Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

Cheating husband, should he go?

52 replies

chuffinalong · 16/01/2022 23:33

Hi, I found out a couple of months ago that my husband who has been with me since I was 17 had been cheating on me for a minimum of 7 months. She is much older than me and I know you can't go on looks really, but no one knows what he sees in her. Anyway, I never even knew there was a problem with our relationship. We've always been so happy! He does have bipola, undiagnosed as he won't seak help. So he is very up and down. I've been used to this from a young age, and have always helped him though his down times. We have a daughter with learning disabilities and autism who is practically reclusive due to social anxiety. She won't go out without both me and her dad. This would make it very awkward for them to spend time together.
Anyway, for these reasons I've told him to decide between the two of us. He can't seem to though. He says he can't imagine life without her or me. I asked him who he'd find it harder to get over and he said me. I said that should answer your question then. He said, it should but it doesn't.. He says he loves/ adores me and always will. He's ashamed of what he's done and can't face people or life. He's very depressed and rarely leaves his bed when home. I'm helping him though it as I always have but I just feel so sad and anxious all the time not knowing. It has also sparked off my eating disorder and I was recently hospitalised for a few days. He was phoning her while I was in hospital, apparently because he was so worried about me.. Then he phoned her again recently to wish her a happy birthday. He lied about it but I saw it on his phone. I think nearly everyone would say to throw him out but it's so hard as I've loved hom for 23 years! 😢 I want him to make the decision so that I don't look back and regret it. I want him to regret it if he leaves.. I would really like some advice from anyone who's been in a similar situation. Did it work out for you? Thank you.

OP posts:
BustaVella · 17/01/2022 00:37

I've told him to decide between the two of us.

So he cheated and now he gets to pick his preference?! Wow.
Turf him out make the decision for him. If you let him pick he's had his cake and eaten it too then chosen his favourite... Have more self esteem. And if he "picks" you he will do it again.. Then what you ask him sweetly to choose again?!

Christoncrutches · 17/01/2022 00:41

@chuffinalong

Christon- I definitely think he wants a mother figure. She's old enough to be my mother! I know I shouldn't be supporting him though this as it's his own damn fault. He says he wants to die all the time and talks about ending his life and how he'd do it. I just don't want to think I could've done something to prevent that if he did.
@chuffinalong that is classic manipulative behaviour - my ex said similar stuff and 10 years on, he's still kicking around, making other women's lives miserable.

Seriously - life can be happier.

user1481840227 · 17/01/2022 00:46

@chuffinalong

Thewookiemustgo- Thank you. 😊 You're right, it's really hard but I think it must be done. I'll never forget him saying that or his reasons for wanting her. According to their messages she does things to him that I don't do.. He even said to me, if I let him see her once a month for a 'gob job' He'd stay with me. 😳
I hope you're not still sleeping with him!

I said if you can't decide between us then you don't deserve me.

Even if he picked you he still wouldn't deserve you.

chuffinalong · 17/01/2022 00:54

Thank you, I agree 😊 and no we're not sleeping together.

OP posts:
chuffinalong · 17/01/2022 00:54

Thank you 😊

OP posts:
1forAll74 · 17/01/2022 01:13

It sounds like he has quite a disturbed mind, saying all the things he does say to you, and really not knowing what he really want's to do. with himself. As you have mentioned,he maybe needs a mother figure, who may feel sorry for him, for the time being at least. , until she starts to realise, it may be hard work with him in the long run. Not many women would like to be in your position, as in living the way you do right now.

Thatldo · 17/01/2022 06:12

Undiagnosed Bipolar is a problem.your DH refuses to get a diagnosis and medication.Bipolar is a very serious mental health condition.I would make an appointment with a mental health professional to get some really good information of the illness.If your DH wont acknowledge his illness,the only option for you is to leave him,because it is for almost everyone impossible to live with an undiagnosed Bipolar sufferer.On the correct medication,your DH would be able to live a far more stable life.

Ladybugzrock · 17/01/2022 06:52

Reconciled poster similar circumstances.

As far as I can see so far you only have one option and that’s to separate and seek legal advice.

You can not reconcile with an ACTIVE cheater.

ATM you are playing the ‘pick me dance’ whether you realise it or not, it’s time to grey rock him. No discussions unless around finances or your daughter.

You need space and distance from him to process the hurt and dig down into yourself and answer the questions: What do YOU want @chuffinalong? Do YOU think you could ever move past the betrayal?

A really good site is Surviving Infidelity. They have so many resources and great posters. Get a copy of ‘leave a cheater gain a life’ utterly brilliant. Watch videos on the affair recovery site.

He may well crawl back once the line has been drawn. Do not just take him back if he does, he needs huge amounts of work and is not a safe partner until that work is done, even then it’s always a risk. There are plenty of resources and support out there which will guide you as to whether he is remorseful.

I’ve been where you’ve been, I know you must be truly worried about him, but please put yourself and your daughter first.

updownroundandround · 17/01/2022 06:55

Sorry OP, but I simply couldn't get past these comments

''I think he's looking for a 'Mother' figure''

and then

''He said that if I let him see her once a month for a 'gob job' he'd stay with me''

These made be retch several times !

Sorry, but your priorities are you and your DD.

If he refuses to physically leave, you should consult a solicitor about how to get him forcibly removed legally.

Make that priority number one.
You are not responsible for either his happiness or his mental health/ health. Whatever he chooses to do once he's left is not your problem. He is an adult, and as such he has responsibility for his own mental and physical health, as well as for the repercussions of his poor decisions !

Once he has been made to leave, you can begin to move forwards, and he will simply have to sort himself out !

Fluffycloudland77 · 17/01/2022 07:36

Of course you dump, he’s shagged another woman, wants to see her with your blessing & wont get treatment for his BPD which must be a nightmare for you. We have an untreated ex-inlaw and he’s a total nightmare to live with.

If he commits suicide it’s not your fault, murder would be your fault but not a suicide. The whole point of suicide is that it’s self inflicted.

Starlightstarbright1 · 17/01/2022 07:55

Honestly...His MH is not an excuse for how he is treating you. He has the energy for an affair not to help you.

He wallows in the I have been caught.

He has shown no care for you and your feelings simply plays the victim... poor me can't decide between 2 women.

You deserve better. ..

He won't kill himself he is far too self absorbed in what he wants..

This is affecting your MH and I suspect yours will imporve dramatically when he leaves..

chuffinalong · 17/01/2022 08:40

#ladybugsrock- That is really good advice, thank you. I will check out those sites and order the book. 🙂

OP posts:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 17/01/2022 09:10

He even said to me, if I let him see her once a month for a 'gob job' He'd stay with me.

This isn't bipolar, depression or any other mental health condition talking.

This is being a misogynist cunt who sees women as either sex toys or domestic appliances to make his life easier.

I have bipolar, diagnosed, and medication has changed my life and I am stable. My manic episodes have stopped and my depressive periods are fewer and less severe.

You say he's undiagnosed, untreated bipolar. What does that mean? That he and you think he has it but no professional has assessed him?

Regardless, this man is emotionally abusing you, is a cheat and has such contempt for you he has said and done things that are unforgivable.

Some things aren't fixable. His behaviour towards you means that your relationship is one of them.

He has made you ill. He has confused you to the point you're asking your daughter if she would prefer you to stay or go. This is an adult issue for adults to work out, not to put on her. When she says would rather you stay with him what she means is she would rather she had a mum and dad together, in an ideal world. She said she wouldn't be too sad if he goes. THAT is her truth talking. The real him, the dad he actually is, is someone who makes her mum ill and doesn't enrich her life.

You cannot stay with this man. He will ruin you.

Figgygal · 17/01/2022 09:13

Hes disgusting, show your daughter how women should be treated and take control of their own lives and kick his wretched arse out

Hoppinggreen · 17/01/2022 09:16

Do you really really love him or are you scared to leave because he’s all you have ever known?
He’s behaving really badly and his MH issues dont excuse that
Get rid of him and build a new life for yourself and your daughter

NYnewstart · 17/01/2022 09:20

I don’t think you really have any choice do you.

If he gave her up, possibly there would be a chance to get through this.
But he won’t. So you really don’t need to feel guilty. He’s already made his choice.

Cakecakecheese · 17/01/2022 09:53

The 'gob job' line is vile. Get rid.

Colourmeclear · 17/01/2022 10:02

Please also seek help with your ED. I know how being in a difficult relationship can really exacerbate it. In the end that's why I left because my recovery had to come first. I've been in recovery for six years now.

Thewookiemustgo · 17/01/2022 11:32

@chuffinalong just read your update to me. I’m beyond flabbergasted. He really has no clue what it takes to be a good husband and father. I cannot believe he is trying to bargain with you in any fashion, who fuss he think he is? But to bargain in such a disgusting way and decide that hurting you and treating you and your children like dirt is worth adulterous oral sex every now and again (wonder how this marvellous prize of an OW would feel if she knew that’s all she boils down to in his eyes?) is beyond the pale. Imagine being without him and his issues, OP. How freeing that would be once you are sorted out? Imagine your life with none of his issues to tiptoe around. This man acts and talks like garbage, OP. Time to take out the trash.

layladomino · 17/01/2022 12:34

What a revolting man.

He cheats, then he thinks he can keep you both on the go. After telling you that he'd miss her more than you.

How entitled, utterly selfish, vile, arrogant.... I'm amazed.

And yet you're trying to support him through it? What??? Support him through the effects of cheating on you and treating you like dirt?

He has no right to choose what happens next. Why would you want him to 'pick' you? Even if he did, you would always know what he's done, and that he went out looking for someone else, and he cheated, and lied, and didn't think of your feelings. You wouldn't ever trust him again.

If you do nothing, he will likely mope about for lots longer yet, keeping you on tenterhooks while he decides which of you is the lucky winner of this prime specimen of a man (not).

If he chooses her, you will be further hurt and have wasted even more time.

If he chooses you, you'll never trust him again and you relationship will never be the same. He'll likely cheat again.

Please stat taking steps to separate. Don't ask him to stay with you. Don't let him think you'll accept being treated like dirt. And make sure he's absolutely clear that he wrecked your marriage. It is enrirely his fault. And don't let him blame his MH. Being mentally ill doesn't mean you have to treat other people like dirt. I've never heard that being mentally ill means you need a woman other than your wife to give you blow jobs.

His MH isn't to blame (and even if it was, he's refusing to get help for it, so it's still his fault).

He is to blame. Completely. Don't let him play the victim. And if he threatens suicide, advise him to see his GP and you can call the Police so they can do a welfare check. He is using that threat to manipulate you and to add to his 'victim' status. It is not genuine - and even if it was, you aren't responsible for him. You can't stop him killing himself if he wants to. If he is so down that he is suicidal then he needs to seek help from professionals (and stop doing dick-ish things that wreak havoc in his own life).

Please look after you and DC. That's your only responsibilty in all this. That man is only thinking of himself. (It's interesting that you've always been supportive, and he expects it, but when you needed help he was spending time calling her).

Best of luck.

chuffinalong · 19/01/2022 22:04

#hoppinggreen I think it's both. I have loved him for 23 years. Now I'm not sure that I do anymore. I have never experienced adult life without him so there isca fear of the unknown. I went from living with my parents to living with him. I have told him he needs to go. She has covid now though so he has to stay for 10 days! 😫

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 20/01/2022 10:25

No he’s doesn’t
It’s not your problem where he lives

FreedomFaith · 20/01/2022 12:09

Kick him out. He can be her problem.

He won't commit suicide, as someone else said he's too in love with himself to do that. Even if he does, you are not to blame at all. He chose that, not you.

You deserve better than him. Kick him out, even if he apparently can't go to hers, it doesn't matter. He leaves. He can go to hers really, he just doesn't want to because she is second. Tough luck, he should have thought of that before he cheated.

DoleWhipFloat · 20/01/2022 12:21

You’re probably right. He does likely want a mother figure.

But do you realise that it’s actually YOU and not the OW who is currently filling that position?

So, do you want to be his loving “mother figure”, supporting his mental illness, whilst this OW gets the (dare I even say it really), the ‘best part of him’ 🤮

He might have mental illness, but he still knows right from wrong and I find it shocking that he’s treating both you and his daughter so badly.

I realise that having been together so long, a breakup will feel nearly impossible to you. You will grieve what you had, before you realise that it was shit anyway, and any good is long gone.
Following this, you will recover.

You will be liberated from a lifetime of being someone else’s mental health support worker and it really will give you and your daughter a new lease of life.

Be brave and dump him, no looking back. He is responsible for his own actions.

Or

Don’t and continue to live with his bouts of depressions; time outs for a “good job” and lots more cheating to come.

The choice is yours.

girlmom21 · 20/01/2022 12:25

He doesn't have to stay. His accommodation is his problem. Get him out

Swipe left for the next trending thread