Sorry for the long story, this is me trying to condense it.
My wife[33F] and I [33M] have been together for over nine years and just recently married a little over two years ago. We recently went through a miscarriage. It was devastating for us both. This would have been our first child. We both didn't know how to handle the situation. She was broken, and was constantly crying due to the loss, and as a man, I did what I could to be by her side and comfort her. Whatever I could do to make her feel better and not cry made me believe she was getting better. I didn't know she just began suffering in silence instead.
Around five months after the miscarriage, we tried to move on with our lives. We work opposite schedules so we rarely see each other aside from the occasional weekend that she has off. In the past I always encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and join groups and hang out with friends or coworkers. I've always supported her through schooling and social life. I trusted her and had no reason to believe otherwise.
Every once in a while her and her coworkers would go out to bars and restaurants, and she'd ask and I'd always encourage her to go. Since they all work the late shifts, it would always be too late for me to join. She'd be open with me about who was there and show me pictures of the group, etc. She wouldn't get back until 2-3AM, which is late, but pretty normal given the time they get off work. Things started to get suspicious when I noticed that she wasn't where she said she'd be one of those nights (thanks to Find My Friends). I questioned her on it and she said she was at her coworker's place to drop him off and use the restroom. Subsequent days she was acting differently and we ended up arguing about something I don't even remember about what (we never argued in our relationship over things). She said we don’t communicate and that I didn’t give her what she needed during the miscarriage. She said she felt alone and I wasn’t there. She also mentioned that she feels our relationship has always been this way and that she knew what she was getting into when she married me, thinking that this was me, and she compromised and accepted it. I never knew any of this. Long story short she said she wanted to be alone and single. I asked her to give me a chance to show her that I could change. I was told that I had 10 years, how much more time would does she need to give me?
This of course hit me like a freight train as this has never come up before. I asked her if there was someone else and she denied, but the next night she finally told me that there was, that she was attracted to someone else. I asked her what made this person, so attractive, and she mentioned that he communicates very well. I asked her if she cheated on me, and she said no, they just hugged and talked a lot (This I truly believe she’s being truthful).
As the months came and went, I became progressively frantic. I went through all the stages that I see all of you went through: Blaming myself, grief, anger, etc. As soon as I found out that I wasn’t as communicative (which is true, I was never a huge open book), I flipped a switch and became “too communicative” and she said it was too much for her and that I was trying to cram 10 years of stuff all at once at her. I felt like my world was shattering, I did whatever I could to save our M. I contacted the other person to tell him that I knew what was going on and that they need to keep their talks to strictly professional communication at work, without threatening him in any way. He told her and she was furious that I did that, I never saw her so angry in our 10 years together, she said she didn’t know how we’d get through that. At that time I didn’t read any M counseling books, to know that this behavior was only pushing her further away. I was begging, changing everything I did to cater to her, to only find out I was smothering her. She wanted space more and more. I pushed for counseling and she refused. She ended up doing her own individual counseling later down the line without telling me.
She never felt like she could open up to me and talk to me for whatever reason. I always was the one bearing my soul to her while she sat there in silence. The lack of communication began to get to me and I needed some sort of answers, I began to look through her phone to find she’s been talking to the other person. The talks were never sexual in nature, but just very understanding, etc. It got to the point where she’d question our marriage and she was dreaming of a future with this person. The OP (who’s single) would tell her he’d wait for her (while dating other people). This only made it more illicit and attractive to her. It got to a point where I called the OP again to try to talk and tell him to stop messing with our marriage, and that he only sees the good half and doesn’t see what he’s doing to her behind the scenes. He was too scared to talk to me and said he didn’t want any part of this. I believe after that he tried to end it with her, which put a lot of doubt into her mind about him. This game would continue for some time where she’d try to end things with him and end up talking to him anyway. She still says she’s never physically cheated, which I believe, as that is one moral ground she still has, but the EA is taking its toll on us.
As the months wore on, I would catch her on small lies here and there, disregarding them trying to look at the big picture, while giving her the space she needs in hopes that she’ll come back to me. She’s only been drifting further and further away. Doing so made me more frantic and she caught me on her phone, so she cut me off her access (which I understand). All of this behavior for me is very uncharacteristic and she tells me she doesn’t know who I am anymore…and honestly I don’t either. She’s been getting hyper paranoid at any little thing that I do because she feels like she’s being watched (which I have been).
She no longer tells me she loves me, she doesn’t even kiss me anymore and only get hugs. Intimacy is once a month at best. Just as when I thought we were getting better slowly she calls me to tell me she’s leaving me and she’s done because she found a hidden camera that I didn’t tell her about. I didn’t tell her about it because I knew she’d react this way, but really the camera wasn’t in a private area, it was on a pet tree so I could monitor the pets to see what they do during the day. Anyway, I don’t know if she’s going to come back from this. Because this has been so long and drawn out, my emotions are fatigued. A big part of me still wants this marriage to work, but another part of me has been coming to terms with the loss and wants to put her out of her misery.
I’ve done so much for this M, I’ve supported us from the ground up. I feel used, disrespected and unappreciated for everything I’ve done. I never gave her any reason to feel insecure, and made her life too easy. Does this M look like a waste of my time or is there any hope?
Update: 02/28/20
This hell of a limbo lasted up until earlier this week.
She moved out and the moment she moved out the EA turned into a PA multiple times. (confirmed by data)
This is definitely depressing and I am very sad for the "loss" of my former wife...not the wife she is now.
That was my final straw. I'm filing for a D. Good riddance.
Update: 03/30/20
We signed our final papers this weekend. She now begins to feel everything and hopes for a future. Things are just so badly broken that she doesn't have the courage or strength to face it. It took a D for her to see things the way they are unfortunately. I am not going back. For the first time in a long time...I feel free.
Update: 05/11/2020
I figured it's been a little time since I've last posted and I figured I'd update.
The divorce was finalized in record time even in this pandemic. I had a harder time selling a used car.
The Ex-wife has been reminiscing about our past and trying to see how I am and wishing for the end to be the start of a new beginning with us. I didn't really respond to any of this and had some passive aggressive responses which finally stopped her from contacting me for the most part. She has since sent photos of our milestones to try to keep me in her memory or something. I don't know what her point is.
From what I understand, she's still with the OM. I'm not over what happened, but I'm much better now.
Besides the support of family and friends, the best thing that helped me get through this was meeting someone else. Nothing serious (yet). It reminded me that there can be something good after all of this mess.
[This message edited by Anotheron3 at 4:43 PM, May 11th (Monday)]