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My FWW hurts inside with guilt and remorse about the other couple. She feels VERY responsible, but what to do at this point?

Does she walk away and never look back?

Or does she call up OM's wife and apologize?

Does anyone have any stories about something like this? Suggestions?

Does she walk away and never look back?

This.

IMO, closure is bullshit. Closure means ending the A and keeping NC.

The wife won't care what your wife has to say and any contact with OM is breaking NC.

Right now your WW needs to be focusing on fixing herself and helping to give you what you need to heal.

So totally agree with AN.

The best thing your wife can do is to move past the affair, remain no contact, heal herself, and never trespass again.

The OW could call me with the best apology every given, and I'd tell her to eff off.

She needs to leave the BW alone. Her wanting closure,after NC has been well established,is a bit selfish.

The BW is trying to move forward. The last thing she will want is for her WH's OW to reinsert herself into her life,regardless of your BW's reason.

She waged war on another woman's family. The best thing she can do is stay away..far away.

DDAY - 6/6/12 (found the texts)

DDAY2 - 6/7/12 (found out who) EA

With one-year anti-versary around the corner, she doesn't need to tear the scab off the wound.

Does she walk away and never look back?

Yes!

I will admit early on I did worry about closure - OM's wife found out and OM sent my WW a NC. But that was when I was in the BS fog. I am no longer! Closure is overrate. Thousands have lost loved ones and never had the chance for closure, yet they found a way to heal.

If she really wants to help the other couple - she will do that by never contacting them again - EVER! Her wanted to contact them is to help HER feel better. As others have stated she can help herself out by fixing what was/is wrong in her.

I was double betrayed. OM was a friend to me. However he should never try and reach out to me to apologize. Any effort will result in me "reaching out" to him! Seriously if he does not turn and walk away should we met I will convey my displeasure to him, over what he has done. And I am sure OM's wife feels exactly as I do toward WW

Also any effort from WW to reach out and apologize to OM or OM's BW, will be a break of NC and result in me leaving.

Does she walk away and never look back?

Another vote for this.

As a BW, I don't ever want to hear how torn up with guilt the OW is. If she feels even the least amount of remorse, then prove it by staying out of my life forever.

I do *not* want to hear from any of they AP's. This far out, I wouldn't believe any apology other than altruistic, be it to assuage their own guilt or to worm their way back into my FWH's life.

This is part of dealing with the consequences of their actions. Guilt sucks. Should have considered that beforehand.

If I got an apology from WH's AP, I would be furious. My "closure" is my business and I don't need her participation, her closure is not something I intend to help her with.

Your FWW might "owe" the BS an apology. But more than that, she owes him the right to live his life without her anywhere near it.

It sounds like she wants to send a request for forgiveness, which is neither an apology nor amends.

IIRC, one of the 12-step principles is to make amends, but not if it's likely to hurt the other person.

Your W wants closure for her own purposes. That's probably wayward thinking. Healing, for your W, includes acknowledging what she's done and dealing with it appropriately.

In this case, 'appropriate' means NC.

NC isn't punishment, although it may seem that way. It's part of owning her own shit. She can and almost must do it, as difficult as it seems.

I have to be the one to disagree with the majority. I would advise against calling, but if your WW is willing to write a heartfelt, honest apology in which she takes full responsibility for her actions, acknowleges the pain she caused and does this because she feels remorse, it might be okay. She should not expect anything in return, nor should she expect to be forgiven. If OW had written me such an apology, I might have actually forgiven her instead of hating her with the fury from hell.

If she calls her up to apologize, she'd better be prepared to go the whole 9 yards. Full, HONEST disclosure of every question that BS asks.

If she isn't up to the task...walk away.

The BS doesn't want an apology, they want truth.

I really don't get this.

If my H wanted to call to apologize to anyone I would feel like he wasn't ready to let go of the affair drama, like he still wanted to matter.

Let it go. Let the other BS heal. I would never want to hear from anyone my H had been with.

I guess I am the minority on this, but if AP sent me an email analogizing to me, I would like it. I would like to know that she is hurting, and working on herself. I would like to know that she is taking responsibility for her horrible choices. But, every couple is different, and you need to do what is best for you two.

I am with the minority here.

In my sitch I feel that I am going through all this pain and trauma and OW walked away, happy-as-larry and has never suffered a moment's guilt/pain/shame/remorse after the war she waged on my family. So if she would take the trouble to write me a letter expressing her remorse and apologising for the pain she has caused me I would really appreciate that. OTOH, I would HATE it if she phoned me or arrived on my doorstep - a heartfelt letter would be what I would want from her.

His last OW sent me an emailing apologising for 'hurting me.' She also wanted 'closure.' I told her, in no uncertain terms, what I thought of her. I could give a shit about her feelings. She never considered mine! She wanted to go off into the sunset with my WH and was 'deeply, deeply hurt' that he chose me over her...

The other one (twelve years), when I told her BS that she was STILL in contact with my WH, even though she had promised him [her BS] that it was 'over', was absolutely furious with ME and wrote my WH that she was blocking his 'fucking insane bitch of a wife' from anything to do with HER family! Talk about delusional.

Whatever you do, tell your WW to stay away. BS's don't need 'closure'. Waywards are pretty guilt free when they are having their affairs. Only when they are found out do they someone feel 'remorse.'

Her main reason is to try and right some part of the wrong she's done. It's not so much to bring closure to herself.

I think we'll go with the majority here just because it seems like the more popular thought and most probably OM'sBS thought as well. Perhaps.

She can not right this to his wife. There is NO righting this. Her only obligation is to right it with you and her children. There is nothing she can say,no remorse so deep,that she can right this with his wife.

ETA : I just realized your first dday is a few weeks away. If it is the same day his wife found out about the affair,then his BW is probably already dreading her first dday antiversary. All the more reason to leave her alone.

[This message edited by confused615 at 8:25 AM, May 29th (Wednesday)]

confused615 - actually her DDAY is in Sept.

Sad but true - she can't right this wrong.

The absolute best she can do is change herself so she doesn't wrong people (herself and others) in the future.