and realise it's a process you have to go through

Signalstation · 06/12/2021 20:04

The sensible advice is to do nothing.

However, when the OW has reason to believe that the wife is more beautiful than her, or more intelligent than her, or kinder than her, a more devoted mother than her... the list goes on ... well, her blood may well start to boil ... just saying!