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: Jan 2010
Posts: 178
J
Member
OP Offline
Member
J
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 178
Hi there.

For those of you who have followed along with my and hangnthere's saga....I had an affair 12 years ago before we were married...a few years after we were married, my wife had one...and now...my wife is 7 ,days returned from moving out and moving in with another man for 2 months

I was crushed this time...it was different. When I had mine...I left for 4 months and I destroyed her...but moved in with my brother. This time I felt she left for someone else.

This is not the case. She was leaving anyway. He became a convenient excuse. It WAS an affair nonetheless.

Our marriage was rocky for a long time. I don't think my wife ever got over my affair. I was a hero to her. The first guy ever to treat her right and never cheat. And I became human. I have been faithful ever since.

This time it got ugly. We were moments from divorce with our first court fmdate set for 5/10. Luckily she found out what a jerk this other guy was an maybe gained a little appreciation for me.

So she came home a week ago...it has honestly been a cuddle and sex fest. It has been nothing short of crazy.

Anyway....I want to do this right this time...I want this to last. Seems that no matter what we do...we always drift back to each other.

So I am here for guidance. I want us to stay happy this time. I want us to truly reconnect.



D-Day 2/8/17...NC 4/3/17
Wanting to make it work...right this time.
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 15,818
Likes: 7
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 15,818
Likes: 7
Hi, Jimbo,

I am glad to hear your wife is back. Regardless of motivations, the two of you can put this back together again, but be aware that the path to recovery is a very narrow path. In Dr. Harley's experience, if couples deviate from the path, the marriage will not survive.

If you don't already have it, get Dr. Harley's book Surviving an Affair. Make sure you have the revised addition because it is full of checklists you need to follow if you want to recover.

The most important checklist is the checklist of extraordinary precautions the two of you need to follow to prevent another affair. If you both rigorously follow this checklist, you will both feel safe and secure and an affair will not be possible, and recovery becomes possible.


If you are serious about saving your marriage, you can't get it all on this forum. You've got to listen to the Marriage Builders Radio show, every day. Install the app!

Married to my radiant trophy wife, Prisca, 19 years. Father of 8.
Attended Marriage Builders weekend in May 2010

If your wife is not on board with MB, some of my posts to other men might help you.
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 92,985
Likes: 1
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: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
What have you and your WW done from the checklist?


FWW/BW (me)
WH
2nd M for both
Blended Family with 7 kids between us
Too much hurt and pain on both sides that my brain hurts just thinking about it all.



Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 178
J
Member
OP Offline
Member
J
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 178
Originally Posted by BrainHurts
What have you and your WW done from the checklist?

Honestly...almost all if it. It has been very open honest and transparent so far.


D-Day 2/8/17...NC 4/3/17
Wanting to make it work...right this time.
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
Originally Posted by jimbobalu
Originally Posted by BrainHurts
What have you and your WW done from the checklist?

Honestly...almost all if it. It has been very open honest and transparent so far.
Could you be more specific and actually tell us what has and hasn't been done? You could be setting yourself up for a false recovery again.


FWW/BW (me)
WH
2nd M for both
Blended Family with 7 kids between us
Too much hurt and pain on both sides that my brain hurts just thinking about it all.



Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
What EPs have been put in place?


FWW/BW (me)
WH
2nd M for both
Blended Family with 7 kids between us
Too much hurt and pain on both sides that my brain hurts just thinking about it all.



Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5
B
Member
Offline
Member
B
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 20,476
Likes: 5


FWW/BW (me)
WH
2nd M for both
Blended Family with 7 kids between us
Too much hurt and pain on both sides that my brain hurts just thinking about it all.



Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,197
U
Member
Offline
Member
U
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,197
Originally Posted by jimbobalu
Originally Posted by BrainHurts
What have you and your WW done from the checklist?

Honestly...almost all if it. It has been very open honest and transparent so far.

It is concerning that you seem to have had her leave her current AP and move back home, then you kindof disappear from the boards, and when you are asked a question give a very general reply.

Are you planning to follow through this time with an MB marriage?

What does 'almost all of it' mean, what has NOT been done?


Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Search
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 216 guests, and 55 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
BillTages, salmawis, AventurineLe, Prisha Joshi, Tom N
71,965 Registered Users
Latest Posts
I didn’t have a chance
by Brutalll - 04/23/25 11:12 PM
Forum Statistics
Forums67
Topics133,622
Posts2,323,491
Members71,965
Most Online3,185
Jan 27th, 2020
Building Marriages That Last A Lifetime
Copyright © 2025, Marriage Builders, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Site Navigation
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5