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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

Is there hope for our marriage?

8 replies

Hardknocks · 10/10/2024 21:44

It’s a long, messy story but I’ll try to keep it brief. Together 12 years, married for 3 years, 2 year old DC.

Our relationship was strong, we started as friends before moving into a relationship before he went to University. In his 3rd year (I didn’t go and was working full time), I had an emotional affair with a colleague. It’s something I regret, but we were such worlds away that I felt disconnected. But we moved forwards, and after university we moved in together.

Fast forward to present day, there has been a lot of trauma. I had postnatal depression and was a truly awful person in that time, a real dark point but I’m on medication and better. I had a termination last year for an unplanned pregnancy (failed birth control), which we had both agreed to but only afterwards did he admit he wanted to keep the baby. In amongst that it was mostly good, with the usual trial to overcome.

Since the termination things have gone downhill, he nitpicks, makes me feel crap, I get angry, I make snide comments. We don’t have sex, it’s just all around pretty bad.

It all came to a head tonight. He said he’s resentful of a lot of things - the termination (even though he never voiced his true feelings), the way I treated him during my PND, my emotional affair. I said I resent him for not helping me more with a newborn, for not showing me affection, for spending every waking hour on his phone. We agreed we need marriage counselling (which feels grim after only 3 years).

Do you think there’s any hope? I still love him, I think he loves me but is there too much water under the bridge now. I don’t know.

OP posts:
ZaraSpellman · 10/10/2024 21:48

There’s always hope if you want to try. You are both hurt but not expressing it and holding back to avoid getting hurt again. If you can work with a counsellor and both are willing to try it can work but it takes a lot of honesty and not just blame

AnneLovesGilbert · 10/10/2024 21:48

Good decision to try counselling. There’s a lot of mutual resentment and pain there. Processing it all might give you a shot.

Jk987 · 10/10/2024 22:06

I don't get it. A platonic friendship with someone of the opposite sex is now called an emotional affair!

username3678 · 10/10/2024 22:09

Of course there's hope. As long as there's no abuse, there's always hope.

Pieandchips999 · 10/10/2024 22:11

It's worth a try although there's a lot being held onto from the past it sounds like so you'd both have to want to work on it. Does he? At least it will mean you've tried everything and may help you end things well if it doesn't work out

Hardknocks · 10/10/2024 22:15

Whilst nothing physical happened, it was definitely pushing the boundaries @Jk987. I developed feelings for that person, imagined being with them. Crazy to think about now, I was only 22 and they were well into their 30’s so the whole thing is actually pretty grim looking back and I really do regret it. But it was 10 years ago now and feels like a lifetime ago, in my eyes. I haven’t looked elsewhere since, and to my knowledge neither has DH.

He does want to work on it, neither of us want a divorce but there are a lot of hard feelings between us. I think the problem is these big traumatic things happened and we didn’t discuss them, we pushed them down in the hopes they wouldn’t resurface. Silly, really.

I think it’s going to be hard going, bringing it all up again but there is definitely still love there, it’s just become lost.

OP posts:
Pieandchips999 · 10/10/2024 22:16

@Hardknocks well if the love is still there and you both want to sort it you've got a fighting chance

Catoo · 10/10/2024 22:23

Sounds like there is a chance to me OP. The counselling sounds like a great place to start. Have you found a counsellor yet and booked anything?

I wish you all the very best luck with it.

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