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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

Affair recovery success stories?

12 replies

Snowdrop92 · 24/10/2024 10:49

Hello,

9 months ago I found out my husband and partner of 13 years had been having an affair with a colleague. I was and still am absolutely devastated because we were still in such a loving relationship. My heart wants to stay but my mind is telling me to leave. Has anyone ever successfully stayed together and recovered after finding out about an affair? What steps did you take and are you truly happy now?

Thank you so much x

OP posts:
Piggled · 24/10/2024 10:55

You weren’t in a loving relationship because he was shagging someone else.

my advice will be to leave but I’m sure plenty of people will be along to say they’ve reconciled and are now supposedly wondrously happy. But there can be no genuine love where there is such deep disrespect. It would kill me to do this to someone I actually loved.

Lampzade · 24/10/2024 10:58

How did you find out?
Does he want to save the relationship?

rwalker · 24/10/2024 11:00

Don’t know the ins and outs but our friends are 20 years post affair and happier than ever

they were very open everyone knows and they gave it 2 years and if it didn’t work they were going to split
initially it would of been easy for them to split both good earners careers and enough equity to split house kids early teens

Icancopealone · 24/10/2024 11:06

Is he still working with this woman? Because I don't see how you can contemplate staying together if he is still working with her. He needs to have no contact with her.
What steps has HE taken? Is he remorseful? Is he doing everything to be open and transparent now?
Why does he say he had the affair?
So many things HE has to do and yet even if you can make the relationship work in a certain level it will be irrevocably changed. It will never be the same as pre the affair

RomeoRivers · 24/10/2024 11:07

Hi OP,

I think the old adage ‘once a cheat, always a cheat’ is true in maybe 95% of cases.

My mum cheated on my dad, and being Catholic, they worked through it. I too would have said it was still a loving relationship and definitely worth salvaging, but it was only a matter of time before she did it again.

‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them.’

To have cheated after only 13 years does not suggest that the relationship has longevity.

For whatever reason your partner has decided that you are not enough. I don’t say that to be mean, it’s not a fault in you, I only say it so that you realise that this isn’t something that can be changed or fixed.

I’m really sorry. You deserve better.

TheQueeen · 24/10/2024 11:20

Depends on your standards and expectations, and what the definition of love is to you. Personally, I would feel physically repulsed by the idea of being with anyone else, even flirting with anyone else. How do you feel, could you still be “in love” but be intimate like that with someone else? Can you separate love and sex that way?

A lot of women can’t, hence these cheating men rarely find a woman who says he’s deeply in love with his wife and is just using them for fucks, and the woman then goes for it. Ordinarily a narrative is spun about the primary relationship, with love and emotional closeness thrown around in the affair, to make that woman want to shag him to begin with.

So you have to ask yourself some questions. I’ll write the questions and answer them from my own perspective. Your answers might be different, then you can judge if it’s salvageable.

Would you be repulsed by the idea of shagging someone other than your partner?

I would be repulsed, If I love someone I just want them (this isn’t the same for everyone, but they have a different definition of love) is that definition of love ok with you?

How would you feel building a future with a man that romantically “loves” you, but has a roving eye and strongly desires to sleep with other women? (even if he doesn’t do it)

I’d consider a man like that to not love me with the greatest degree of love, to not see sex as a part of love, and I don’t think I could commit to that kind of man, I’d know there was someone better out there for me that saw me as everything to him. Note that finding people to be attractive is not the same as struggling not the bed them.

How do you feel about a man that DOES do it but only for the sex, with no romantic feelings for the affair partner, and he’s upfront with the affair partner that it’s just sex?

For me, I would see him as seedy, superficial, and a bad bet as a partner, as he will always be on the look out for those kinds of woman, because he enjoys the thrill of superficial sex with new bodies. To him sex isn’t love, it would be a no from me.

How do you feel about a man that isn’t in love with his affair partner(s) but tells them what they want to hear to get some sex?

He couldn’t be trusted to be authentic with me either. He is someone that says what a woman wants to hear to get what he wants. He is a liar and a deceiver of the lowest kind, and has lured some woman in to give him sexual favours under false pretext, just no- yuck.

How do you feel about a man that developed such strong feelings for another woman that he just had to have her, and didn’t think about it coming out, or destroying what you share

Well, he made his choice, what we share clearly isn’t that special, why is he still on my case? could it be he doesn’t want to lose his family and stability, finances, cook, cleaner, childcare and retirement plans?

How do you feel about a man that when he’s making excuses for his actions projects it back into you, some deficiency in you or your relationship that made him cheat?

weak. A very weak man who decided someone else’s naked body and emotional attention was the answer to his marital problems, why didn’t he suggest counselling, or leave before pursuing someone else?

How do you feel about a man who can sneak around that way, and then come home for dinner like he wasn’t just shagging another woman

Disgusting, no conscience, ability to deceive on a high level, treated me like a mug with zero respect.

How would you feel knowing he has probably painted a very different narrative to her about your relationship/ you/ your mental health/ your sex life etc

Ability to lie and deceive to the max, to disrespect me and all we’ve shared to another woman, not interested. Gross

How do you feel about him telling another woman he loves and desires her, with all the messages and in jokes and date planning etc

He’s lived a double life- ultimate deceiver. I was at home waiting for him and loving him, clearly it wasn’t enough and never would be.

How do you feel about a man that has managed to have sex with you and her simultaneously over the period of the affair

No better than a rapist, happy to take away my consent to sex, which I wouldn’t give to a lying cheat who has also put my sexual health at risk. Zero conscience, able to spin lies to her about the state of our relationship, while fresh out of my bed.

That should cover most of the excuses that he gives, the excuses cheats give are laughable, and don’t paint them in anything but a bad light. But it’s up to you if you are deceived by his script and think your relationship is worth salvaging.

HangryWriter · 24/10/2024 12:52

My first time posting here, please be kind. I'm feeling very fragile.
Last November my husband of 50 years (no children )was marched out of the house by the police after he punched me several times during an argument.

He's always had a bit of a bad temper and could say some very hurtful things at times but wasn't physically violent. He spent the night in custody and was released on bail with conditions that he stayed away from me and the house with no communication.
He isn't a well man, 73 years of age and we were in the middle of major house renovations at the time which was stressful because we had a builder that would go AWOL for weeks at a time and pressure started building up for both of us.
I didn't have a clue what was happening at the beginning, not much communication from the police and obviously, he wasn't supposed to contact me either. I was just told that I should wait for a charging decision and if I needed to communicate with him regarding releasing funds to pay for workmen that I should do it through a solicitor. Great, but at £170 a pop just for them to write a letter , it mounts up. We aren't badly off but between a scammer of a builder and paying solicitors just to ask a simple question, the funds start dwindling. We're both retired so no pay cheque at the end of the month. We were funding the renovations from savings and money from downsizing.
Going forward, after six months, the CPS decided to charge him with ABH. He pleaded not guilty, so another six months waiting for a trial date. By this time, I was beginning to wish that I never called the police because I've been stuck in limbo ever since, unable to move on.
As far as I know, he's living in rented accommodation and is on mature dating sites with a profile saying he's divorced ( news to me ???? ) , in excellent health ( news to me too ) and ready for a fun loving relationship with a "voluptuous " woman . I found out this because a friend of mine who is on the dating site recognised him and sent me a message asking if I had got a divorce ! He apparently had been on the sitefor quite a while before any of this s**t hit the fan Naturally, I had to pay a subscription and check it out. The photo is him but his profile is a complete fabrication from the bloke I was married to for 50 years. I must admit, I was very tempted to contact admin on the site and tell them that they had a bloke on there that was on bail for assaulting his wife but by this time, I felt that being wary of the implications was better for me.
I hate to say it but because of the limited communication I have had from the police, obviously they have been concerned for my safety but I honestly do wish I had never called them and dealt with it in my own way.
It's been a long year and I still don't know which way by backside is pointing.

sunflowersngunpowdr · 24/10/2024 14:16

Snowdrop92 · 24/10/2024 10:49

Hello,

9 months ago I found out my husband and partner of 13 years had been having an affair with a colleague. I was and still am absolutely devastated because we were still in such a loving relationship. My heart wants to stay but my mind is telling me to leave. Has anyone ever successfully stayed together and recovered after finding out about an affair? What steps did you take and are you truly happy now?

Thank you so much x

Lots of people stay together after affairs and some of them are happy (some aren't). Only you know if it's worth saving or not. 9 months isn't a long time ... maybe give your self more time to decide. Are you guys communicating properly with each other? Does he know how you are feeling? Another person asked if he was still working with the morally bankrupt ho he was sleeping with... that would make a massive difference I suppose. Is he sorry? What has he done to show you that he has changed? Did he love her? So many variables. And yes I think he is a morally bankrupt ho as well before the feminazis start.

Elasticatedtrousers · 24/10/2024 16:34

This is not the place for reconciliation advice.

I wish it was more balanced on here but it never is. I’ve been on mumsnet a while and reconciled posters are eaten alive and told they have no sense of pride/self respect and/or that they’re lying about their truth! As if it’s all not hard enough on them!

It’s bonkers.

FWIW I know some very happy couples who reconciled, and they’re several years on.

Get yourself on Surviving Infidelity. They have a wealth of resources and forums for those that stay and leave. It’ll help you you unpick your way through all of this.

TheQueeen · 24/10/2024 16:55

I’d never come at people who advise reconciliation, as I truly believe in marriage, and in the huge upheaval and emotional distress of parting ways, it’s something you have to be sure about. However, you do have to be realistic about what you are dealing with, and the list of questions I posted above are highly relevant, you are undoubtedly dealing with someone who has a flawed moral compass. Forgiving and moving past it would be great, but be realistic about who this person is, what he is capable of, and the fact that probably for many years, if not forever, you will be dealing with the emotions of that. Perhaps he will radically change, but in many cases someone like that doesn’t change, and just becomes better at hiding it should it happen again.

TheQueeen · 24/10/2024 16:58

If you have a radically different way of being than he does, and could never do the same to him, it will be hard to overcome. I personally overcame everything with my ex, and there was a lot, he was a very narcissistic individual. But cheating, to me that was the cherry on the cake, I could never continue to build with someone that different to me in so many ways. I could never have looked at another guy, I wouldn’t have respect for someone who can lie and deceive and hurt so many people. Sucks to be him now as he spent years blowing up my phone and from what I’ve heard is having a very miserable life.

TheQueeen · 24/10/2024 17:06

Here are some other questions relating to reconciling vs not reconciling:

If you reconcile, would you be suspicious of him moving forward?

would you throw the affair back in his face during arguments?

Does he have skewed boundaries with women, and would he continue to have female “friends” and expect you not to have any issue with it?

If so will this cause problems between you?

would be be prepared to be open with his phone and email or would he expect you to “just trust him”

would you be happy to “just trust him”

will you walk around daily like there’s a rock in your stomach because of constant reminders of what he’s done?

Will your personality change and will you be constantly fearful of more pain/losing him/ that he’s lying to you?

will he be truly sorry with full accountability or create a narrative that it happened because things weren’t good between you?

Are there any issues that could lead him to look else where again (because he has that personality type) would you be prepared to do the things that would stop that happening?

when you’re having sex will you be lost in the moment or thinking about what he’s done?

Will you harbour deep resentment that will come out over small things because you can’t deep down forgive him?

Will your self esteem take a dip as you compare yourself constantly to other women?

will you see him differently and lack respect for him?

I had to leave my ex because I knew that all of the above would be how it would be for us moving forward, there was no point, the bond was broken, and he had done it.

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