No, this advice is not for me. I am still married to the unrepentant sort!
You go, girl !
I do think it is a very interesting question though, which gets bandied about on here all the time. Why should I let them back in? The BS asks. Even Dr H has said he would not recover his own marriage after an affair.
Why let an unrepentant spouse back in?
My advice ..... do not. If the wayward does not admit that their adultery was a very bad choice, they are too risky.
Unless they become repentant and meet your requirements.
I'd have to say that personally, if my wayward spouse had been unrepentant for longer than a few months .... I'd file for divorce. That's just me. Not Harley advice. I'd Plan B with a divorce pending. I am one tough Mama.
Lots of people on here too, describe adultery as the 'get out of marriage free' card. None of us would blame someone who did not want to recover.
True.
And yet there are many success stories on here. People who have recovered against the odds.
Also true. The Mama & Papa Bear story was inspiring. When it was unfolding, I never thought PapaBear would pull it off.
Its not an easy decision though. Many a BS struggles to decide. Not surprisingly, it seems impossible to them.
I'm not sure what seems impossible. Recovery and staying married? Or getting a divorce?
So I suppose I am asking those with that experience to share their reasons why here.
Why did I try recovery?
Because my H was repentant. Right away.
He perused me.
He showed integrity. (not 100% right away, but soon enough)
I tried recovery a little at a time. "I'll try for 6 months." I did that several times until, what do you know ... things were clicking along pretty well.
Recovery is so difficult. Why not start over fresh with someone new?
Recovery is extremely difficult.
"Why am I doing this?" was in the back of my mind on a daily basis .... for at least a year. After a year, it was on my mind weekly. And so on.
One of the scarier elements of recovery (for me) was the hot-to-freezing feelings I'd have for my H. My feelings for him would turn in a second from loving to pure loathing. I used to watch him sleep peacefully while I was suffering anxiety in the middle of the night. And, I loathed him during those moments. Then, I'd watch him be with the kids, cook a meal, or tell funny stories .... and my heart would thaw.
I really remember those hot-to-cold-to-hot-to cold moments as the impetus which made me think about divorce. Why? Because it is
so stressful to have such volatile feelings for one's spouse. It's damn scary.
I am 100% convinced that if my H's feelings expressed towards me showed an ounce of hesitation that he wanted the marriage, I'd be divorced today.
I am also 100% certain Mr Pep HAD such feelings. Fortunately, he was going to daily AA meetings, and had a sponsor. I'm sure he was able to vent his doubts about me & our marriage via his sponsor. God bless that man. He's still our good friend today. A tough old bird who did 2 combat tours in Viet Nam, as a Marine.
I mention my H's sponsor being a Marine because recovery requires similar discipline.
*You do the difficult job to the best of your abilities.
*You understand your mission.
*You keep going despite pain.I regret there was no internet/MarriageBuilders during our most difficult and volatile recovery years. I would have been a more reasonable (less crazy) BW for my repentant FWH to deal with.
We made it.
Through God's Grace.