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tigrislilium (original poster member #39893) posted at 5:24 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
Wayward Spouses,
You are granted a deal by a shady figure:
GOOD NEWS!
The horrible suffering your infidelity caused CAN be completely wiped out for both you and your BS - it would be as though they never found out the truth. All the teary-eyed questions would stop, all the blame and anger and "WHYs?!?" would cease immediately...
---IF---
You were willing to knowingly allow your BS to be exactly as unfaithful to you as you were to them, AND you could never speak a word of it to them or anyone else. You could not berate, shame, or vilify them in any way. Your BS would carry on just as you did - believing they were getting away with it -and you'd have to watch it all unfold and never say a word about it.
PROS: you are spared for the rest of your life the pain of watching your BS grapple with your infidelity, and you never again have to sit in the "hot seat" getting grilled for answers you'd rather not give. Your BS is blissfully unaware of your infidelity forever.
CONS: you must watch THEM be unfaithful, but you cannot EVER confront them about it because
1) that's part of the deal;
2) it's only happening this way because you made the deal with the shady figure - your BS would most likely never have cheated if your own infidelity hadn't called the shady figure to make this deal;
3) you did the EXACT same thing and it would be hypocritical of you to utter one word of recrimination at or against them.
Could you accept those terms? Why or why not?
BSs, what do you think your WSs would choose?
Me: BS, early 40s/ Him: WS, mid 40s
Married 2004, DD9
DDay#1(Dec 2011): 3 LTAs over at least 5 years
DDay#2 (Oct 2015): cheated while separated, plus more LTAs came out from before DDay#1. Body (booty?) count currently at 8.
MovingUpward ( member #14866) posted at 5:31 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
I don't think my WS would go for it, but at the same time I know that it wouldn't have helped me heal to have been given the opportunity that you proposed.
There are no known ways that I could have avoided the suffering of my XW's infidelity.
TxsT ( member #39996) posted at 5:33 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
Oh my goodness....I think I might print this one out. What a great way of stating the OBVIOUS!!!! I have asked my husband what he would have done if the shoe were on the other foot. He has told me he can't even begin to understand or consider what he would feel like.
Well said...
T
[This message edited by TxsT at 11:34 AM, August 19th (Monday)]
Me: BS 50
Hubby: WH 53
Together: 32 years
Married: 25 years 09/10/2013
2 boys: 23&21
Dday: 09/11/2012
A length: 4+ years (yes years)
status: Ongoing Reconciliation :o)
Through thick and thin we will survive but he gets only one shot at it!
uncertainone ( member #28108) posted at 5:39 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
You just described my affair. Word for fucking word. I gave him the exact same choices I was exercising and hid nothing.
Missing from your post is the very real recognition that "your" choices have NOTHING to do with "theirs" and can create pain for you that's incomparable.
After all, their choices are just that. Theirs. Nothing you picked. Nothing you have to own. Now when you slog through your shit you find it reeks just as bad and you can't throw it chimp style on someone else. Although as a completely unrelated fun fact researchers have found that chimps that throw their shit are more intelligent. Guess all the mental gymnastics involved in that process builds.
Me: 37
'til the roof comes off. 'til the lights go out. 'til my legs give out, can't shut my mouth
RyeBread ( member #37437) posted at 6:07 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
I would feel much better about a WS who choose the longer/harder but more permanant path to reconciliation, ie...owning their shit. It shows a more empathetic and respectful WS. The easy way out game you are describing is the mentality that got the marriage in the predicament it was in to begin with.
Let him that would move the world first move himself. - Socrates
Crushed1 ( member #6449) posted at 6:17 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
My H couldn't accept the deal, see, he was 'entitled' to commit adultery and if I had allowed another man to touch me, he'd have walked, at least that's what he says. Who knows? I told him from the start that adultery was a dealbreaker for me but I stayed and tried to R.
~~"You can't run away from yourself"!!! Me to my H when he descended into adultery insanity.
~~Prov.15:13 "By sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken"
~~"The day breaks-your mind aches"
~STRENGTH~PEACE~HOPE~FAITH
Silentthoughts ( member #40289) posted at 6:31 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
I'm ashamed to say I told by bh to go have an affair, but i didnt want any details about it. This was back around 1 mo post dday. He did not take me up on it. At the time i just wanted his pain to go away. And it was just fu*king hard facing what I did to him.. I figured I could compartmentalise my pain like I always did, and I am so conflict avoidant that I thought everything would go back the way it was and we'd stop fighting. I'm glad he didn't now, not because of me but because it would have compromised who he was as a person.
WW - early 50s (me)
BH - late 40s
3 grown children
Married 25 years
Online cyber sex dec 2010. I got caught late dec 2010. Lying and TT until full disclosure jan 2011.
In R we both are committed to staying in this M.
tigrislilium (original poster member #39893) posted at 6:35 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
Hey! Thanks all who are posting!
RyeBread, you have misunderstood me, I think.
The question to the BSs was not "What would YOU prefer your WS choose in this scenario?"
but rather
"What do you think your WS would CHOOSE to do in the scenario?"
Me: BS, early 40s/ Him: WS, mid 40s
Married 2004, DD9
DDay#1(Dec 2011): 3 LTAs over at least 5 years
DDay#2 (Oct 2015): cheated while separated, plus more LTAs came out from before DDay#1. Body (booty?) count currently at 8.
mrcpu ( member #38157) posted at 6:46 PM on Monday, August 19th, 2013
The question to the BSs was not "What would YOU prefer your WS choose in this scenario?"
but rather
"What do you think your WS would CHOOSE to do in the scenario?"
My WS gave me a "free-pass" early on after d-day. I was intregued by the idea at first, I admit, I mean why should she have had all the "fun" right?
Anyway, the brain on the top of my spine kicked in and told the brain in my little head where to go. I put the free-pass on the shelf and since then my WW has told me that she is glad I didn't use it.
I don't think a RA is the answer to anything and I am pretty sure my WS feels the same.
Now if I could just go back to 14 months ago and spend more time on my marriage and ensure that my "bestfriend" was out of the picture before any of this started, I'd take THAT deal any day!!!
(Ok, hold on... for those on here who have been here for a while, I'm not BLAMING myself... but I'm sure I could have made positive changes in the landscape of our marriage that might have lead to my wife making a different set of decisions. Or not.)
D-Day 1: 22 Dec 2012 - Confirmed WW was having an affair with my xBFF
D-Day 2: 22 July 2014 - Caught WW working on a hookup online with local real estate agent.
D-Day 3: 18 Dec 2014 - Caught WW Breaking NC with my xBFF for past 2 months via text.
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