I read the other posts, as well as the TAM CWI newbies page but didn’t find everything I was looking for. So I hope you all don’t mind me posting. I’ve been married for 16 years and the first time I caught my wife cheating was 6-months before we were married (when we were engaged.) There is no doubt that I have been an enabler.
The most important piece of history is that my WS suffered habitual molestation from a young age. When she was 6, her mother left her father for a carnival worker (Nope. Not making this up.) and her father in turn took off, leaving 3 kids alone. She ultimately wound up with her grandfather who habitually molested his own daughters. My WS does not remember being molested by her grandfather but suspects that she was. When her mother returned, the carnival worker she ran off with became WS’s step dad. The Carnie molested my future wife (then 6-9) repeatedly over the next few years.
Unknown to me at the time of our marriage, my spouse never had a boyfriend that she didn’t cheat on.
#1) Her first affair occurred at an office Christmas party. I attended the party with her, but could not find her for hours. Finally, while wondering the halls I saw her exit a room (the party was at a hotel) and she was with another man. I hid in a doorway and heard both my WS & her AP admit to just having sex. I let them walk away, and it was my intention to leave and never look back. If I had a time machine I would do just that. She ultimately saw me as I was walking to my car, and convinced me to come back to the hotel room. She was morbidly drunk, and denied everything. I told myself that I would talk to her about it when she sobered, but when I tried in the morning it only caused a fight. My WS is a brilliant liar and Rug Sweeper, and to my shame, I ultimately accepted her lies. I’m also obviously prone to the ‘Affair Fog’ and ‘Hysterical Bonding’. The most intense sex we’ve had is directly after or before her affairs.
#2) This had all been swept neatly under the rug for 10 years when I noticed a change in her behavior that set off warning lights. I truly thought #1 was a onetime thing. (for what it’s worth, I felt stupid typing that last sentence.) I noticed that she had installed an instant messenger on her laptop, and she had been deleting messages from one person. So I installed spy software on our computer and discovered that a night out with the girls was really a night out with an AP. When I gathered enough information, I confronted her about it, and to my dismay she denied facts even when I had printed them out for display. This was a really creepy thing to behold. Her lying was so intense and focused, I don’t know if I would have been able to decipher the truth had I not done such a thorough job documenting the affair. The ‘Trickle of Truth’ is her greatest tactic and most cruel form of torture! (I highly recommend anyone who’s about to confront a WS, do so with all the facts and never let them know until they’ve divulged everything.)
After No. 2, I contacted the AP and gave him an earful. I was shocked at what an ******* he was. So I informed his wife about the rest. Had he apologized to me, I probably would have never know he was married (Karma.)
She was now incredibly remorseful and agreed to see a therapist. The therapy sessions lasted a few months. The Truth Trickling continued, and I should have known she was not truly remorseful. After a FalseR, and with a lot of Rug Sweeping and Hysterical Bonding, I was able go back into the fog and pretend that I had a perfect marriage. On the surface we certainly did. She’s the only person I have a strong connection with and we have always interacted like best friends… Which makes the betrayal all the more hard. She’s the only one I can go to.
#3) In 2010 she contracted genital warts. I asked her who gave it to her and she said the guy in #2. I didn’t believe her, but didn’t have evidence or sufficient courage to confront her brick wall Trickle of Truth.
So #2 was 6 years ago, and I’ve basically been in the fog ever since. She’s highly intelligent, and business executive in finance that travels about twice per month. Her computer passwords and work phone accounts are encrypted for their clients security and I really don’t want to commit any kind of crime catching my WS. Her work situation is subtle enough that I would need to hire a PI in all of her territories just to catch her.
The funny thing is that I had stopped snooping 10 years ago. I guess I was just happier believing that my marriage was perfect, which my kids 9 & 12 still believe.. But after the Petraeus affair broke, it knocked me out of the fog. I was reading the NYTimes and the description of Paula Broadwell & Gen Petraeus methods of keeping their affair underground shook me. When I read that they hid their emails in the draft folder, I wondered “Is that how my wife cheats too?” My WS reminds me of the women involved in the Petraeus train wreck, and I started having Mind Movies and cold sweats. The humiliating 16 year experience finally blew my gasket. I was becoming extremely suicidal and depressed. I knew I couldn’t last, so one night last month I woke her in her sleep and confronted her. I was shaking and crying and said that her infidelity was driving me mad. She admitted several one night stands, and an affair that she had with a person in our town. She still claimed that the STD was from #2 or #3 even though I knew for a fact there were more, so I knew these were just Trickles of Truth and her lies were much greater.
She seems truly remorseful, and I know she’s troubled and would change if she could. I just think this is who she is, and 1 or 2 years from now, when I’m not obsessing about her nature, she’ll find another way. She’s even agreed to quit her high profile job (she’s the main breadwinner) but what then? There are men in every facet of industry, and I’m not really jazzed about her going back to college with a bunch of horny 20-something’s.
She has agreed to both couples counseling and one-on-one therapist for her. I know she loves me, and I still love her, but the trust has been so cruelly destroyed, I don’t know how it could ever be repaired. She’s said that she will mail the two she’s told me about in a similar fashion as this site suggests, but I still don’t know the whole list (which I must assume is very extensive.) I don’t believe that she’ll ever truly demonstrate remorse until she has the courage to own up to all of her betrayals. At this point, I’m in Limbo and have feelings of complete hopelessness. I always wanted my daughters to be raised with two parents, but I’m so tired of feeling like this.
Am I just wasting my time? Any advice, or even words of encouragement would be helpful.
ya bud... Find someone else... or hell, noone else... they are both better options than the woman you have called your "wife"... Your daughters will STILL be raised by 2 parents... And they might even have a father who isnt thinking about killing himself.
ya bud... Find someone else... or hell, noone else... they are both better options than the woman you have called your "wife"... Your daughters will STILL be raised by 2 parents... And they might even have a father who isnt thinking about killing himself.
And DNA the kids that's what Scott Broadwell should be doing also.
Let me be blunt. You need to take your balls out of her purse and become a man again. You are enabling her behavior. She won't respect you until you respect yourself.
Don't play the victim. Take charge and insist she come clean. You're going to need access to her emails, phone, etc. She is a habitual cheater. It's not going to stop without hard work.
You've (and her) have a lot of work to do if you want to R. But first things first; you must take charge and stop hiding from the truth.
I'm very sorry for your pain. If your wife loved you truly, if she loved you the way she says she does, she wouldn't continue to hurt you. She wouldn't continue to cause you pain.
It sounds like she's worn you down and out & now you're exhausted from it.
I think if I were in your shoes, I would throw in the towel. This can't be the kind of love you think you deserve.
You need to DNA you kids, sorry but you had they need to know who their real father is for sure.
You need to go read on ******* .com about women like your wife. Remorseless serial cheaters who will through meaningless sex at their husband to get him to think its all ok. Meanwhile they're still shagging the OM and bringing home sloppy seconds for hubby.
You shoud be getting the names and info for each OM and expose them to their wives and girlfriends.
No doubt your wife has also been busy at work, perhaps that's how she has advanced in her career? Just kne that there are likely more than one boss and coworker she has been sleeping with.
Demand she takes a polygraph to prove you've been told about all the affairs.
Then file for D, for primary custody, and for full child and spousal support. She will then be happy and free to keep up her numerous hookups. Wonder how many clients she has also slept with , or is currently sleeping with.
Sorry, but this can't be fixed. You've given her how many chances? If she actually had any love, respect, or interest in not being in a one sided open marriage she wouldn't have been cheating non stop for years. I think it has been non stop, and she's only admitted to what you have discovered.
Those trips every month? Do you think there are any of them she isn't using to hook up on?
I read the other posts, as well as the TAM CWI newbies page but didn’t find everything I was looking for.....
What are you looking for?
Yes, it does sound like you are wasting your time. Your wife if a broken person. Unless you decide to accept an open marriage this is doing to continue to eat at you until you are completely destoryed.
Your children need a father who is emotionally well and can help them have a more 'normal' life.
Yes you wasted your time. Did she give you the STD as well? Get another STD test immediately. The real question after your direct knowledge of the affair, why did YOU rugsweep it? You know what your wife is. But what is your problem? You need to seek IC and a current STD test.
not only many times .. once cheating is enough to divorce the cheater. cheaters deserves no forgivenss, reconcilliation or anything good. just divorce her let her be miserable living with her life
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16 Year Marriage with Chronic Infidelity 
