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
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 271
E
Member
Member
E Offline
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 271
Here's the question:

Would you forgive your spouse for cheating on you?


Here are the results:

Maybe. It's all in the details of the affair.1,804

No. I would immediately divorce my spouse.1,698

Yes. Forgiving is part of letting go, you inflict harm on yourself if you don't forgive.800

Total Vote: 4,302


Me = FBS age 51
FWH = age 51
M 25 years, 2 children 16 and 20
D-Day 5/19/05
Recovered and happy
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,834
L
Member
Member
L Offline
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,834
A better Question would be, Will the WS divorce the BS after the Affair is discovered?

Most Marriages can survive the discovery of the A, and the BS is usually not the one to file.

Just check out this site for info on that.

Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 22
C
Junior Member
Junior Member
C Offline
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 22
Fascinating... two weeks ago I would have probably answered very similarly.

Now that I'm a BS, it's all so different.

I guess you don't *really* ever know how you'll react to a situation until it presents itself to you.

I always figured that if my wife ever cheated on me, I'd pack her stuff up and pile it on the driveway and probably set fire to the OM's house, etc., etc.

And here I am trying to forgive her and trying very hard not to blame *myself* for what happened!

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Member
M Offline
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
Heres the big problem with that poll, folks don't really know what they would do until they are in that situation. How often do we hear "I always said I would divorce him/her if she cheated on me!"


"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: Jun 2005
Posts: 271
E
Member
Member
E Offline
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 271
Hi Mel. I completely agree!


Me = FBS age 51
FWH = age 51
M 25 years, 2 children 16 and 20
D-Day 5/19/05
Recovered and happy
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,871
S
Member
Member
S Offline
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,871
If there is anything that I have learned over the last decade of my life, and especially after WH's A, it is never say never. Better than that, answering these questions is really just an exercise in futility, not having actually been faced with the dilemma.

I know that I said that if 'we' were ever unhappy, then we should just move on and find our happiness elsewhere. Der-dee-der. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> I was 20 years old, what the heck did I know! WH even brought this 14 year old conversation up when he started his affair. He said, "Well, wasn't it you who said that if we're not happy, we should end our relationship?". <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Wow! I didn't realize that things I said over a decade ago would be used AGAINST me later.


Me-BS-38
Married 1997; son, 8yo
Divorced April 2009
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,621
A
Member
Member
A Offline
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,621
Quote
... the BS is usually not the one to file.


Only for us BS on MB, maybe.

The experts all agree the BS is the greater threat to the M after D-day, during recovery and for a very long time afterwards. .


"Never forget that your pain means nothing to a WS." ~Mulan

"An ethical man knows it is wrong to cheat on his wife. A moral man will not actually do it." ~ Ducky

WS: They are who they are.

When an eel lunges out
And it bites off your snout
Thats a moray ~DS
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,834
L
Member
Member
L Offline
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,834
Bump

Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,813
S
Member
Member
S Offline
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,813
Before my EA, both me and by H would answer: “No. I would immediately divorce my spouse.”

Now, as a FWS who has insight into the dynamics of A’s and how it usually develops, my answer has changed to: ”Maybe. It's all in the details of the affair.”

One time after my EA, my H and I had a discussion on this and we both felt that the following would be the final/ultimate betrayal and probably lead to divorce in the case of infidelity by either one of us:

In the case of an EA: Plans/thoughts of divorcing/leave the BS to go with the OP (exit A) and the level of lies, deception, secrecy, emotional intimacy etc. that goes with it.

In the case of PA: Anything more than embracing/kissing.

We especially felt that sexual intercourse would lead to immediate divorce and be impossible for us to forgive. But (as someone has said earlier)…people don’t/can’t really know what they would do until they are in that situation… So I guess what me and my H think we would do in the cases I’ve outlined above, are just speculation.


Moderated by  Fordude 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Search
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 684 guests, and 98 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
DGTian120, MigelGrossy, Jerry Watson, Toothsome, IO Games
72,041 Registered Users
Latest Posts
Three Times A Charm
by still seeking - 08/09/25 01:31 PM
How important is it to get the whole story?
by still seeking - 07/24/25 01:29 AM
Annulment reconsideration help
by abrrba - 07/21/25 03:05 PM
Help: I Don't Like Being Around My Wife
by abrrba - 07/21/25 03:01 PM
Following Ex-Wifes Nursing Schedule?
by Roger Beach - 07/16/25 04:21 AM
My wife wants a separation
by Roger Beach - 07/16/25 04:20 AM
Forum Statistics
Forums67
Topics133,625
Posts2,323,525
Members72,042
Most Online6,102
Jul 3rd, 2025
Building Marriages That Last A Lifetime
Copyright © 2025, Marriage Builders, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Site Navigation
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.0