Thumos- 1. Yes, my attraction for her has waned after she gave herself to another man. Is the desire gone? No. But it’s not the same, and this doesn’t seem difficult to comprehend.
I’m sure betrayed wives experience this feeling of their spouses as “tainted” and less attractive. It seems particularly potent among betrayed husbands.
I most certainly understand and respect that you view your wife differently. What is particularly troubling to me though, is that at 3 years later, you still see her as “tainted”. I don’t really know why. I’m not trying to be a bitch in my replies to you by any means. I am truly trying to engage in a conversation that may perhaps give us both pause and a chance to evolve our thinking. The BS in me says yes... tainted at first... but then moreso, ok, he’s human. This blows but at 3 years out, I didn’t see him as tainted. Of course I’m female and a big advocate of women’s equality. The potency of betrayed men feeling as though their wives are now tainted really goes back to the assignment gender roles or the development of sterotypes. Also, do the same betrayed men view wayward men as tainted or are (some? All? A few?) of them that are so appalled by their wives indiscretions but giving high fives in the locker room to a wayward male... my point is, consider your source. Think for yourself. Be one person. One mind. One man’s mind. Not part of a group who’s negative thinking you approve bc you read a study a bunch of years ago that (if you remember correctly)supports your theory.
Thumos- “Yes. She’s still objectively beautiful but she now seems to race around in increasing circles chasing after Botox and the like to keep the plates spinning. I never cared about it before, I certainly took pride in having a beautiful wife but I wasn’t focused on it, and I was never critical or made her feel like she needed to do those things. Now I have a more cynical view. And as many other betrayed husbands will attest, this waning attraction and cynicism is an issue in light of the adultery. The specialness is gone, so the flaws stand out more. This seems like a natural response that wayward wives ought to anticipate before they indulge in adultery, but they always seem surprised. Before the affair - “my wife is beautiful and she is aging gracefully. I only enjoy her more as I see the evidence of wisdom in her beauty.” After the affair: “Hmmm. That’s a new line and is it just me or is her jawline a little softer than a few months ago?”
Thank you for explaining with the jaw line comments. That makes much more sense. I guess for me though, I started thinking those things the second the fairytale of happily ever after ended. Mostly bc that’s reality. It’s natural to realize your spouse is human. Not perfect. I bet she worked hard to paint the picture of the happy perfect wife. Clearly she did bc you thought she was. Something was missing within HER. She is sick. Do I think she deserves off the hook? Hell no. But some compassion? Yes. She does. We all do.
The only truths you KNOW is your own. Imagine if some of the greatest artists like van goh threw out each masterpiece because of a flaw that only he could see.
You say that you have never been critical of her. That you never cared about it before and that YOU took pride in her attractiveness. Did you tell her this? Did she know you thought she was beautiful? Did she know that you felt pride in her? Or did she feel invisible because She was unappreciated in her efforts of beauty, keeping a house, a home, children, laundry, cooking, cleaning... does she work outside the home? Did she ever come to you before and say she was unhappy, unfulfilled, unattractive, unappreciated, or did you think you were living happily ever after?
You want to know when I felt my marriage was tainted? The second I found out my H was $75,000 debt and never told me about it. We were married for 6 months. Then there was the time I was miscarrying in our bed alone while he was out in the living room masturbating to porn. Or the time we had friends over and he disappeared into the study for an hour a jerked off to photos of some internet stranger. There was that one time he got an STD check after 8 years of marriage, longggggg before I had an A, and he never told me about it but found out when I called and question the bill thinking they were talking about my son who bares his fathers name. Or the time after I suggested, arranged, attended, and participated in marriage counseling (and so did he came along enough to shut me up and BOOM back to old ways. AND then when I asked him after 10 years of marriage (PRE-AFFAIR) for a divorce was told, “we can’t afford that.” Now thumos, I could have sad, that sonabitch! He’s tainted men for me! They’re all the same, especially those PTSD Iraq vets. There’s just no chance for them. They’re lost souls who’s beauty will never return.
I mean instead, I lost all my morals, slept with our best friend, ruin decades worth of relationships, not to mention the children involved and explanations of why families that spent holidays together for so many years, no longer would. Hell, I even did me a stint at the psych ward. Not my finest nor proudest by any means. And boy was I tainted. Broken. Disgusted. Confused. Lost. You know who took care of me? You know the only person that did not put me through the ringer??? The only person in the world that I ever wanted to tell me how much he cared for me, our marriage, our family. He picked me up off the floor and not one time EVER considered me tainted because he finally saw me. My husband who is flawed SOME but filled with so many more gifts.
If now, at this point he still considered me tainted I would be sure it was time we part ways. I’ve done my work on my end to be transparent, safe, reflective. I can say all the things that I tried to do before it got to the point of the A. They weren’t good enough. They weren’t the right things. If they were, I would have never had the affair. I am as much responsible for the marriage pre A as he was. I chose my own actions. Things to be mad about. Things to hold onto with resentment. It’s no way to live and you bet your sweet bippy I am not going back to that. Maybe your W needs to really up her game. I don’t live your life so I’m not sure but you only control you and you have choice in how to proceed. The negative feelings aren’t healthy and it’s nitnal to have them of course given the situation but if they’re still eatingbyou up (which the way you write tells me they do) then in order to heal, you’ve got to stop looking at her and rather, at yourself. It’s her job to prove to be safe, eat crow, do the work but at some point you must move from the past and get back to the present
Thumos-“3. Are her looks fading to the point no one will want her? That’s quite doubtful. As someone pointed out above, he sees old women getting hit on by aging studs all the time. I’m a little skeptical of this, and I think he’s overstating the case, yet it’s certainly true that some randy man will always want some woman somewhere. But it is the case that women seem to experience a phenomenon of increased “invisibility” and don’t garner the easy attraction of orbiting suitors of their younger years. I remember reading about a social science study that suggested women after menopause who divorce actually see a precipitous decline in even romantic hugs they experience for the rest of their lives. I was surprised by this, but it was a legitimate empirical study if memory serves.
You can be skeptic of Your wife getting hit on some day by studs. Gently, she will. It isn’t hard to meet people and anyone can find a ‘soul mate’ regardless of one’s personal definition of such. Thumos, I am so sorry that you are still in so much pain. If my replies are only further triggering you, I will step away. It’s not my intention to make you feel worse. I know how much heart ache infidelity brings. Please do know though that if I (we Waywards) can help, I’m happy too.
One more thing, you know you have the right to leave. No one would begrudge you for this. But if you stay, might help to scaffold your thoughts so that they bring you peace within.
[This message edited by FoenixRising at 8:20 PM, August 24th (Saturday)]