Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

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

How did you find out your husband/partner was having an affair?

246 replies

sundaysomeday2022 · 24/07/2022 08:35

NC for this...

I'm intrigued as so many discoveries seem to be linked to phones these days.

I found out when my exDH accidently sent the OW a message to our family facebook chat. This meant that the kids saw it as well !

OP posts:
icydune · 27/07/2022 10:20

He'd left me the previous month, said he only loved me as the mother of his children and wasn't in love with me (I was also pregnant).

I opened a mobile phone bill and there were literally hundreds of texts to one number all times of day and night. I called the number anonymously (caller withheld) to see who answered and it was a woman, then quickly hung up.

I confronted him and he said it was a woman he'd just started dating and if I called her again the company owner, that my husband and this woman both apparently worked for (she turned out to be one of the secretaries) would call the police 🤔

I'm afraid I was upset but accepted the explanation. I went through the pregnancy with family support, as he largely disappeared after that. I discovered months later accidentally via an old laptop he left here that he moved straight in with her on leaving here and they'd been having an affair before he left. I read a lot of their email conversations and saw photos of them at family events. He'd even told people, including his own family, our baby wasn't his.

I posted here for advice a few times. Thank goodness for Mumsnet.

To finish the long potted history I'll just add that years later now he decided he was in love with me again (Confused) but to say I despise him now would be an understatement. We're finally getting divorced now. Very soon anyway.

fortygin · 27/07/2022 10:25

Photos of ‘evidence’ and a heartfelt letter from OW, who was ‘heartbroken’ and felt I deserved to know as he’d ‘lied to us both’.
yeah sure, he’s was chucked out right away after 25 years together and 4 dc.
5 years later, his OW and him have ‘found their way back together’ 🙄
Thank goodness I didn’t give into his pleadings that I was breaking up our family by not taking him back !!!!!

TSIFT · 27/07/2022 10:27

@beenanddoneit

Did it work out between them?
He'll probably do the same to her.

I hope you're happy now.
What a shock that must've been.

MrsPaulSimon · 27/07/2022 10:32

The fucking idiot told me 😡
This was over 20 years ago so no mobile phones.
He had been very mentally unwell for years, in and out of hospital, off work etc.
The affair (which had lasted 19 mths) had been over for a year and I had absolutely no idea.
He had confessed to our priest about it who told him that I didn't need to know, but his psychiatrist nurse thought I did.
Unfortunately he chose to listen to that fucking bitch rather than the priest 😭
And yes, I wish I had never been told

faw2009 · 27/07/2022 10:40

Gee, there are some horrendous people out there.

Is mentionitis when they accidentally say the other person's name / want to talk about the.person?

That happened. Long distance relationship. We had a meet, I was asked if I knew X. Also he took a piece of paper out of his pocket and hastily put it back in. While he was taking a bath, I sneaked a look and this girl's name was written over and over. Plus a heartfelt letter about love, not wanting to hurt others, meaning of life. Well he was a pretentious prick. Anyhow, packed my bag, threw the letter at him in the bath and told him he was a wanker and got first transport home. He later married her and had a kid, but was constantly cheating on her.

AlpacaBag · 27/07/2022 10:48

RomilyH · 26/07/2022 15:27

We were having a new kitchen fitted and I needed to clear a space in the living to sit and grab a quick bite. He had just returned from holiday with his Mum [[dealing with his late fathers estate in the Caribbean] and he was a messy sod and just dumped his passport/documents on floor. I picked up to put away safely and out dropped HIS boarding pass, his MUM`s and one for his mistress.

His Mum had the window seat and he sat between them. The aftermath was not pretty when he came home…he shut himself in the bathroom and vomited for 15 minutes straight. Bags were packed for him as no amount of pleading was going to calm me down. Over 20 years down the drain.

Foolish man.

This is awful, and seems even worse that his mum knew all about it! That would hurt me too I think. Hope you're happy as bloody Larry now my love! x

FairyPrincess123 · 27/07/2022 10:59

I'm curious about the apparent asymmetry of this. For every cheating man there is also (in the majority of cases) a woman - are these women married or do men tend to have affairs with unmarried women?

Or are the married women just better at hiding their tracks?

The only other alternative I can see is a small number of highly promiscuous women having serial (and maybe parallel) affairs with many married men.

(And I'm not defending the men - they's shits)

Rachswin · 27/07/2022 11:03

FairyPrincess123 · 27/07/2022 10:59

I'm curious about the apparent asymmetry of this. For every cheating man there is also (in the majority of cases) a woman - are these women married or do men tend to have affairs with unmarried women?

Or are the married women just better at hiding their tracks?

The only other alternative I can see is a small number of highly promiscuous women having serial (and maybe parallel) affairs with many married men.

(And I'm not defending the men - they's shits)

I was thinking the very same thing this morning. Who are these women who are the OWs?

icydune · 27/07/2022 11:05

His Mum had the window seat and he sat between them.

This stung a bit for me too when I realised his family knew about the OW and they'd socialised a lot together.

There are even photos of them both at his brother's wedding which I couldn't go to as no children were allowed (except they were as the photos showed) and we couldn't arrange childcare for that particular day.

icydune · 27/07/2022 11:10

I discovered mine had had several affairs (email laptop). More 'minor' things like casual and one night stands. All were unmarried (apart from one who lived with a partner, during a brief period we attempted to reconcile), but he'd presumably told them some story about how we weren't together and how awful I was.

MargotChateau · 27/07/2022 11:13

A good friend and colleague was one of those OW. She had an ongoing affair with our boss who assured her he was in a ‘loveless’ marriage only for the kids. This is definitely not the situation for all cheaters but this particular girl was broken, had mental health issues and depression, due to being forced to adopt out her child in her early teens. She looked for love in all the wrong places and was extremely naive believing this SOB’s lies.

The girl that my ex cheated on me with on the other hand, knew we were back together, and went after him anyway, knowing that she was from a wealthy aristocratic family would be a draw card (appealing to a no good social climber like my ex). He actually left her after a few months, starting seeing someone else (who I’m now very good friends with as we bonded over the cheating shit when we met at a gallery opening) and then he cheated on the new girl (my now friend) with the girl he cheated on me with. LMAO

Honestly it was like something from the Bloomsbury group or Pre-Raphealites, lots of cheating and bedhopping. Yuck.

Glad to say both the ex and the girl he cheated with aren’t successful in life and myself and the other girl who was a victim from his cheating are. I know he HATES we are friends and artistic collaborators.

FetchezLaVache · 27/07/2022 11:15

There are even photos of them both at his brother's wedding which I couldn't go to as no children were allowed (except they were as the photos showed) and we couldn't arrange childcare for that particular day.

Jeez, that's cold! What awful people they must be.

LDR, I took an expensive bottle of champagne one week but we didn't get round to drinking it. Went to get it out of the fridge the following weekend, but it had disappeared. BF said he must have drunk it on his own one night. I queried why the empty bottle wasn't in the recycling bin, he amended this to oh, I must have taken it round to Janice and Peter's when I went on Thursday. Fortuitously bumped into J&P in the supermarket, casually asked how the champagne was - blank faces, BF kind of shrinking next to me. Then he had the nerve to get really aggressive with me back at home when I insisted on knowing where the champagne had really ended up, which was almost worse than the knowledge he'd clearly cheated (never did get to hear the truth!)

flashpaper · 27/07/2022 11:37

Cornflakegirll · 27/07/2022 09:20

My usually lovely attentive kind husband changed over night. I noticed he was constantly online and ignoring my messages. Sneaked into his room late checked his phone and she was pushing a sexual aspect to the conversation (he was ignoring it). At that time it was clear it was boundary crossing. We had a good talk about boundaries, he cut contact, gnaw in tummy stopped.

A few months later, gnaw started again. I just knew that a physical affair had begun within days of it starting. Grabbed his phone two/three weeks later and read a message telling him to ‘it’s time to respectfully tell your wife that you’re leaving for me’. Respectfully tell your wife!!!! Hahahaha!!!

What all these stories are missing is the sheer pain of discovery. The shock, the nausea, the curling in a ball and shaking, the lying in bed and sobbing, the collapsing on the carpet, the trying desperately to make sense of your life. The ripping away of your personal agency! I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.

This, a million times over. It's impossible to describe the hurt when someone you trust 100% just shatters your life into a thousand pieces. It sounds dramatic but I had no idea what was about to happen, how my future as I saw it would change, and how it still affects me years on.

My exH had mentionitis so I had a suspicion but was told to ignore it by everyone because "he adored me". Turns out, he didn't because I caught them in my bed together.

lionessesrule · 27/07/2022 11:39

Mine was a gut feeling. He denied it til I presented evidence, then he minimised… Knowing I hadn’t been told the full truth tarnished the rest of the relationship.

I’ll never forget finding out I’d been cheated on, I felt so, so broken.

It was so hard to let go of the relationship - and out of my hands anyway.

But you can get over it. Time is (mostly) a great healer.

Happily married to someone else now.

Turtonator · 27/07/2022 11:46

Script. Became very off with me just after his 50th birthday. Putting me down every chance he could, to DS, MiL, friends, which was unexpected and upsetting. Two months of this, DH demanded I countersign a loan for £10,000 to pay off his credit card. I said no, we aren't getting on (we'd had conversations which ended with him being angry - at me - as he insisted there were no problems). He stood over me, jabbing his finger at the sign here space saying things wouldn't get better if we didn't get out of this (his) financial mess ... Jeez, with hindsight ...

It was just a week before our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. Our anniversary dinner was nothing special, at home with DS, the three of us. During which ex-DH said "it's not like there's anything to celebrate".

A month later, Christmas with MiL, DH took the dog for long walks each morning - one morning I suggested that MiL and I go too, not expecting the absolute fury from him - I mean, wtf, a walk with the dog? He spent a long time in the park's toilets .... with his phone .... ah, that hindsight -

January he barely spoke to me, he was under threat of redundancy and I helped where I could but the bloody anger emanating off him! February and after an awful week of him being an utter sh*t to me I unlocked his computer, got into his Facebook account, found dozens of messages between him and OW (15 years younger than him), arranging to meet up the following weekend for "kisses and cuddles" - "even if it's cold, as long as you are there to cuddle me". His phone bills showed hundreds of text messages. Our home phone bill logged a call to her home phone.

Absolutely blindsided. I went shrieking banshee on the pair of them, messaged her husband (he and my DH had worked together years before, she'd sent him a birthday thing for his 50th which, sad bastard that he is, took as a come-on). OW was full on defensive, my DH didn't love me / it was just flirting / he was a shoulder to cry on etc.

DH said OW was unhappy and her DH beat her up and explained that actually he (my DH) was the hero in this story.

I gave him 2 weeks to either commit to our marriage or get the f*ck out. But no more messaging with OW or he just goes.

I came out of the tube a couple of night later and saw him leaving the barbers opposite, stopping and checking his phone. Yeah - had his stuff thrown out the door that night. The OW wanted nothing to do with him once the fun flirting was exposed. He spent 6 years in a friends spare room. OW and her DH divorced and FB shows he's remarried and gloriously happy.

23 year marriage over. 5 years paying off his bloody credit card. I look back and feel so foolish.

It's 10 years ago, he's now proper cock-lodging with a twice divorced woman again 15 years younger than him. The worst thing - the worst thing - I kept the dog he'd insisted we get despite my objections (both work full time, DS starting Uni) through those 10 years; he moved in with the new woman and took the dog without warning when I was away at Christmas 2019. 18 months later he (oh God this hurts) dumped the dog at a dog rescue. 12 years old, our poor confused dog. Didn't tell me. DS told me 4 months later. I don't recognise ex-DH as the man I spent those first 22.5 years with. Well bloody rid.

Sorry for the length, but cathartic to get it out of my head.

Rachswin · 27/07/2022 11:50

So sorry about the dog @Turtonator Flowers

Christinatherabbit · 27/07/2022 11:54

Mine was running late for work and accidentally left a second phone behind. I found about 20 different messages back and forth to multiple girls (from websites) he had been trying to meet for sex. He claims it was just fantasy while drunk and he would never have met them but I also found two that were more personal and him asking if her dad was better etc. He claimed this was an old friend he had recently bumped into from school who offered to give him a massage as he needed one and that's what she does. He Can't remember her last name or any details about her though. WhatsApp photo very attractive girl skimpily clothed. Another was a girl he met in a sunbed shop (apparently) he got talking to and took her number as she wanted some work doing. This all happened 2 days ago so I'm still reeling. We have four daughters. I have just finished packing his stuff up this morning. He's totally gaslighting me and is making out I'm crazy. Its all rather awful and I have no idea what to tell our children atm 😢 So sorry to everyone that has been or is still going through this. It's horrendous. Plus side I've already lost 4lb.

TheresABearOverThere · 27/07/2022 11:55

TimBoothseyes · 26/07/2022 15:04

I walked in on them kissing.

Yep, me too. In our bedroom.

Westfacing · 27/07/2022 12:04

In my day, long before mobile phones etc., two of my friends both found out when husbands started going to a hairdresser instead of the barber, and buying new underpants!

OnceAnElephant · 27/07/2022 12:07

I didnt have a clue until the day he left. I know it was an emotional affair which was never physical.

He eventually married her.

fukkit · 27/07/2022 12:19

He left his phone unlocked, I went and locked myself in the bathroom, checked his emails and found a receipt for a premier Inn stay at over £100 (when we would just go away on cheap camping trips) during one of his 'night shifts'. The more I looked, the more I found other emails and pictures and texts. Utterly sickening way to find out. Stupid bastard also swore blind it wasn't true when I showed it him!!! What a dick

Herejustforthisone · 27/07/2022 12:19

MrsPaulSimon · 27/07/2022 10:32

The fucking idiot told me 😡
This was over 20 years ago so no mobile phones.
He had been very mentally unwell for years, in and out of hospital, off work etc.
The affair (which had lasted 19 mths) had been over for a year and I had absolutely no idea.
He had confessed to our priest about it who told him that I didn't need to know, but his psychiatrist nurse thought I did.
Unfortunately he chose to listen to that fucking bitch rather than the priest 😭
And yes, I wish I had never been told

Did you stay with him? I don’t like that you called the nurse a bitch. I think she was right. You should have been told. He’d betrayed you in the worst way possible.

TravellingSpoon · 27/07/2022 12:23

Mine started with mentionitis ( for the PP who asked - its when they mention someone all the time, always favourably). OW had lovely perfume, he spoke so well, she did pilates, blah blah. She was single and 10 years younger than him. She wasnt at home all day with a toddler, a disabled child and a pre-teen, trying to juggle everything as well as a house move.

My suspicions were raised but I was just to exhausted to care at the time, but it burned slowly because he was not supporting me at all - never came to any appointments, didnt help with therapy for our son and then stopped coming home after work until 10/11pm and it got to the point where I was raging enough to confront him. He denied it and said it was all in my head 'because I was lonely and had nothing better to do with my time'. I checked his emails the next day and found messages back and forth about how miserable I made him and how I had trapped him in a life he didnt want. Once I had proof he admitted it and said that it was my fault because I never made any time for him, never made any effort and any man would do the same. Stupidly, because I was in such a low place I grovelled and cried and although he moved out he came back about 6 weeks later. But it damaged me more than I care to imagine and we limped on for 3 more years until he made a comment about my weight and I just snapped. Everything came out about how he made me feel, and I dont know how but in that moment I knew that in order to be happy, and for the kids to be happy I needed to move on without him, and I did.

nearly 3 years on and despite a pandemic and a tough time I know that I am i the best place ever, and although I dont think the pain was worth it, I know that I never would have got to the place I am now without it.

fukkit · 27/07/2022 12:23

Warning signs - disappearing off. Always on phone. Always a bit jumpy and touchy if I asked to borrow a phone to take a picture etc. Working nights. He was having casual unprotected sex with a married woman with a child in her 40s. I was early 20s, head over heels and this was my first boyfriend. Men (and women) are pigs eh.

MayThe4th · 27/07/2022 12:24

He went away on a training course and met a woman there. Changed his course dates so he could do the next parts of the course with her. Talk of how it would be better to know someone there etc etc. Constant mentionitis when he got home, and putting me down etc.

Eventually he admitted to fancying her but said nothing had ever happened. It was pre mobile phones so there weren’t the opportunities to text etc, but one night heard him on the phone saying he couldn’t talk for long as I thought he was talking to his parents.

A couple of months later he went on the next part of the course and turned out she’d started seeing someone else, a married man with children. He was so pissed off and moody when he came home it was unreal.

We did actually get past it, married and had children. And I can hand on heart say he never cheated again. But he was an abusive gaslighting shit who I should have left when I had the chance.