Welcome to the
Marriage Builders® Discussion Forum

This is a community where people come in search of marriage related support, answers, or encouragement. Also, information about the Marriage Builders principles can be found in the books available for sale in the Marriage Builders® Bookstore.
If you would like to join our guidance forum, please read the Announcement Forum for instructions, rules, & guidelines.
The members of this community are peers and not professionals. Professional coaching is available by clicking on the link titled Coaching Center at the top of this page.
We trust that you will find the Marriage Builders® Discussion Forum to be a helpful resource for you. We look forward to your participation.
Once you have reviewed all the FAQ, tech support and announcement information, if you still have problems that are not addressed, please e-mail the administrators at mbrestored@gmail.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
#2776832 01/18/14 10:32 PM
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
My husband and I have been married almost 28 years. Things have not been good between us for a long time...I would say at least 5 years although he would say longer. 3 years ago for our 25th anniversary I tried to get him to take a trip with me but he wouldn't. On our anniversary I had a complete emotional breakdown and poured out my heart to him about how unhappy I was with many things in life. We went to a marriage counselor once and both hated it...slowly we slipped back into our routine of unhappiness. That same year I discovered that he was involved in an emotional affair that had been going on for a year or two. He ended it. Things were better between us, but slowly we slipped back into our old ways. Eventually he told me he loves me but is no longer in love with me. About a year ago we went to Florida with 2 of our kids. We walked on the beach every day but there was just no romance between us although I would have liked it. He says he can't help it...this past fall he began talking about divorce so I began snooping again. I found out that he had a strong interest in someone else but I cannot confirm that there was an actual affair. I confronted him (not telling him I know who it is) He denied it. He really has not had any interest in working on our marriage. I have been trying to improve things but I feel really discouraged. We have continued to have a pretty good sexual relationship, but there is definitely a lack of affection--he never kisses me on the lips or hugs me unless I initiate. I know he is still trying to keep this relationship with the latest "interest" alive, although it appears she has stopped responding in the way he wants. I feel like I just don't know where to go from here. I don't want to talk to him about it because I just get my feelings hurt--I don't want to hear him say he's not "in love" with me and doesn't see a future for us. Let me add that he is a very kind, generous man who would do anything for me. I know he cares about me but I want more! Any advice?

Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
Welcome to Marriage Builders. Sorry it is under these circumstances. But, you are in the right place.

Please read:
Start Here First
Post your questions on your thread, and many of the members volunteering their time will be along to help.

Then, you probably want to order the book Surviving An Affair by Dr. Harley. Get the new updated version. You can order it for Kindle or read it on a computer, or you can get the print version.


W (me) - 40
H - 44
M 15 years, 2 kids
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
I guess I feel somewhat responsible for what he did because I was not being the wife he needed. We had 4 children in 6 years and I devoted a lot of my time and energy to them...probably truly neglecting him.
With this last person he was interested in I found a love poem that he wrote about her. Idk if he gave it to her or not. I believe she broke things off with him...we had a few conversations about us where he ended up crying (I now think because he was sad about losing her). Can you believe I felt sorry for him?
Do I need counseling to figure out why I tolerate his behavior? I can't figure out why I feel like I have to protect him when he has done nothing to protect me, our marriage or our family.

Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
Ok...I am feeling like I really have to add this part...I also had an emotional affair. About a year ago I was feeling so unloved that I contacted an old high school boyfriend who had been really in love with me. We had been in touch off and on over the years, but this time it took hold. He began to tell me all of the things I didn't hear from my husband. I tried to keep it at friends but we did meet once when I went on a business trip and we had sex. I kept telling myself that our marriage vows were already broken. I do continue to talk to him...he has helped me through so much.
We are really messed up, huh?

Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
Have you read the Start Here First link? Have you read Dr. Harley's Basic Concepts? Have you started reading Surviving an Affair yet?

Articles about opposite-sex friends:
Are "friends" a risk to your marriage?
The risk of opposite-sex friends in your marriage

Both of you do not have good boundaries in place. You can change this by learning what EP's are, and adhering to them. If you are still talking to the OM (other man) that you had an EA with, then you are still having an EA. Does your H know about your EA yet?


W (me) - 40
H - 44
M 15 years, 2 kids
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
Hi ljmom, welcome to Marriage Builders. The most glaring problem in your marriage is a lack of honesty and a long pattern of enabling. For example, it seems you have tolerated his affairs, rather than taking steps to end them. Sweeping the problems under the rug has been a huge mistake.

I would take another approach, starting with radical honesty. You need to tell your husband about your affair and tell him you know about his affair. You should both end contact with your affair partners immediately by sending them a no contact letter.

Please read starting here:
Originally Posted by Requirements for Recovery
"The plan I recommend for recovery after an affair is very specific. That's because I've found that even small deviations from that plan are usually disastrous. But when it's followed, it always works. The plan has two parts that must be implemented sequentially. The first part of the plan is for the unfaithful spouse to completely separate from the lover and eliminate the conditions that made the affair possible. The second part is for the couple to create a romantic relationship, using my Basic Concepts as a guide." continued here


And then pick up the book Surviving an Affair. In the meantime, you can follow these guidelines:

From Surviving an Affair, pg 66-67

The extraordinary precautions do more than end marriage-threatening affairs; they help a couple form the kind of relationship they always wanted.

These recommendations may seem rigid, unnecessarily confining, and even paranoid to those who have not been the victim of infidelity. But people like Sue and Jon, who have suffered unimaginable pain as a result of an affair that spun out of control, can easily see their value. For the inconvenience of following my advice, Sue would have spared herself and Jon the very worst experience of their lives.


Checklist for How Affairs Should End

_____The unfaithful spouse should reveal information about the affair to the betrayed spouse.

_____The unfaithful spouse should make a commitment to the betrayed spouse to never see or talk to the lover OP again.

_____The unfaithful spouse should write a letter to the lover OP ending the relationship and send it with the approval of the betrayed spouse.

_____The unfaithful spouse should take extraordinary precautions to guarantee total separation from the lover OP:

_____Block potential communication with the lover OP (change e-mail address and home and cell phone numbers, and close all social networking accounts; have voice messages and mail monitored by the betrayed spouse).

_____Account for time (betrayed spouse and wayward spouse give each other a twenty-four-hour daily schedule with locations and telephone numbers).

_____Account for money (betrayed spouse and wayward spouse give each other a complete account of all money spent).

_____Spend leisure time together.

_____Change jobs and relocate if necessary.

_____Avoid overnight separation.

_____Allow technical accountability.

_____ Expose affair to family members, clergy, and/or friends.



"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
My husband knows I talk to him but thinks we are just friends. He does not know I met up with the OM. I have actually joked with my H that he would like it if the OM "took me off his (my H's) hands"

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
Did you read my post? This is not an "EA," it is a physical affair and your husband should be told the truth. All the facts should be put on the table.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
Originally Posted by ljmom24
and we had sex.

Totally missed that part. Um, yeah. You need to go tell your H. All of it. Now.


W (me) - 40
H - 44
M 15 years, 2 kids
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
I have not tolerated his affairs...the first time he ended it immediately. As for the most recent interest I don't know if it actually was an affair.

I have read the things mentioned and have just started "surviving an affair"

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by ljmom24
I have not tolerated his affairs...the first time he ended it immediately.

You posted this above:
Originally Posted by ljmom24
I know he is still trying to keep this relationship with the latest "interest" alive, although it appears she has stopped responding in the way he wants.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
Yes, I don't want him to know I know who it is this time because I am still trying to get proof of what's going on. If he knows I know he will just hide it better.

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
Originally Posted by ljmom24
Yes, I don't want him to know I know who it is this time because I am still trying to get proof of what's going on. If he knows I know he will just hide it better.

My suggestion would be to get it all out on the table and put an end to it. There is nothing to wait for. Tell him about your affair and tell him to cut off contact with this woman.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109

You can change this by learning what EP's are, and adhering to them.




What is an EP?

Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
[quote=MelodyLane] to never see or talk to the lover OP again.

_____




What is an OP?

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
L
Member
OP Offline
Member
L
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 109
Originally Posted by BlairBluefin
You can change this by learning what EP's are, and adhering to them.


I don't see EP in the abbreviatins. What does it stand for?

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
extraordinary precautions


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.." Theodore Roosevelt

Exposure 101


Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 360
Four Rules to Guide Marital Recovery After an Affar

Also, here is a good thread on Extraordinary Precautions
Extraordinary Precautions


W (me) - 40
H - 44
M 15 years, 2 kids
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,964
G
Member
Offline
Member
G
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,964
LJMOM,

Having a revenge affair does not cancel out the pain, two affairs = double the pain.

The sad part is that your WHs horrible behavior caused you to become just like him.

But the good news is that you can come clean to your BH and have a good marriage based on honesty if you both want to work on it.

Do the right thing and tell the OMW, other mans wife, too.

The fact that you kept this OM in your life for so long did not help your marriage through the years.

Did you tell the OWHs of your WHs OW what happened?

God Bless
Gamma

Page 1 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Search
Who's Online Now
2 members (Mature, 1 invisible), 1,216 guests, and 72 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Bibbyryan860, Ian T, SadNewYorker, Jay Handlooms, GrenHeil
71,838 Registered Users
Building Marriages That Last A Lifetime
Copyright © 1995-2019, Marriage Builders®. All Rights Reserved.
Site Navigation
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5