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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

Do you forgive cheaters?

53 replies

Jessie1995 · 30/05/2023 09:46

Hi everyone,
I have been with my partner for 8 years have a house a dog and are engaged. Even went to view our wedding venue Saturday.

found out Sunday that he has been texting a girl from work ( I have not seen the texts as they were deleted) and flirting with each other, which ended up as a kiss on a work night out. He has told me it has gone no further than this.

I also found out that her partner found out and got her to block my partner on all social media/text etc. my partner then tries to find a way to contact her and finds her on another social media site to message her. He proceeds to send her a birthday present- whilst saying he didn’t have much money for my birthday!!

I feel so sad and hurt and haven’t stopped crying.

8 years a house a dog is a lot to throw away I still love him but is that too much?

have any of you been cheated on before and forgiven your partners and how did it work out? / how long did it take?

OP posts:
TheoTheopolis23 · 30/05/2023 09:57

You don't mention kids.
Would you like them?

When someone shows you they're chasing after and essentially cheating on you when things are easy (which they're often not with kids); it's a bad idea to invest in them as your life partner and potential Dad to your kids.

He even kept going trying to contact her and bond with her after she blocked him at her partner's request. So he doesn't give a fuck about you or her partner.

Not much integrity there.

Shivvy120 · 30/05/2023 10:00

I have never forgiven a partner for cheating.
My ex cheated on my while on holiday. We were engaged, had a home and 2 cats. I went to try on wedding dresses and that's as far as it went, I left him. I only found out as I saw messages on his phone from someone he met while on holiday. He had actually kept contact after he had come home, how horrendous. It was a terrible upheaval but ultimately I couldn't forgive what he had done. More to the point, I couldn't live with what was to possibly come.
Here I am 6 years later, my own house and 2 dogs, married to a man who values and appreciates me, who does everything he can to show me he loves me and has never given me a reason to feel the way I did in my previous relationship. I did love my ex a lot and sometimes I do think of him but I did what was right for me, I never wanted to wonder where someone was or what they were getting up to.
Could you relax now while he's at work or would you always be worried? How would you feel on his next night out? Why does he think it was ok to spend money on another woman for her bday?
Do what is best for you, take your time to think about what you want.

Inthebathagain · 30/05/2023 10:23

I tried to forgive a cheater twice. First time I did. Second time I couldn't. So when it happened the third time, I was done.

Slightly different, as all my evidence was online sexting and camming. I suspected physical, but couldn't prove it. He's told you they kissed.

Once the trust was gone, it all went downhill. I gave up the big house, the 20 year marriage, the 2.4 dream. Broke my heart to break my children's lives, but I had to keep reminding myself he'd done it, not me.

You need to make the right decision for you, and only you can decide if your relationship can come back from this. It sounds like he's pursuing her, even when obstacles are put in the way. His behaviour tells you more than his words.

samestyle · 30/05/2023 10:26

See it as a warning to get out now before you marry and have children, forgiving doesn't change them.

caringcarer · 30/05/2023 10:33

So he's cheating before you marry. You poor thing. He obviously has no respect for you. I'd be dumping him pdq.

Bluebells1970 · 30/05/2023 10:39

You're worth better than a man who is constantly looking over his shoulder just in case he sees something better.

Raise your bar - if you don't think you're worth better, why would he.

yousexybugger · 30/05/2023 10:42

I wouldn't forgive this, no.

Sorry to say but it's the intent he has shown here- it's not a drunken kiss out of nowhere and him mortified and apologetic. He continued to pursue the other woman after her partner had found out and she had blocked him. He's showing that not only is he open to having his head turned but once it is turned, he is willing to be dogged and conscience free.

He also prioritised her over you (bday present).

I don't think it matters whether there's been any sex in this case, it's about loyalty and integrity and he is lacking. If it had been a silly work text flirtation that had gone too far without him copping onto himself then i think he would have realised where his loyalties lay when the partner found out.

Yes, I know it's huge, calling off a wedding etc but unless you're willing to live with knowing he is open to getting involved with other women then I think you'll thank yourself having nipped this in the bud now. A house, a dog and a wedding is a lot to sort out but add more years, more financial and practical entanglements and possibly kids as the alternative because I am sorry to say I think this will happen again. I assure you I don't take any pleasure from saying that.

NotTheMrMenAgain · 30/05/2023 10:46

Oh OP, I really feel for you. But please take a deep breath and try to consider your future. 8 years, a house and a dog seems like a lot of commitment but have you heard of the sunk costs fallacy?

It’s where a person feels they’ve invested so much time/effort/energy/money in something that they just can’t give up on it. So they keep investing in the person/relationship/situation and on and on it continues. But ultimately the thing they’re investing in isn’t worth it - the person should really have walked away the first time it became clear the ‘thing’ wasn’t right. But because they didn’t want to lose what they’d already put into it they just carried on and ended up losing even more years of their life and more of their resources in the long run.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that your partner is romantically pursuing another woman while you’re planning a wedding - so run, don’t walk! If it’s like this now, what will it be like ten years down the line with a couple of DC thrown in? A million times worse, I expect.

I was married to my ex-husband for 12 years when I discovered he’d been cheating, we’d been together 18 years and had DC, house, dog, the works. I invited him to leave. I cannot forgive the man for pissing all over our marriage and our family. He said he knew I’d never forgive him - so there was no point attempting marriage counselling - and he was correct. I don’t hold a grudge against him or wish him any harm - I just want nothing to do with him as he makes my skin crawl.

You have to decide how you want to live but I knew I would never be happy living with a man I couldn’t and didn’t trust. I had no intention of constantly looking over my shoulder, worrying about where he was, checking up on him etc. It’s just not worth it - a ‘relationship’ like that isn’t one that’s worth having, in my opinion.

I read somewhere that trust is like a glass bottle - once it’s smashed you can’t just put it back together and refill it.

I’ve heard stories about people working through infidelity and coming out the other side, but honestly OP, I can’t see how it’s worth it. He’s a slimy, lying man that you’re not legally tied to yet. Take this as your ‘get out of jail free’ card and get rid of him. He is proven himself to be not trustworthy - literally, he as a person is not worth and doesn’t deserve your trust.

I know you’re heartbroken and devastated - I empathise, having been there. But underneath all of your pain and upset you must know that you are worth so, so, so much more than what this poor specimen of a man has to offer. Somewhere you might find a sense of anger that’s you’ve been treated so poorly and a steely resolve to move forward with your life.

I wish I could you a big hug and tell you everything will be alright - because I promise it will. In a few years time you’ll look back on this as just something that happened, an upsetting time that passed. And I predict you’ll wonder what you saw in him and thank your lucky stars you didn’t stay. Don’t waste any more of your precious years on him. Houses can be sold/sorted - please don’t stay in a bad situation just because the thought of change is so scary. Things happen, people let us down, plans change.

When I was terribly upset about my ex-husband cheating a very elderly aunt (who has lived through a lot and is very sensible) said “Well, it’s happened. You can’t change that. But what you can control is how you get on with the rest of your life. Don’t let it define you.”

I took that advice and used it as a code to live by during the difficult days. 3 years on, life is good - I’m much happier than I was during my marriage. So I know there’s much better things to come for you OP - but only if you get rid of the dead weight. (Sorry this turned out so long!)

RocketIceLollie · 30/05/2023 10:49

It's often a slippery slope in the relationship when one partner cheats. It destroys trust. That he went back to her a second time even after being found out is totally unforgivable for me.

NotTheMrMenAgain · 30/05/2023 10:51

P.S. forgot to say - take the dog! I kept the dog. Ex has a new dog now, but it’s not as good as my dog 😁

polkadotdalmation · 30/05/2023 10:52

No. Unforgivable

80s · 30/05/2023 10:54

I had a house, a dog, a cat and we'd been together 20 years but to me there was no question of staying. I don't regret the decision.

He proceeds to send her a birthday present- whilst saying he didn’t have much money for my birthday!!
A husband who's tight about your birthday present is not a great prospect, to be honest, let alone one who's tight about it because he's spent the money on someone else that he's "kissed"!

Whose idea was the engagement?

Mardiarse · 30/05/2023 10:54

No and I would get out before you are even more invested in the relationship.
He’s showing you absolutely no respect and it will only get worse.

longwayoff · 30/05/2023 10:56

Sorry OP. It's not so.much the cheating but the lying. How will you 1. Believe he's told you the whole truth? 2. Believe anything else he tells you in the future? Or has told you in the past.

80s · 30/05/2023 10:57

8 years a house a dog is a lot to throw away
Not in his eyes, apparently.

YoSof · 30/05/2023 11:00

He was willing to throw it all away. You didn’t do this, he did.

He continued to peruse her after her partner found out, he spend money on her while telling you he couldn’t afford your birthday.

If you forgive him you’ll give him the green light to do it again, and he will do it again. Don’t waste your life on this man.

Creamyoda · 30/05/2023 11:01

At the end of the day only you know what you're comfortable and happy with and what's a dealbreaker. For me if it was a drunken kiss it'd be a bit different (still not good mind) but the fact they had been texting, kissed, and then he went out of his way to find a way to contact her suggests he really likes her and has no respect for you.

I do have a friend who forgave her now husband for cheating, he had a one night stand and they did split for a while but saw eachother on a night out and agreed to give things another go- they've been very happily married now for over a decade but it did cause a tonne of heartache and they didn't just pick up where they'd left off. But I'd say that's probably the exception to the rule.

BreviloquentBastard · 30/05/2023 11:07

I think, on the whole after many years of marriage, if my husband got drunk and kissed a stranger in a bar I could probably forgive that. He'd have to do a lot of grovelling, but a moronic snap decision like that I could probably get over.

But this? Actively chasing another woman, spending money on her rather than you, going so far as to subvert a block to continue speaking to her? No, it's too disrespectful and cruel. I couldn't forgive this. Because it's not just one bad decision, it's potentially hundreds. Every time he's messaged her, gone out with her, when he kissed her, when he spent money on her. Each of those is an individual choice to disrespect you and your relationship.

You're not married, you don't mention children. You'd probably be better off throwing this one back and saving yourself the future heartache. If you do decide to leave, remind yourself every day that YOU are not throwing away the house, the dog, the 8 years. He is. He threw it away when he carried on with this woman behind your back. It's not on you.

yousexybugger · 30/05/2023 11:17

80s · 30/05/2023 10:57

8 years a house a dog is a lot to throw away
Not in his eyes, apparently.

Quite.

NoBiscuitsLeftInMyTin · 30/05/2023 11:22

BreviloquentBastard · 30/05/2023 11:07

I think, on the whole after many years of marriage, if my husband got drunk and kissed a stranger in a bar I could probably forgive that. He'd have to do a lot of grovelling, but a moronic snap decision like that I could probably get over.

But this? Actively chasing another woman, spending money on her rather than you, going so far as to subvert a block to continue speaking to her? No, it's too disrespectful and cruel. I couldn't forgive this. Because it's not just one bad decision, it's potentially hundreds. Every time he's messaged her, gone out with her, when he kissed her, when he spent money on her. Each of those is an individual choice to disrespect you and your relationship.

You're not married, you don't mention children. You'd probably be better off throwing this one back and saving yourself the future heartache. If you do decide to leave, remind yourself every day that YOU are not throwing away the house, the dog, the 8 years. He is. He threw it away when he carried on with this woman behind your back. It's not on you.

I think that’s the best response I’ve ever read on here. I agree completely.

Copperoliverbear · 30/05/2023 11:37

Please don't marry him walk away, you will regret it and will be wasting your time, life is too short don't waste it.

WhineWhineWhineWINE · 30/05/2023 11:48

So he actively continued to pursue her after she blocked him? I wouldn't forgive that.

PushedButtons · 30/05/2023 11:48

I’ve been cheated on and have cheated myself so I know what it’s like from both perspectives.

Once the trust is gone, the relationship is never the same again. In my case, my XH was a serial cheat and I tried to forgive him each time because I felt like I’d invested too much. He was abusive too so my self esteem was in the gutter. But then he cheated shortly after our wedding and it was the final straw for me and I left. Been very happy since.

When I cheated, it was the beginning of a relationship I didn’t really want but had been somewhat coerced into with a long term friend (obviously I didn’t see it at the time). I told my friend straight away but he said he wanted to stay together. Again, it destroyed the relationship and truthfully, I lost all respect for him for being so desperate to stay with me. It gave me a massive insight into how my XH felt all the times I stayed.

I would advise anyone who has been cheated on to leave immediately. You may end up getting back together later but if there are no consequences for the cheating party, they’ll lose all respect for you and may do it again. You must send a strong message that you have strong boundaries and won’t put up with it.

Growlybear83 · 30/05/2023 12:21

I can't imagine any circumstances where I could forgive a partner who had cheated on me - I've got more self respect than to stay with someone who had been intimate in any way with another person.

80s · 30/05/2023 12:35

If you know who the girl is, perhaps you too could politely contact her partner and say "I'm X's partner and have just found out he has been contacting Y. I'm sorry you have been involved too. Please ignore this message if it is too upsetting for you, but I don't know exactly what happened. If you can provide any further information it would help me make my decision."

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