When we entered into recovery from infidelity, there was a long season of disbelief—even though I was telling the truth. Granted, after what I had done to my marriage, I didn't deserve to be believed; nevertheless, it is a very disheartening and discouraging time.

After discovery, I knew I had hit what many would call "rock bottom." I was so tired of my lies, my life, and myself—so I came clean. I told the entire truth about what I had done. For the first time in my life, it felt good to be rid of every secret and every "bad and shameful thing," and have it all out on the table.

However, my husband did not believe me for many months; perhaps a more true statement was that he could not believe me. He would ask if there was more. He would ask if that was everything. There were times he would even come up with new information that would make me feel absolutely crazy. He would ask me if I had an inappropriate relationship with what seemed like any man we had known during our entire marital history.

It was CRAZY-making.

If I was already crazy, I certainly was convinced I was even more so by this point, because I started to question myself. I started to question everything. This wasn't necessarily a bad place now that I look back. Had I told him everything? What if I forgot something? Was I so good at lying and pretending that I didn't even know what the truth was anymore?

His "believer" ability had been broken. And my trustworthiness was even more broken.

If you find yourself struggling with this, I hope to share anything along the path of our journey to encourage you or to help you to see things from a different perspective. We all need each other in this.

Fast-forward two years for us.

Speaking of, I know there are days you wish there was a fast-forward button. The work of recovery is grueling and long and painstakingly slow. There were times when we really struggled so much that I wanted a fast-forward button so badly. There were times my husband was in such agony, I am certain that he wanted a rewind button to erase what I had done.

But I digress, and back to the question.

Why won't my spouse believe me?

There is an element of "the boy who cried wolf" for us unfaithful. We are a wishy-washy bunch. We said we would do one thing, but we went and did another. Just because I had gotten to a place where I was open and honest, I failed to see a pretty big message of humility.

Coming clean doesn't mean you're healthy

Just because I told the truth–while it was a relief and a huge step of growth for me–really meant nothing to my betrayed spouse in light of all I had done. In his eyes, that truth must have paled in comparison to the pain and injustice I had caused. Just because an alcoholic takes his last sip doesn't exactly make him healthy. Disclosure was simply the jumping-off point. Yes, I had told the truth, but I still had–and still have–a LONG way to go in maturing the areas of trustworthiness and obedience.

Don't take it personally. It's not about you.

What I also needed to see was that my husband's unbelief wasn't about me. Part of his process had to be not believing me. He had to ask over-and-over to know the truth. In some weird way, I think he needed to hear me say the same things over-and-over to believe me. It is much the same with my own journey with my Savior. How many times have I had to hear that I am loved and forgiven before I actually believed it and lived it out? If your spouse still won't believe you, trust me when I say it is probably not about you.

When my husband would not believe me it also set forth a primal sense of panic within me. A desperate feeling would wash over me that led to the fear that I would be abandoned or left alone. This thought was absolutely devastating to me. I, without a doubt, had absolutely no sense of maturity, obedience, or solidarity. Most people engaged in affairs usually do not. So it put me in a place of panic for a good while.

Don't write stories in your head or make it harder than it needs to be

After a while, the unfaithful spouse can easily start to go down a road of wrong-thinking. For me, this often looked like a black-or-white place: "He will never believe me. Why should I even bother telling the truth if it doesn't seem to matter?" Or, it can set up an even more dangerous proposition in the mind of an unfaithful spouse that might lead to the type of thinking that says something like, "This is too hard. They will never see that I am someone who can change or tell the truth, so I will just give up."

It was so difficult to see any of this while we were in the middle of recovery. So many times, when I look back, I wish that I could have made it more about my betrayed spouse's journey and his process. Just because I had come to a place where I decided to get my act together and be honest didn't automatically mean that my spouse would be able to digest that. Instead of trying to control the outcome, I want to always remember what a mess I can be. I am a girl who would avoid pain at all costs, and it was very painful for me to feel the rejection of not being believed. Again, now I know it's not about me.

So, what if your betrayed spouse still won't believe you?

I think I have had to learn that ultimately it doesn't matter. As much as I wanted him to believe me, I needed to change ultimately for me. Focusing on his belief or disbelief derailed me from what I needed to do to become safe and responsible. Your spouse not believing you has nothing to do with what is necessary for you to grow. I had to change and mature for my own sake. And doing that has definitely benefited my marriage.

As always, thanks for reading and letting me grow alongside you.

To healing,
Elizabeth