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Surviving the aftermath of my abusive, co-dependent wife's affair

It is about about a month since she left to another city to be with the man she had both an emotional and physical affair. My soon-to-be ex wife cheated on me with her patient which was both unethical and illegal. We have been together for four years. We have been married for 2 years. We have no children. Sorry for the long and messy post. I have a lot to get off my chest. I am 25 and she is 24.

Background: we met each other at 21 when we both at community college. She just emigrated from Albania and I was recovering from depression. I was in a good place since I finally recovered. I like her. I like to talk to her and being around her. It took three months until we had a full relationship. Then it turned to marriage for the next three years. It was our first relationship. I saw it as a sign from God, since I always wanted to have someone to love. This was my only chance at being loved in life, I thought. I had a history of depression. We did many things that I cherish and love, but it was truly a rocky road for us.

Background of the affair: up until she was chatting with her new patient at a mental intuition she is working as a psych tech, he would pass her notes and they would talk. This continued for two weeks. He would make passes at her which she returned. He would tell her his problems and how the life they would have together. She was physically attracted to him. She made that clear to me. The patient was taller than me and a singer which she found irresistible. He was beloved by the entire place and hit on by many of the other female patients. He has had more problems that I did. He has a history of depression. He also had kid from a previous relationship and possibly another on the way with different woman. He had a history of drug abuse. He is a regular Casanova. She would tell me everything about him to me once she came home, sparing no detail no matter how uncomfortable it made me feel. I was dying inside. I cried so loud. I told her to stop. She wouldn't. Then one night she came home, we argued for the entire night. She reluctantly admitted to kissing him. I lost it. I became terribly depressed. I woke up crying and left the house for a week. I truly was suicidal. I had the intent and the reason. She wouldn't care. She would go to work. Often time, she said she was honest about her feelings for him and did nothing wrong. She would start planning her life with him in front of me. I couldn't imagine a life without her because I devoted everything to her. I came close to suicide. Thankfully, I checked myself in a crisis care program where I was constantly watched and got a few therapist to talk to for a week. She never once checked up on me. I didn't know who I am after losing her. I had no identity. I still don't have an identity. Once I got out of the program, she only asked to come by to get her stuff. She never once checked in on me. She never cared about me. She then disappeared for a month to work things out with the other guy.

This was not the first time she did something like this. She would often put other men who might have interest in her in my face. She would bring up how they made her feel and how they looked. This would kill me emotionally because I did not even look at another woman. I was committed to her. This happened all the time. She always liked to the attention of the other men talking to them. She would flirt with them. She would talk to them better than she ever did me. She would bring up how they made her feel whenever I did something wrong. When it didn't pan out, she would return to me like nothing ever happened. She would say that it was not right and that I was the good man of it all. She would just say she was trying to bring out emotion in me. I never liked showing my emotions. I never felt safe and secure with her because of this. She never considered this cheating and I grudgingly forget about what has happened. I do realize that it was cheating.

I tried to be the best husband I could be. This was our first relationship that turned to marriage too quickly. I was engulfed by her. I accepted very bad habit and ignored every red flag she did. First, she wouldn't accept me as a person. She would put me down and make me feel weak. I was never good enough. I felt like that I was the sole problem of the relationship. She would loudly complain about all the problems I had and caused. She didn't want me to be seen in public with her. I had to watch what I said to other people. I had to be on my best behavior. I never felt like I had much of a value. On the hand, I would repeatedly help her with her insecurity. I accepted everything about with no problem and no question. I loved her for who she is. Whatever weakness she had, I tried to make it go away. I listened and helped as best as I could. Still I was seen as weak, short, unambitious and ineffective. I had to do a career she saw as respectable and good. Moreover I had no other friends. She was my only friend. I am not very sociable and extremely introverted. I believe the success of a marriage is the type of friendship is based on. I was her best friend and husband. She was my whole world.

I always wanted her to be happy and successful. That was the only goal in my life. She achieved her high GPA and honors because I put her work over my own. I gave her the time to focus on her work. I would spend all night helping (or doing the work for) her with her papers and research. I graduated with a far lower GPA because I put her and her success first. Her friends would often comment on how happy she looked. She always felt loved, accepted and supported. Additionally, I excused every bad habit and action she ever did. I gave her time with her friends and family. Never once showing jealousy. I never got the same things. Whenever she was lonely and sad, I had to be there. No question asked. I would bend and give it. While my and her family noted that I wasn't myself, I just sank deeper and deeper into her. There was no me anymore and I felt empty. I told her about my emptiness, but this never consider this a problem and ignored it. She never wanted to deal with any of my problems.

Moving on, when the guy didn't work out the way she dreamed, she talked to me saying how everything is hell for her and how I should take comfort in that. She still remains with the patient because she thinks she could make his life better by being with him. And because he genuinely loves her. Through she misses the security and safety I offered her and the things we did together. However she would still like me to be her friend because that is what I did best. I told her no. She believes that it was the distance in our marriage that destroy us. She simply fell out of love with me. So she still wants me her 'friend', her best friend. She offer this to be as consolation. The reason I was distant to her because I wanted her to put some serious effort in our relationship. I wanted to feel accepted, supported and loved. She wouldn't give. Furthermore, she says because I couldn't give the passionate love she was after. I couldn't give it because I was too busy and tired. I had to clean our house after work, to do the laundry, go shopping and prepare her food. She would just tell me about her day, eat and go sleep. She would not do anything. I had to be do much of the work that I got fed up with everything.

She said that it was inevitable that our marriage was over. She told me that the first one never works out. Now she wants her freedom. She argues she never cheated on me because she told me everything outright. She says she was honest with me from the beginning. I seriously doubt it. I called her out on her lack of morals and virtue. She then guilt me how I was treating her. I was being rude to her. I had every right to be angry at her, but she would deflect it. She would delude herself that she was a good person who just made a mistake. She would shame me into making feel bad for her and what she has lost. She wouldn't never accept any responsibility for her actions. She said just because she was honest with me, thus making it not an affair and that she was a "good" faithful wife to me. All she would do is paint herself like the victim and blame me or my family for the destruction of the marriage.

For two straight weeks, she would hound me for the separation agreement. She decided to move in with this man despite knowing him for only month. Again, she stays because she thinks she can save him and make his life better. She thinks it "love" because of the strong feelings they have for each other. However she has no more people to turn to anymore. Her parents are not helping her and I have tried my best to cut off contact with her. She gave up her job for him, moving in with him without having no job or money. He doesn't have either as well, She took two thirds of our savings to a down payment for her apartment. I was only left with $1000 dollars. She doesn't even have enough money to pay rent at her new place. She knows she is taking a chance with him. She still hopes it will work out. I should take comfort in that, but it doesn't make me feel any better. She's hoping everything will turn out wonderful with him, however she relented on the separation agreement. She's still keeping me as an ace in hole if the other guy doesn't pan out. I regret giving her that choice.

Right now, I am healing from the ordeal. I know what kind of person is. I just want to know when the storm will pass. I feel lonely. I also feel damaged by realizing what type of relationship I was in and the affair. I am out of the love game for a long time. I go now to peer support groups and will start counseling.

Thank you for reading!

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