Feeling lost and traumatized: Bizarre affair, a "hypnotized" spouse, and trying to survive the aftermath (Seeking advice)

Hi. I am so happy I found this community.
​I am reaching out because I am completely drowning and desperately need to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar. This happened over a year ago, but the trauma and confusion are still so heavy.

​I was at home taking care of our little kids and working from home at the same time when my husband's betrayal hit me as the absolute breaking point. It started one night when he was out with colleagues. She approached him while he was ordering a drink, and his colleagues left while he stayed at the bar. She grabbed his phone and added herself—and that is how it all started.

​Shortly after, there was a day when he disappeared for hours and came home in a very bad state—even his clothes were inside out—yet bank statements later proved he had only consumed two beers. That bizarre, extreme reaction still doesn't make sense.

​From there, while we had been married for over 20 years, he started going out to see her during work hours, working from her place once or twice a week. Then he would come home, sit at the table, and eat the dinner I had prepared. I remember telling him that I couldn't believe he wasn't interacting with me, his wife, and that he must have someone else—that he was completely different from the day he disappeared—but he flat-out denied it every time. He was acting like a total robot, completely detached and not like himself.

​To give you an idea of how mind-boggling this is, I take care of myself, have a good body, and am considered attractive—making the contrast even more painful. Meanwhile, she and her grown-up daughters were and are on benefits, and she was old, scruffy, with rotten teeth (which, according to him, he avoided kissing with an open mouth) and an ordinary look. It still makes zero sense how he traded me and even wanted to leave us for a woman like that. He later claimed he never actually intended to move in with her and just "didn't know how to end it." I believe he loved the ego boost and attention at first, but things got wildly out of hand when she became demanding—even asking him to act out things like Fifty Shades of Grey, even though he didn't even find her attractive.

​What destroys me the most is the effort he gave her. He would willingly endure a grueling bus ride of over two hours just to be with her, and he obeyed literally everything she asked. Yet he would never put that kind of effort into our marriage.

​He had been keeping me "abroad" in his lies to justify his time with her (like claiming he had to take care of the kids), but eventually, he couldn't keep up the act anymore. When he finally told her I was coming back, she freaked out and demanded he move out because she didn't want him in the same house as me. (He had been telling her we were getting a divorce, which she didn't seem to care about). He tried to stall her, telling her he needed time and would move once the divorce was finalized, and secretly applied for divorce behind my back so he wouldn't look like the bad guy. But I found out about the cheating, and then discovered the secret divorce filing just one week later.

​When his fantasy collapsed, he suddenly decided we didn't need a divorce and claimed he ended it with her—though on the very day I discovered the truth, he actually ran to see her because she demanded it when she found out I knew. I truly believe he was terrified of her.

​In the end, he wanted to stay for our family, our kids, and me, but he has never shown true remorse or made an effort to make it up to me. We tried two therapists: the first saw no interest or regrets from him, and I ended the second because he still showed no effort. Yet, he insists on staying with us, telling me that it's been a long time, that I need to "get over it," and that if I keep complaining maybe we shouldn't be together. It makes me sick to hear.

​I know that if I just stop bringing it up and act like nothing happened, things would be "fine" on the surface, but it is so hard when I carry all this pain.

​We genuinely suspect he was chemically or psychologically manipulated. Those two beers made him act like he'd had ten, he needed ED tablets to perform (even though we never had intimacy issues), and he acted so strange. After it ended, he slowly went back to himself, but I don't know what to think. I struggle so much with my anger and trauma—could this be PTSD?

​Also, one of our therapists, myself, and even my husband himself once mentioned the possibility that he might be autistic. While I am no professional to diagnose him, I have noticed patterns over the years, and looking back, it makes me wonder if neurodivergence played a role in how easily he was vulnerable and trapped.

​Weeks after I found out, he told me: "Thank you for getting me out of this, I didn't even know why I got involved with that person." It seems she just used manipulation to trap him for a good life. Now, he keeps telling me that a long time has passed and that I should just get over it. Because of this, he is cold, distant—worse than he was during the affair. And before the affair, he was never a person who showed much communication, affection, or thoughtfulness, but I had learned to accept how he was without demanding it from him.

​I don't know what to do anymore. Has anyone else dealt with a spouse acting completely hypnotized, facing this kind of bizarre affair, or trying to heal when the straying partner refuses to put in the work? How do I survive this and find a way forward?
Thank you in advance for any support or advice.

(Sorry for the long post)

0 comment posted: Sunday, August 23rd, 2026