Rick Reynolds, LCSW
by Rick Reynolds, LCSW
Founder & President, Affair Recovery

Why This Hurts So Much...

Below is information taken directly from our Harboring Hope coursework.1


We hope it provides an example of the type of recovery work betrayed spouses do while they pursue healing.


Our society does not deal well with grief. It is the normal reaction to loss, but because our culture does not handle grief well, you may have never learned to deal with it. You may have unresolved grief from earlier losses that is compounded as you deal with this new tragic situation. It's important to realize that it is normal to feel intense grief after betrayal. Betrayal is loss. As a matter of fact, it is actually a whole list of losses.

Recognizing the losses associated with infidelity and giving yourself permission and ample time to grieve those losses are both critical to a successful recovery. This is true whether there ultimately is reconciliation in the marriage or not.

Infidelity results in numerous losses:

  • loss of identity,
  • loss of the person to whom you believed you were married,
  • loss of the idea of your marriage,
  • loss of safety or security in your marriage,
  • loss of trust in yourself as well as your mate, and
  • loss of hope for your marriage and/or dreams for the future.

Your current reality is much the same as someone who is experiencing the death of a loved one, except your loss is much more complicated. You likely have little or no support compared to someone who lost a loved one. That's because your type of grief is called: "disenfranchised grief." This type of grief is much more challenging to navigate. Disenfranchised grief is connected to a loss that is unrecognized by society at large. It is the loss of something that people may not know about, or even if they do know about the infidelity, they might view either partner's pain as "deserved" or "not that bad."

Join other betrayed mates on the path to healing with our life-changing Harboring Hope online course and start a better, brighter chapter.

Learn More | Harboring Hope

Whether you have shared your loss(es) with a few trusted friends or not shared it with anyone, you may feel as though people look down on you and see you as deficient in some way. Not sharing your loss may feel safer and less embarrassing, but it is not beneficial for your recovery. There are crucial aspects of grief and loss, and they are a necessary part of working through it. You cannot sweep the infidelity pain under the rug even if you try! And as many of you painfully know, trying to avoid it only prolongs your recovery.

Also, it is not unusual for past hurts and unresolved grief to resurface when one experiences losses associated with infidelity. This phenomenon occurs in normal grieving. One loss can trigger grief for other losses that were not adequately grieved previously. This may include deaths or other significant relationship losses experienced in the past. It's very common for the pain of childhood sexual trauma to resurface when infidelity is discovered.

The Bible encourages us to count the cost before we begin something—not as a discouragement, but so we are empowered to make plans, make wise decisions, and end conflict. Please spend the time you need to learn to grieve well. Consider the full cost of the infidelity, not just to you, but also to others and your wayward mate as well.

What is Normal Grief

The way we grieve is affected by many factors: the family we came from, the way grief was modeled, our own history of loss, our basic personality and gender, our relationship, the magnitude of the loss, our particular culture, and whether we tend to be more thinkers, feelers, or doers. The way we have (or have not) grieved previous losses affects how we approach the losses associated with infidelity. Some of us come from families in which tears were not acceptable—or worse, punished. Others of us come from traditions where it is okay to be sad, but only for a brief moment.

Grieving is an individual experience; there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Some people grieve by crying openly without embarrassment. Others cry only when they are alone and behind a closed door. Some people grieve by "doing." These people are not avoiding their feelings but rather expressing them through actions. Many people grieve through anger. Misunderstandings among family members often spring up because people don't grieve the same way.

No matter your grief style, it is not linear. Some of the models listed in grief materials have stages, but grief does not always happen in a step-by-step manner. It is important to understand that grief is not a successive order of steps.

The grieving model I find most useful was devised by a man named J. William Worden. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross also has a five-stage grief model that is very good. Please know that the model you use does not matter as much as your active commitment to allowing yourself the time and space to grieve!

While both partners may see the need for the betrayed to grieve, often guilt and shame can tell the wayward partner they have no right to grieve. Realizing the losses and transforming the pain is, however, necessary for both spouses and also an opportunity for both to provide empathy to the other.

Worden's model uses "tasks" instead of "stages" or "steps," because he believes that grieving must be a proactive process. The first task in his model is to accept the reality of the loss.2 Shock, numbness, and disbelief are usually experienced initially after a loss.2 Many times, others mistakenly look at someone in shock and think they are being strong. The emotions that come after the shock and numbness wear off can feel like a huge wave—a whip in the face they never saw coming.

The second task in Worden's model is to WORK THROUGH (PROCESS) THE PAIN OF THE GRIEF.2 Normal feelings include sadness, anxiety, anger, isolation, loneliness, guilt, relief, and even feelings of craziness, and/or hallucinations.

What usually occurs after the pain sets in is a bouncing back and forth between overwhelming feelings of betrayal and moments in which the individual goes back into disbelief and numbness. I believe this is God's grace in action. It is keeping one from experiencing the enormity of all these feelings at the same time. This part of the healing journey can take some time, so be patient with yourself. Enjoy the moments that are not filled with overwhelming pain and recognize it takes a while for the pain to truly get better.

  • Be patient with yourself.
  • Enjoy the moments that are not filled with overwhelming pain, while recognizing it takes a while to truly get better.
  • Seek expert care while you're grieving. Knowledge will be a form of power for you.
  • Find Community. Our courses are an excellent source of support for your unfolding journey

Grieving infidelity is complicated. It is not a normal sort of grief. It is a stigmatized, disenfranchised grief. It's common for people to have very strong opinions. Please seek out those who will empathize and not bring judgment. Remember that our culture is downright terrible at accommodating those who are grieving, especially those who are grieving infidelity.

As a society, we make few allowances for pain or feelings anyway. We are a pain-free, death-denying culture, and as a result, an individual grieving may get only a few days off to deal with what has happened. And someone who is grieving a betrayal does not get any time off at all! You may be in a position where you have to let loved ones know what you need.

If you'd like to find community, consider our Harboring Hope course. You can also find support and expert help for your recovery by joining our Recovery Library. It's a monthly membership, a "go at your own pace" recovery without having to commit to a year or any other length of time. Simply take it month by month as you find help for grief and direction for your recovery efforts.

  1. The Harboring Hope Course is authored by Hardie, Leslie, LCSW, and Haney, John Mark, Ph.D., LPC, Harboring Hope, (Austin: Hope for Recovery, 2008).
  2. Worden, J. William, Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, (New York, New York City: Springer Publishing Company, Inc. 2008).
  3. For additional reading on this topic of grief, consider reading: Lewis, C. S. A Grief Observed, (San Francisco: Harper, 2001).

Have you experienced infidelity?
We want to hear about your experience.

Please take a few minutes to complete our survey linked below. Your insights will contribute to ongoing research in this field aimed at improving support for those impacted by infidelity.

Together we can make a difference!

Start Survey | Betrayed
Start Survey | Wayward

Sections: 

RL_Category: 

RL_Media Type: 

Add New Comment:

Comments

Grieving

You wrote this for me. Thank you. 9 weeks into the journey through pain, after 28 years of marriage.
Feeling as though something sacred has been torn from me and I'm bleeding.....
My husband and I are gleaning so much comfort and knowledge through Affair Recovery.
Bless you for your support.

21 years in and this is

21 years in and this is exactly how I feel. It's been 5-months since I first found out something was going on, but only about 2 months since finding out more "truth." He says there is "nothing else," yet I am still skeptical. Somedays I feel I cannot go on in this marriage and other days I know I cannot be without him. I want off this emotional rollercoaster. I will be fine one minute and then hysterically crying the next. I hate this mess.

You are forever changed. This

You are forever changed. This is a fact. But God holds you still in his arms. He has good things for you in your future. But just look at one day at a time and find a good friend that will be there for you when you can't think of how you will finish the day, will give you many hugs and tell you how great you are doing. It is horrible. It is hard, so sorry for you and your loss. ((hugs))

4everchanged

How do you drop the wall and believe there is “nothing else to the story” or they are being truthful with even themselves .... we are in therapy and he is working on himself but a set back of just that where I found out “more” to the story after being repeatedly told there was “nothing else” set me back to day one. Getting hurt repeatedly during this process is the hardest thing ... I just don’t want to get hurt anymore and mentally can’t. That constant feeling that the shoe is going to drop ... does that ever end?

I can totally relate to what

I can totally relate to what you said, and I think it is a very very common experience. "Trickle truth" is a thing, and you are absolutely right---it does set you back to square one. About 7 months after the initial DDay, when my UH was about to start "Hope for Healing", he finally confessed his last confession. It has been about 15 months since that day, and I'm just now starting to feel like there are no more shoes to drop. I know that seems like a long time, but I really think that the mantra that it takes at least 2 years to heal from infidelity is very true.

Some boundaries that I set for myself in the meantime, to help protect myself were: 1. Letting UH know I wasn't going to live with someone who wasn't working on their own healing through either counseling, classes like Hope for Healing, EMSO and the like. I was prepared to ask him to leave if he didn't do that. 2. Asking him to be willing to undertake an infidelity polygraph We had other lesser boundaries, like the 24-hour rule (any incidences of his troubled behaviors needed to be confessed within 24 hours, and use of travel plans etc.

But, the whole process is painful, takes time, and yes, that feeling can end if you both pursue healing.

Thank you for your input.

Thank you for your input. Trusting in God to get us through all of this. It’s the most painful thing to go through without having some kind of faith.

I agree with you; I'm not the same.

Gone are my innocent, romantic notions of love and marriage. When the person you thought was the one you'd grow old with cheats on and lies to you repeatedly, you feel a tremendous sense of loss and mourning for your marriage because that original union is dead. I have decided to stay married for the sake of our children but the trust is not there, and the pain still is. Sadly, I am now a skeptic at weddings because I feel if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone. I've become bitter and jaded about love and marriage, and I am so mad at them for taking that from me.

I can relate

I’m brand new to discovery. Friday will be a week. I know the exact emotions you’re feeling. I love him and want this marriage to work but next moment I’m so mad and unsure. Trust is completely lost. To make things worse, I had to rush him to the hospital Monday. Turns out there is a mass in his brain and going for a biopsy. I’m so empathetic to his needs and what he’s going through and can’t confront him more than I did last Friday. So for now, I’m holding all in.

Follow up

I am curious as to how you made out?

Me too

I too am still struggling after 5 months finding out about the affair. It's hard to move on when you live in the same small town as his mistress.

4 weeks in- totally lost

I’d like to know the outcome of Your experience. I can relate: I am up and down in and out. I KNOW I am not functioning properly. Everything hurts. He wants to stay said he did it “a couple times 6 years ago”. He also did this in the beginning of our relationship. Thinking this is it. It took me a lot to get over the first time

It still hurts

I'm 1 year and 2 months into the pain of betrayal. We're working it out and staying together, but there are still days when it will hit me and it hurts like the day I found out. I'm looking forward to the day that I can think on it without feeling so much hurt. I've had good days and I learn to enjoy them, but the bad ones sneak up too.

Hey. How’re you feeling these

Hey. How’re you feeling these days? :)

grieving comment

as always, this article did not disappoint! i'm 18 months into discovery, restoration & transformation of a 25 year marriage. There are still days when i unexpectedly get hit head on with thoughts, reminders or 'sadness,' and thus far, haven't been patient with myself. I guess i have felt that the sooner i "get over this," the better I will be.
I have grieved the loss of my eldest son, he went to Heaven 12 years ago at the age of 22. This grief feels much different & the wound is jagged, ugly & disgusting to me - whereas, grieving for my son was a more natural process which people around me understood (as best they could).
I love the part where you said that the "betrayed can be viewed judgmentally!" this absolutely happened to me! Of the few women i told, i included the women in my church life group & a few of them came at me with criticism of how i was handling the situation! I was shocked at their behavior, since i was the one betrayed & needed support & love. Those relationships will never be the same.
Thank you for your ministry. These articles have given me so much hope, support & education on a subject i never ever ever thought I'd be dealing with.
I am going to be more patient with myself. My Lord has been so loving, gentle & gracious with me - we (my husband and i) have sought our Lord ravenously & I credit where we are now all to HIM! He showed me he wanted me to forgive & walk this path of restoration & our marriage is now better than it ever was - but it has taken much effort & hard work - but all worth it!
Thank you! another great article to glean from.
ps/ i am shocked at how women keep this sin such a secret! No one wants to talk about it. At times i have thought about starting a recovery group for betrayed women.

I can relate to you Janice. I

I can relate to you Janice. I am 2 yrs from and a 24 yr marriage. We are happy to be together and happy that God showed us the way.
Yet, I have not many who know what I have been through, I have suffered through it alone, recovered on my own and still feel that I may have things I have not worked through, all because it is a grief that I carry by myself. A group would be wonderful. We have not been able to afford much councelling or the programs through this site.
Praise God you have had the Lord through this.
Blessing,

Infidelity

Please, someone talk to me

Recovery from a betrayal

Why are we so silent …
I’m grieving
-what I lost in a marriage
- what I didn’t do to sort it out
- because he denied it for 11 years
- because he admitted it to my cousin
- b cause he still never admitted it to me
- because a year ago he passed on

Grieving for my wife who passed last September.

My wife of 10 years passed 5 months ago, after her death I had some questions about a person on her , contact after death list. I never herd of him. This investigation turned my life upside down. She cheated on me the whole ten yrs. She was a great actress, I only had a few times I questioned why she did or said something. She had multiple guys she had affairs with all at the same time. I didn’t know., but when we first started dating I assumed we were monogamous, in reality she had 4 other people see slept with. Our relationship was seemingly normal, the other guys were just for sex, in the end it was still 2 of them and they were both married. One was her oncologist from 20 years ago .
I would love to have someone to talk with who has been through a similar situation. I’m to embarrassed to talk with my guy friend’s, they have no idea what I’m going through.

My wife passed, and I discover her affair with a pastor.

My wife only passed a week and a half ago, and by going thru her social media and other accounts this thing was really happening. Although she had all the signs, confronting her, it would always be spun back on me.

She was a pillar in the community here where we live and everyone held her on a pedestal. The largest number of people in the funeral home, and in the church. Even if I shared the truth, I'd be labeled as my trying to get back at her about something else, no one would believe it.

Now I'm faced with not only her death at 45 from sudden heart failure, I love this woman and want to protect her. I feel he will be dealt with, but dragging her and our family of 7 children and grandchildren is not something I desire for my family to experience.

I'm hurting and disenfranchised. The roller coaster ride has already begun. If she was alive right now I'd forgive her. I have said over her grave by myself I forgive you, but I'm not getting anywhere within me.

Praying absolutely helps, but the lingering pain is sharp and dull at the same time and I cannot tell where it is coming from. I keep crying out for mercy.

I went to the church where we were better together past Sunday. Knowing what I know regarding sin and hell, yet knowing about all it takes to be saved, I was torn. So I cried out to God asking begging pleading "God do you have her?"

The answer came. As I gazed up to the ceiling above I could see her dancing and praising God with her hands held high. Our daughter sitting beside me did not know nor hear my cry, and God answered. When we slept together, depending on how we faced one another or not we would always sleep with one hand up under the shoulder of the other. My daughter did not know this. As I learned back in the pew I was touched by my daughters hand under the back of shoulder. And I lost it. There's my proof. Her soul was thr most important question facing me.

The rest I have no clue. That so called preacher man is a player too. I see in their comments to one another how he played her too. So I will be praying. I ask for your prayers too.

Grace and Peace
DJR

Grief compounded

I'm glad to read this article, but have been hit with a double, triple whammy. Last year, I had two miscarriages, and during the second was when my husband started cheating on me with one of his coworkers. At first, when I didn't know about the infidelity, I wasn't grieving my babies because I figured we'd just try again. And then he said he didn't want to try again. And I didn't know why.
Now I know, and it's so hard to grieve not only him but also our little ones. I work in a retail store that sells books on pregnancy and parenting, and the women who come in just remind me doubly of my losses.
I wish I knew what to do.

One year after disclosure

It has been a little more than a year since my wife was caught and exposed by me and finally disclosed her emotional affair of two years with our church's youth pastor she was working with. Those first few months were a whirlwind of emotion -- crying, nightmares, couldn't listen to any songs because they all had a history, couldn't even think straight about the previous 20-plus years of our marriage, wondering if there was in hope for a new relationship because I no longer knew the woman who had disconnected with me for the previous 5 to 6 years during some turbulent circumstances in life that included two bouts of unemployment for me and bankruptcy.

Now a year later and she is still with me, she is doing individual counseling and we are both in marital counseling. It is still very painful and very hard at times. She is still disconnected to a large extent with walls up against me that she rarely lets down. I love her but struggle with her still not connecting with me since she is the one who betrayed me. No hugs, no kisses, no cuddling on the couch or in bed. It is a very hard relationship to process right now.

Still wonder, at times, if our marriage is ever truly going to be new and redeemed. If God will reconcile us together. I know I can only change myself and that only she can press into God herself for a change of heart and -- I pray -- one day will come to love, respect and cherish me. I am crushed in my heart by the betrayal and, even though she has shown improvement in certain trust areas I had with her during the affair, I still am very skeptical about giving her my heart and being that vulnerable again. She has proven she is untrustworthy with the love I have given her for 20-plus years and continues to stay disconnected in the two areas she knows speak love to me -- physical touch and positive affirmation (she never says anything positive or affirming to me -- has always been very critical and it has crushed my spirit throughout our marriage).

Thank you for any prayers!

You also need to have your

You also need to have your wife checked up by a clinical Psychologist, she may be suffering from a mental disorder such as Covet Narcissist. She may be suffering from a pain beginning from a childhood experience and being intimate is too much for her

Emotional affair

I never thought much about emotional affairs until my husband had one...we have been married 40 plus years and it rocked me to my core and still does...it makes me question years of trust that I put in him...I became aware of this about five months ago and my emotions are like a roller coaster... he doesn’t own what he did...actually he owns part of it but I feel like he is not being honest with me or himself about full disclosure... we are in counseling and are trying to work on things...as you know...such a difficult thing to go through...I continue to pray for our marriage as well as praying for others going through this heartbreaking experience.

Wondering

I'm 2 years out from discovery and what you have said here could have been written by me. In my case, my wife's physical affair on multiple occasions while she was on business trips only found out by me because of seeing a text on her phone. The part you said about her being disconnected, physical touch and positive words of affirmation, that's exactly my reality. She is disconnected, only seems to care about things that are about her, no sense or ability to be compassionate, encouraging or positive with me. I think the affair is just the ultimate act of selfishness showing how she can only think about herself. Can she ever truly change?

You wrote this 5 years ago, if you see this, can you let me know how you're doing?

Wondering(not approved)

I’m 2 weeks in & dying inside. How are you doing? I have an overwhelming urge for revenge. Do you? I feel like someone else is living inside my body & making it move. I’m a zombie. Will I ever be able to overcome this? I truly don’t know if I can…or if I want to. I’m sorry that you’re going through this, too. I’ll be happy to listen if you want to talk.

6 years since d-day, divorced, and still sad sometimes

I think that the sadness may dissipate, but it can come back anytime. It just comes back less and less often. I don’t think it ever truly goes away if you were married for a long time and were surprised by the cheating.

4 1/2 years since DDay

I can relate to these messages and grief is a long windy roller coaster that you wonder when it will stop and you can get off. It does slowly get better but the sadness does come and sometimes when you least expect it. I just honour those moments and cry for who I was then, the losses of family, my best friend, confident, trusted partner and lover. We did not get back together and he is still living with his last affair partner. What is most hurtful is to see them together but that is getter better as well. I have done the work but no one understands that feeling deep in your heart that is so hurtful and at times the question “why”. But I know too well from being here and reading and doing my work that it isn’t about me. Did I contribute, yes but I have apologized for that and forgiven him for the three affairs over 18 years of marriage. I need to heal me so I can move on with grace and dignity for what I honoured in our marriage and how much I loved and gave it my all.

In the middle if it now...

This is my story, only I was married for 29 years, in the process of divorcing now. He filed last August, but is now dragging it out. That certainly hasn't helped my grieving process...ready to move forward.

I am hoping to get to a point where I can smile, trust, and love again. I just want out now so I can start to live (recover) my life...again.

And, you are right, I can live my life with the dignity and integrity I have always had. He has to live with himself and the multiple affairs he has had.

Grief recovery

Are there more stages? I assumed there would be more information as to how to gauge emotional healing.

Where we are.

It has been almost two years since I discovered three years of emails, which depicted in great clarity, the day-to-day affair. My wife fell for a campus police officer in Kansas City and together they destroyed everything in his squad car and his office. He was even proposing marriage, should this ever be found out. Since our May D-Day, we have engaged several counselors. Unfortunately, I have reached this point where I must let go. My health has begun to diminish. It will fracture the lives of my beautiful children, and I will most likely be blamed for the decision. Eventually, a drowning man gets tired. Sink or swim, but no more treading water. Thanks for the post.

Smiling on the outside while being torn apart on the inside

20 years of marriage and I am a year and 8 months in and still feel like I am crazy on the inside. I have never in my life felt like this and I can't figure out how to make the lead weight I carry in my stomach go away and how to truly feel some happiness again. I'm actually starting to wonder if this isn't what breaks me. I was a super happy, laughing, rarely down person before this and now I'm mostly numb with bouts of rage and sadness with this smile on my face to hide it all.

I am you

You described me in your post. I am getting ready to leave. I feel as though feeling numb and detached is a blessing. I need to move on because his addictions have invaded my real husband. He is in denial. I guess you really dont know what things people are dealing with in their lives. Be kind

I am only 7 1/2 months in

I am only 7 1/2 months in after finding out that my husband had on ongoing 3 year affair with a woman less than half his age. I am experiencing the same feelings that you are. :(

Grieve

I am almost 7 years out from the discovery date. I decided to stay in the marriage and work things out. My biggest issue now is trust. I still do not trust him and I can't seem to get beyond the hurt. He never really "came clean" when the affairs (with multiple women, all who worked for him) over a three year period were discovered and for me it was like peeling an onion to get to the bottom of what had actually happened. He would say there wasn't any more.....and then there would be more. I actually had him take a lie detector test which he failed twice and because of an irate husband of one of his affair partners had to file a police report as the irate husband was threatening to rape me and my daughters. Very ugly stuff. Very scary stuff. I still think about it every day and cry in the shower (unbeknownst to him) almost every day. I am a two time cancer survivor as well. We moved and I now work in the office with him.....so I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't embarrass our family again. He swears he is now completely devoted to me, (and all indications are that that is true) but I can't get over the trust issue and the ongoing sadness. Yes, forgiven.....but also now I understand better the true character of the man I am married to. Been through Affair Recovery and it was VERY helpful, but still would love to know how to get over the trust and sadness issues.

hi KPD, have you read our trust document? it may help

here is the trust document we have that may help move you at the very least, a bit further down the road my friend. I hope it helps you:  https://www.affairrecovery.com/shocking-truth-about-trust

Betrayers Need to Learn to Apologize Correctly

My husband never apologized the way I needed him to. In counseling I would tell him this and the counselor would ask me to tell him what I needed. I said “there is no way I would ever do that.” My husband did try hard enough to figure it out. His famous words “Can’t we move forward?”
Now, after 3 years...I am moving forward..without him.
Betrayers, figure out what your spouse needs. She/He didnt deserve or ask for this pain.

Amen 100 percent

My wife's two-year emotional affair was exposed 3 1/2 years ago and I went through the same exact thing as you. In counseling, my wife would always say it took two of us to make this marriage fall apart. Sure, I admit I was going through some very hard times dealing with losing two jobs in a couple of years and needed her support, but I never ever wanted to escape with an affair as she did.
And just like you said about your husband when it came to counseling, she has never even come close to attempting to apologize correctly. Saying "I"m sorry" does not cut it. And now she says she has made restitution. Like HELL she has. She hasn't even come close to reconnecting as I just grieve what I thought was a pretty good marriage. The audacity to even say something like that just blew my mind.
I can totally relate to your line, "Betrayers, figure out what your spouse needs. We didn't deserve or ask for this pain." I've been too nice of a guy for our entire marriage and if things don't start turning around SOON, I will be joining you, Troe, in moving forward without her.

3 years out

I'm three years out and divorced 8 months. This seems to be a long long haul. I have grieved and grieved and while the pain is not as disorienting now, I find that I am depressed and exhausted as if I have been on a tread mill for years. This divorce and single parenting, and financial ruin as a result of divorce due to infidelity still feels like a crushing weight. The losses to my emotional self are still heavy! The isolation I still experience is huge and of course people think that by this point, I should be moved on. How? It's crazy how lingering the losses are. I'm sorry any of you are in this place and I am thankful to know your stories and pain. One day at a time.....

Anger/hurt

The hurt is unbearable. That ache in your heart when someone you love has passed. But it isn't going away. I've been married for 32 years. It came out 5 months ago that 27 years ago my husband had a short affair with my sister. I thought I knew in my heart that something had happened but it was always denied. Then it came to light and couldn't be denied any longer. They both came to know the Lord and continued to live the lie after the cross. I can't even go to my church any longer because they both sat there every Sunday and served for so long. Even other family members knew about this. The deception by so many family members and others is unbearable. I have no trust for anyone. So many memories have been ruined. We want to make this marriage work but I honestly have lost all respect for him and at my age just want my life to be over.

Grieving

It's been seventeen months since I discovered my husband's infidelity. We had been married 36 years and after months of probing and some publicity in a local paper on the part of one of his affair partners I discovered that he had been having an affair with her for nine years and also had had shorter affairs with two others. She was a major commitment having claimed that three of her children were his. Testing has proven that one of them isn't his. He bought her a house and handed over large sums of money when she made demands, which she did frequently. My first reaction was numbing shock because he was the last person I'd ever have thought would have had an affair at all, let alone one of such magnitude. The numbness helped me survive because at moments I wasn't sure that I could contain the pain and wanted to end my life. Slipping into numbness and a very good therapist helped me overcome this phase. You describe the various feelings of grieving perfectly. They overlap and at times I have found that I move between feelings of pain, sadness, numbness, hopelessness and sadness again for the loss of the marriage I believed in and the man I loved. I don't know how long it will take for these feelings to subside completely and wonder if they ever will. I've read that the shortest recovery time is two years agree but I imagine that the sadness will never go away completely. I feel I am grieving for the death of my innocent belief in love. It's as if I woke up from a dream and fell into a nightmare that was in fact my reality and that the man I thought I knew deeply was a stranger. We're still together because he was desperate not to lose me and has been doing everything I ask of him to help with recovery but I don't think that I'll ever recover fully. I feel that I am no longer the person I was, the undercurrent of sadness is always there and the scar tissue won't go away. I'm no longer trusting and feel the need to protect myself from any further hurt. It's as if he destroyed everything we built together and I'm still sitting amidst the ruins. I realise that we don't love in the same way, that everything I considered to be sacred he trampled on and desecrated. However, the most important thing I have learned is to acknowledge my sadness, to let it be and to recognise that it is a function of having loved deeply and truly. It's essential to take care of oneself and to give oneself the love and support one would give to a close friend. Thank you for sharing your stories, it's a relief to know that one's not alone.

Recovery is hard

My husband of 35 years had a 3 year affair with a coworker younger than our children. He was the last man who would have an affair. We are working it out. He has been amazingly supportive and other than trickle truth initialy, he has taken full responsibility for his actions. I have not been angry, but continually sad, occasions of sad flooding and I just can’t stop the triggers and visions. I thought I had the perfect marriage. I feel like he stole it from me. He has discovered a lot about himself through the process. He wants our life to be perfect. It can’t be. Nothing can be the same. I just want this tremendous pain to stop.

Saving marriage

Hello
This site has been helpful. I wish I could afford the price for classes. It’s been a year since I found out about my wife’s affair of almost 9 months. She was planning on leaving me. We are trying to rebuild. I have never felt so much pain in my life. Is there any websites or message boards that people can communicate there feelings for
People that have been through this. With my career it’s tough to go public in my area to a meeting so looking for some other form of relief I have so much I would love to get off my chest but don’t want to overload this spot.
Thanks

Can I get to a point where I can be free of pain...

My husband left me for another woman (after having had an emotional affair for several months) the night I got home from hospital with our 4th child. He fell apart and I felt like I was too but needed to stay strong to care for our 4 small children, so I moved 5 hrs away to be near my family. He went way off the rails becoming addicted to many things. He has talked about and also tried to make the break many times, once whole heartedly and failed. I'm at the point I need to get off the merry go round of his life and heal my own heart. He would like to happily stay connected to 2 women. My heart deserves better. He has moved up here to be near the kids and I. My concern is that he will bring his new partner to this town. My kids don't know about her and I've prayed they never would. Is there a point that I can heal to that having her around won't make me feel like I can't cope at all emotionally? Could I become so healed as an individual that I could be almost unaffected by his choices? I know God will restore our marriage, but I have to be ok with the fact that it may be years away from that?

I appreciate this webpage - it was a much-needed read

I am four months out from learning about my partner's betrayal (affair). Three months ago, I made him move out after he continued lying and seeing the other woman. Had said he loved me and wanted to rebuild my trust, but kept up the disgusting, unethical behavior. This webpage validated the way I feel completely. I really like the task-oriented approach to grieving. I had the "luxury" of taking two months this summer to grieve without the pressure of work. It was rough, and so good for me at the same time. A few weeks ago, I started to feel really, really good. I had many days that I felt strong, confident, more like myself. Then, a strong wave of depression grief hit me like a tidal wave for about six days. Then, I had more good days. Then, another strong wave came two days ago that felt like the panic I experienced when I first found out about the affair-anxiety with chest pain, didn't sleep well, loss of appetite, some rage. I have a VERY strong support group of women and men. I feel for those of you who have not found the same support because you deserve support in this process. I lean on my friends who are in town and those who are far away that I can call. I also have a therapist who has been very helpful in this process. I strongly recommend opening up to people who you might not normally open up to. For example, one of my co-workers saw me after the summer and asked how I was. I couldn't help but tear up and explained the basics of what happened and he has been a great support since. One of my neighbors who is about 20 years older than me has become an important person that I can lean on. She shared with me how her first husband betrayed her with an affair. The people who have been through this are often those who can understand your pain. I wish you all the best in your journeys to recovery. And, I thank the authors of this webpage for recognizing and explaining how significant this kind of grief is.

Unsure

I was in a relationship with a man I was completely committed to for two and a half years before I found out he had an affair that lasted over a year. It took 6 months to come out with the truth even though he kept telling me I knew everything. I kept analyzing and asking questions and every time I did, I would confront him because something else just didnt make sense. I have seen remorse and he has made some good strides with actions and finding different coping skills but I don't now that I can never fully trust him again. We went to a counselor together a few times but it seems the counselor encouraged him to continue the lies. He considered it damage control. It is unbelievable to me that a therapist would advise such a thing. He seems impatient with me and I have tried to explain that every time I find a new truth we are back to square one. We have found somebody new and I know the foundation of a relationship is both commitment and trust. It is nice to read that some people have made it and that what I am going through is normal.

Shock

I was in mines for 3.5 years. Very fresh and not as seasoned as others... Long story short, 8 months after our break out- I find out he’s engaged lol. The proposal was on Valentine’s Day , making it actually 5 months. I feel disposed and lost. I was not planning on finding this out during my healing . Turns out he had been seeing her the last year we were together . Wow

Eye Opening Read

This article is saying everything I am feeling and going through. It's actually hard for me read this straight thru because of how closely this is my truth right now. Only a few hours I thought, I have to view this as a death and stumbled upon this article. Thank you thank you thank you to the writers of this article.

My husband of eighteen years

My husband of eighteen years told me of his 6 mth affair with our friend in front of our two children. Last week. I can’t breathe eat or sleep. I’m trying to be strong for my kids but I feel like the world has shattered into a million pieces.

COVID, loss Spouse & found out he was in an affair

My husband and I spent the 2020 holidays in the hospital with the worse strain of COVID-19. My husband of 47 years of marriage passed away at the beginning of January, I got out of the hospital a week later on oxygen and buried him. A week later I found something suspicious on his computer about my best friend. When I asked her she told me that she and my husband were having an affair for the last 4 years.

So now I am not only grieving the loss of what thought was a life long loving husband but how he and my best friend snuck around for 4 year’s and how I missed it. I can hardly move around recovering from COVID and with the pandemic, socializing is nonexistent, so I have more bad days than I have good. I am in counseling but I would to hear from others for methods to cope and move on.

Grief and truth

I found out my late military husband lied and cheated about first wife. So it HELPED me to move forward and count my lucky stars he was not a part of my life anymore! Sounds mean but really, I faced the reality I never really had him as a true husband in the first place so why make myself miserable any longer? I moved on. I mourned while I thought he was a good man. I do not forgive repeated wrongs. It feels very good to move on!

Pages

What type of affair was it?

Our free Affair Analyzer provides you with insights about your unique situation and gives you a personalized plan of action.
Take the Affair Analyzer

Free Surviving Infidelity Bootcamp

Our experts designed this step-by-step guide to help you survive infidelity. Be intentional with your healing with this free 7-day bootcamp.
head-silhouette
 
I would highly recommend giving this a try.
 
-D, Texas