Rick Reynolds, LCSW
by Rick Reynolds, LCSW
Founder & President, Affair Recovery

Discovery: Part 2 - Advice For The Wayward Spouse

Discovery: A Four Part Series

Part 1: How to Handle Discovery?
Part 2: Advice for the Wayward Spouse
Part 3: Guidelines for Discovery
Part 4: Goals for the Betrayed

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I didn't know what to do. My wife kept asking for my affair partner's name. Initially I lied, telling her it was nobody she knew. I couldn't bear the uncontrollable chain reaction that would ensue if she discovered that it was actually a close friend at our church.

"I don't believe you," she said accusingly.
"Why would I lie to you?" I said.
"Great question," she answered sarcastically.
"I'm not lying!" I yelled in exasperation.
"If you don't tell me who it is right now, we're done!" she shouted.

Do I tell? All she wanted was to talk about the affair and all I wanted was to forget it. I was willing to try to salvage the marriage, but we needed to deal with our future, and she was stuck in the past. I cared, but I couldn't see how talking about it was helping. All talking seemed to accomplish was to get her upset. I felt all I could do was avoid these conversations and protect her from things that would further hurt her. But here we were once again: Do I dare tell her? Do I have to tell her? How could telling affect healing after the affair?

Few things in life are more difficult than the initial stage of dealing with infidelity. The discovery stage is critical when it comes to recovery and surviving infidelity. Until the betrayed spouse understands what happened during and after the affair, they can't move on and redevelop trust. Without this understanding, the relationship may survive, but there will never be a meaningful connection and trust.

So, what do you do?

I hope you find these tips helpful as you try to navigate the process.

Make the process safe.

Discovery is a highly emotional process and requires the two of you to do what is necessary to keep the process safe. The betrayed partner will never be able to find the safety they need for this process if the offending partner doesn't first break off the relationship with the affair partner. After that, it's important to let the betrayed spouse know that they're willing to explore why they've done this and also want to understand their hurting spouse's feelings and perspective.

The offending spouse might need to ask if their partner will agree not to harm themselves or others during the process. This process is highly emotional, and it can become harmful to self or others. Boundaries should be established to keep the process safe. Don't just answer the questions. Instead, go to them with information you know they want. Your willingness to voluntarily share information reveals your commitment to the process. Let them know you're not trying to hold anything back. Over time, it will disarm their fears and allow healing to begin.

Answer their questions.

It's impossible for the betrayed mate to redevelop trust if their partner doesn't trust them with information. Let them know you will answer all their questions but kindly ask them to be careful about the questions they ask. Suggest that they read part 4 of this series, "Goals for the Betrayed" when it comes out in two weeks. The free First Steps Bootcamp for Surviving Infidelity is a great resource as well. The bottom line is that research supports answering your mate's questions. When you trust them with the information, they can begin understanding what happened and move on to grieving the loss. This is a critical step!

Betrayed spouses, I suggest you avoid asking questions that compare your marriage to what you did with your affair partner. We want to avoid comparing ourselves against the affair partner. If you aren't sure if you should ask something or not, think about it for twenty-four hours in order to decide if you truly want that information.

Don't be defensive.

Seek first to understand before seeking to be understood. Defensiveness is nothing more than pride. It is used to manipulate and control how others see you. Even if you are thinking about others, your primary concern is how others view you, so it is still 100% totally self-centered to be defensive. Rather than being concerned about how others see you, try to understand your partner's perspective. In the long run, all defensiveness accomplishes is creating more distance between you and your mate. If they feel you're interested in their perspective, rather than in defending your own, they will be far more likely to return the favor.

Be rigorously honest.

Rigorous honesty is sharing the details you don't want to share. It's bringing to light the pieces you swore you'd take to the grave. You can never be loved unconditionally if you only conditionally let others know who you are.

To begin, be rigorously honest with yourself. If you can't accept where you're at, you'll never get to where you want to go. Review the patterns of your life. You may find you've been singing the same song over and over again. If good intentions haven't created change in the past, they won't work as you go forward either. Accept the fact that you may need something new to change direction. Bad marriages don't cause infidelity, bad choices do. What is it about you that caused you to make those choices? How did you justify your actions? Discovery isn't just for your betrayed mate, it's also for you!

Be rigorously honest. Any deception will destroy trust all over again. Don't extend the journey by continuing to lie.

Surviving Infidelity Discovery

Remember: you're only as sick as your secrets. The parts of the story that remain untold are the places where darkness and deception have a stronghold. If you've spent your life trying not to disappoint others, it will be difficult to let others know who you really are, but this is your best shot at being known. Be honest. Regardless of how they respond, you can at least know you're no longer robbing them of the right to make their own decision.

Try to understand what it's like to live on the other side of you.

Remember: discovery isn't just for your mate, it's also for you. Until you can communicate to your mate that you "get" what you've done to him or her, it's impossible for them to feel that they matter to you. Use this time to listen to your mate. If what they say is false, then discard it. If it's true, then let yourself feel the weight of it. If you don't know, then at least agree to ponder it and consider whether it may be true. At the very least try to understand what your actions cost your mate.

Do what you can to help them heal.

If you created this mess, why wouldn't you do what you can to help your spouse heal? Part of their healing after an affair is simply getting answers to all their questions. Let them know, daily, that you appreciate that they are still with you and working through this process. A big piece of surviving infidelity, and building a healthy marriage, is selflessly helping your mate.

The trauma created by your betrayal may create emotional flooding. Try to get your mate to agree to a 'time out' protocol where either of you can ask for a thirty-minute time out to let things cool down. It's impossible to be rational when we are flooded emotionally. Rather than letting emotions and actions get out of control, which can make things worse, agree to take a break to protect your relationship.

Take responsibility for your own healing.

Your mate seeing you take responsibility for your own healing after the affair will facilitate discovery. It is difficult for your mate to ask you questions if they fear they will push you back to an old lifestyle. On the other hand, if they see you getting help apart from them, it will make it safe enough for them to risk asking the hard questions. It will also provide you with support as you walk through the emotional instability created by discovery.

One goal of recovery is to learn how to have rational conversations rather than just falling into emotional conversations. When the two of you learn how to rationally process what happened, you can begin coming up with ways to keep it from reoccurring.

As the unfaithful spouse, if you're having trouble navigating discovery, or any other aspect of the recovery process, I'd like to ask you to consider enrolling in our course designed just for you: Hope for Healing. This thirteen-week course will not only provide you with critical support in your recovery, but also with infidelity-specific insight into what the future can look like for you and your marriage. I hope you'll give the course a shot. It just may change your life!

Registration for Harboring Hope Opens TODAY at Noon CT!

You don't have to do this alone! Join other betrayed mates on the path to healing with our life-changing Harboring Hope online course. With Harboring Hope, learn how to weather the pitfalls and hardships following infidelity and start a better, brighter chapter.

"I just completed the Harboring Hope program. My husband was unfaithful to me emotionally, physically and sexually with a co-worker. What I wished I would've known is that forgiveness and reconciliation are two different things. People who refuse to forgive can never live their own lives, they are too busy obsessing about the life of the one who hurt them. They are stuck. They are unable to enjoy friends, family or even their children. They imprison themselves in a bondage of their own making. I definitely recommend the Harboring Hope program as a support for healing. To be in a safe community with other women who know what you're going through and how you're feeling is comforting. Whether you're able to reconcile or not, there is hope." - M., Michigan | HH Participant, April 2021.

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infidelty of spouse

In my case the problem started with our marriage:spouse 'eying' other women, going skiing with a club when we had a new baby at home,finding condom in his suit coat and lipstick on his collar. When confronted he said it was my lipstick(lied) found condom in his old bedroom when he was visiting mother and didn't want her to find it, He assured me he had never cheated on me(I guess no intercourse but playing a game I think that was leading up to it)Then full blown affair with a bartender at hotel he owned. I wanted DETAILS(which would llhave sickened me I know). He has never given a reason of WHY he did this. Counselor inferred that he might be a sex addict and 'forbidden sex' excited him. At age 40 he stopped the affairs and we are now 86 and 88. Recent illness for me brought all of the bad memories back and I had a mini nervous breakdown. He doesn't really understand what his actions did to me. A one nighter I could forget..hopefully..but this deception went on for about 10 years from that first 'leer at other women' to full blown affair and I suspect there were other incidents too. The woman was married so I guess that is safer for the guy as she doesn't demand him leave me and marry her. Now he is ill..on oxygen 24-7 and so apologetic for all that he did to me. a little late for him to finally say what he should have said 40 years ago. he weeps and says he is so sorry. He is a loner, his first goal was to MAKE MONEY..he had several business failures...all of this was t o 'show his stern dad that he could do it'. but that doesn't excuse what he did to me and our 2 children who saw very little of him. They are wonderful girls in all ways thank God.
His expectation is that we end our lives in a close wonderful way. I'm trying and take very good care of him...end of my bio marge

Affair

My husband never told me all the details but after talking every day for 3 months , I had no more energy to ask. We are moving on but the trust on my part is not there. Not sure we will make it so I encourage all spouses to be as honest as possible. It is the least you can do after such a betrayal.

Disclosure by the unfaithful spouse

It’s been 4 years since discovery and my husband still refuses to talk about it or seek help. Two years after I discovered his affair I discovered he was still “friends” with the woman (work). He has also since then made “new friends” with women (always younger women) at work. I have found that I will never trust him again, whether he is innocent or not. I do not feel safe in our relationship, I continuously wait for the next affair and trust no one he is friends with. We stay together (have been married 30 yr.) but I will never understand why he does this and therefore will never trust or respect him. Disclosure and talking is so important, stop robbing your spouse of peace of mind.

reply to ' disclosure by the unfaithful spouse '

Hi Becki
i am in a similar situation. My husband does not regret his affair or talk or tell me anything because he says I donot accept my mistakes in the marriage and donot do anything about them. He does not realise that an affair has to be ended for us to move on. Wanted to ask you, in your situation do you have any physical relationship with him ? Life is so hard like this. I feel so much hostility from his side and we have our younger son ,12 years old in the house. Its a horrible atmosphere.

Letting go

A year on, he just doesn't get my distress and I can't let it go

Questions for spouse

Please can you tell me how long one asks questions? My d day was in September 2016, my husband answers my questions and my questions are now few and far between. The affair partner is still working in the same place. He tells me if he has to have contact with her through emails etc. He only speaks to her on a business basis, but very seldom. He is honest with me. I know this because I check constantly. I still feel like I need to ask questions about the past after all this time? I seem to ask the same questions because I feel like I don't believe him about the past. When will I feel the need to stop asking questions?

When to stop questioning

I had the same dilemma, dday was Aug 2017, but right now, I am trying not to ask questions about the past anymore:
1. I kept asking the same questions and I keep getting the same answers.
2. I can see his efforts in making things right with me. And I want to focus on that, acknowledging him for his actions of loving me right this time.
3. If forgiving and forgetting is not possible, I chose to forgive again everytime I remember, everytime I hurt, everytime.
4. I would rather focus on making myself better and our relationship than focus on the past that I can never change
5. It is what it is. It happened. And I refuse to be bitter about it, I have no intention of staying married with him and punish us both by rehashing over and over again what happened.
6. This was the hardest for me: accepting that I will never know what truly happened between the two of them, no matter how much I question him, not even if I question the other woman, I will never know the full story. It is even possible even the two of them have different perception about what happened.
7. If I will never know completely what happened, I chose to hold on to what I know: whatever he might have felt towards the other person, it was not enough for him to choose her. I did not make him choose, he chose me voluntarily and I accepted him back.
8. Even if the affair was choice alone and I was not to blame, I accepted the fact that I contributed to the sorry state our relationship was back then. It takes two to tango as they say.
9. Affairs is just a symptom of a core problem. And I chose to identify that core problem and now we are working on that as a couple. We are now more honest about how we feel and rearranged our priorities.
10. Before I ask another question again, I ask myself: will knowing the answer change anything? Will it change my decision of staying with my husband? Will it change the past? Will it make me feel better? Will the answer accomplish anything?
11. Honestly, I have run out of questions to ask, and most often they are the same questions reworded differently. And the questions and answers don't contribute anything but pain of being stuck in the past.
12. I dont want to give the other woman the power to still hurt me and us. The sweetest revenge? Is her finding out that she no longer plays a part in our story and we are stronger than ever despite any evil intentions she may had when she started an affair wd a committed man. I dont want us to be her laughingstock.
13. The affair was just an event; I refuse to define my husband and our relationship by that. He is so much more than his indiscretions and we are worth more than that. And we still have a lifetime together, and we dont want a lifetime of punishment and resentments

I am not saying that I am already 100% okay or that we are already healed. What I am saying is that I am just diverting my attention to things that would help us move forward. I asked the questions, he answered. I said my piece, he said his. He made his choice of being with me, and I made my decision of staying with him. I told him what I need from him to be safe again, and he is trying. And I too reflected and working towards loving him harder and better than before.

Hope this long reply helps you. I am not saying this will work for you but I am just sharing what IS working for me. :)

When to stop questioning

Thank you for this. I so needed to read this today. I struggle with wanting to question when we have already discussed this. I love my husband and I know he loves me, but the hurt is still there. I am really hoping someday I can feel peace from this.

When to stop questioning

Thank you so much for this! It is such a timely blessing for me. I am printing it out if I can and putting it where I can reread it continually. God bless you and your husband.

Feeling safe

Hi,
The part about feeling safe resonates with me. My now ex wanted to stay together after taking some months to decide. I was still in love and agreed as long as he stopped seeing his AP. They worked together so I knew they would see each other at work and that was hard enough. He agreed, but then I saw the AP’s car at his place (yes, I spied) and called it off. Then a few months later we tried again and he again said he would not see her. Again I spied and saw her car at his place and told him that I could not feel safe and reconnect with him knowing she was hanging around. He told me he “had a process” that he needed to adhere to and that eventually he would stop seeing her. I really wanted to stay but could not wrap my head around his process. I needed to feel safe and stood my ground. Well, in the end I lost. I was very sad but I think I made the right decision because it was clear he wanted her in his life. I still wonder if he would have eventually stopped seeing her. I just know that I did not wan to live a life always wondering what they were doing together. He kept insisting that his AP was not the problem. Maybe she wasn’t the core problem but it sure was a problem for me to have her hanging around! Was I wrong to issue an ultimatum like that?

Rick you say: "Rigorous

Rick you say: "Rigorous honesty is sharing the details you don’t want to share. It’s bringing to light the pieces you swore you’d take to the grave. ...........be rigorously honest with your mate. Any deception will destroy their ability to trust. According to the late Peggy Vaughan, 72% of people recuperate from what their mate did sexually before they are able to recover from the deception. It’s the deception which destroys their ability to trust after the affair. Don’t extend the journey by continuing to lie........ Be honest. Regardless of how they respond, you can at least know you’re no longer robbing them of the right to make their own decision."
If the betrayed discovers that, in addition to the deceptions that were required to continue the affair, that there have been ANY deceptions in making disclosures after DDay (lies, trickle truth etc), then the betrayed has more than enough reasons to know that even an unfaithful who purports to be willing to re-commit to the primary relationship is capable of continuing the deception(s) and will willingly continue the deception(s) and of putting themselves (and the affair partner) ahead of the betrayed and the primary relationship. That reinforcement of doubt and continuation of uncertainty can be catastrophic to any rebuild of trust. In such a situation, at what point, and of what things, can the betrayed begin to believe that the truth is being told? That any expressed commitment of positive emotion of the unfaithful is truly genuine? Emotional self protection for the betrayed will result in necessary scepticism and disregard of the betrayed's words and actions. Without the certainty of belief, that self protection will continue and that, in turn, will maintain the instinctive actions of the betrayed to maintain an emotional (and, in all likelihood, physical) distance the betrayed and the unfaithful. Attempts then to overcome the enormity of that gulf between the parties (unnecessarily created by the additional deceptions) then takes enormous quantities of regular and demonstrative reassurance and commitment to longer term persistence by the unfaithful and requires a monumental "leap of faith" by the betrayed who, in the absence of such a response by the unfaithful, will continue to seek comfort in any reason not to make that leap of faith. The very simple solution to this? Absolutely zero lies about anything from the outset, open and regular voluntary disclosure and answering any questions raised by the betrayed, continual and genuine reassurance of the betrayed by the unfaithful, repeated willingness by the unfaithful to tell the betrayed that they understand the issues facing the betrayed and reinforcement of that understanding with meaningful practical measures especially of things that the betrayed has requested. If the unfaithful cannot manage the foregoing.................little or no reason for the betrayed to open up their heart and emotional insecurity to the unfaithful and for trust to be restored and a continued insecurity, at some level, be it shallow or deep, for the betrayed spouse who wants to seek to continue the primary relationship. If only more of the unfaithful were prepared truly to understand their betrayed partners' despair and attend to their real needs and to do what is necessary rather than simply doing what they are willing to think is required and necessary whilst secretly hoping that the past can be set aside ..............

Answers

A year after my husbands affair supposedly ended ( I don’t consider it ended a year ago as he was still texting and phoning her for at least another 5 months ) and he still hasn’t given me any reason why.
Says he loves me, always has and had no reason to have an affair. He doesn’t love her (why would I think that - really??) but all I get is
“I don’t know why”. it wasn’t an accident, it was planned ( she lives in another country )
And he booked and paid for her to fly out.
Didn’t feel it necessary to talk to me everyday, but told her he missed their daily chats....
I’m still really angry and need answers. How do I get them if he won’t try and figure stuff out?? So frustrating

Surviving infidelity, discovery, advice for wayward spouse pt 2

Rick, I understand where you mention sometimes a need for a "time out" when there is emotional flooding. We also want to be reassured when we are having that emotional flooding and it would help so much, if our wayward spouse would step in and physically comfort us during that time, whether or not we ask for it. Just coming along side of us, with gentleness helps so much and shows us, at least outwardly, it appears they understand this is painful for us and that they are willing to help mend the brokenness. B/c my spouse has not been so forthcoming, actually blames me for his affair, and therefore distances himself quite often instead of comforting me, even after finally responding to my questions, though I've not been aggressive about this at all.

When to stop questioning

I had the same dilemma, dday was Aug 2017, but right now, I am trying not to ask questions about the past anymore:

1. I kept asking the same questions and I keep getting the same answers.
2. I can see his efforts in making things right with me. And I want to focus on that, acknowledging him for his actions of loving me right this time.
3. If forgiving and forgetting is not possible, I chose to forgive again everytime I remember, everytime I hurt, everytime.
4. I would rather focus on making myself better and our relationship than focus on the past that I can never change.
5. It is what it is. It happened. And I refuse to be bitter about it, I have no intention of staying married with him and punish us both by rehashing over and over again what happened.
6. This was the hardest for me: accepting that I will never know what truly happened between the two of them, no matter how much I question him, not even if I question the other woman, I will never know the full story. It is even possible even the two of them have different perception about what happened.
7. If I will never know completely what happened, I chose to hold on to what I know: whatever he might have felt towards the other person, it was not enough for him to choose her. I did not make him choose, he chose me voluntarily and I accepted him back.
8. Even if the affair was choice alone and I was not to blame, I accepted the fact that I contributed to the sorry state our relationship was back then. It takes two to tango as they say.
9. Affairs is just a symptom of a core problem. And I chose to identify that core problem and now we are working on that as a couple. We are now more honest about how we feel and rearranged our priorities.
10. Before I ask another question again, I ask myself: will knowing the answer change anything? Will it change my decision of staying with my husband? Will it change the past? Will it make me feel better? Will the answer accomplish anything?
11. Honestly, I have run out of questions to ask, and most often they are the same questions reworded differently. And the questions and answers don't contribute anything but pain of being stuck in the past.
12. I dont want to give the other woman the power to still hurt me and us. The sweetest revenge? Is her finding out that she no longer plays a part in our story and we are stronger than ever despite any evil intentions she may had when she started an affair wd a committed man. I dont want us to be her laughingstock.
13. The affair was just an event; I refuse to define my husband and our relationship by that. He is so much more than his indiscretions and we are worth more than that. And we still have a lifetime together, and we dont want a lifetime of punishment and resentments

I am not saying that I am already 100% okay or that we are already healed. What I am saying is that I am just diverting my attention to things that would help us move forward. I asked the questions, he answered. I said my piece, he said his. He made his choice of being with me, and I made my decision of staying with him. I told him what I need from him to be safe again, and he is trying. And I too reflected and working towards loving him harder and better than before.

God bless you!

I love this response! I have been on both ends of spectrum and your list is so healthy and helpful to me mostly because you put into words the desire of my heart. God bless you!

Divorce

Can anyone answer this question.

Is divorce easier?

I think divorce is easier

I wish every day that I had divorced, instead of agreeing to work on a marriage with a man I will never be able to trust again.

I married my husband because I thought he was a good guy and I would be safe from a marriage plagued by the doubts of an affair. I turned down, those types of men, even though some were far wealthier than my husband.

I never cared about money, I cared about trustworthiness and reliability.

I thought I had a husband who filled that bill, but now I know I do not.

It is all very depressing. I do not want to hurt him because I do love him, but my doubts about him are causing a living hell for me.

Needing help with Revenge Flooding

Recently I've discovered where my wife's affair partner not only works but also lives. I was floored to find out, with his NEWLYWED WIFE, whom I happen to know. I want so badly to ruin this person's life as they have destroyed every aspect of who I believed I was. My confidence in my self & everything I've become in life, teeters on the brink of destruction due to I thought I had made it thru the storm only to have everything brought back to the forefront. My spouse & I recently moved because I was offered a dream job that could absolutely be a life changer for my family but now thru this discovery and the avoidance of my spouse never answering any of my questions, I have placed my family, mere miles away from her AP. Being a prior Marine & a Gulf War Veteran you can probably imagine what has engulfed my mind, not to mention I want to spare the AP's spouse of EVER having to endure what I have endured mentally & physically over these excruciating 3 years. If it wasn't for my absolutely gifted 9yr old son & beautiful 8yr old daughter I would use all of my talents to just disappear & never be heard from again. On the other hand I seek Vengeance almost hourly in my mind & I feel it will consume me eventually if I can't find away to cope with all of this deception. I want peace to be back in my mind & my life, I want to lie down in green pastures & actually hear the still waters, what will restore my soul?

No regrets

My wife has been having an affair on me for four months with a coworker. He was married as well, and I contacted his wife and informed her of what was going on. It created hell for me and I passed it on to him. Now he is getting divorced and my wife has chosen me. My marriage counselor said I did the wrong thing, but I am happy with my decision. It changed the playing field. I wanted to beat the crap out of the ap and am fully capable of doing it but now because he is miserable and will face financial hardship, it is better than me going to jail and facing civil fines.

Thanks!

Thank you Wayne for another insightful series.

My favorite part is the importance of intentional/rational conversation vs emotional conversation.
For too long of a time my UH would only talk when I forced it and by then I was ALWAYS flooding and emotional.
This led him to have to guard what he said because he wanted to keep was trying to keep from causing me more pain. When we took the time to talk about things at a time before I was emotional, taking your advice to check in daily, then the talks were more meaningful and he felt more comfortable sharing his truths. It is SO hard after discovery to find a time when you aren't emotional, but if I took some time for prayer, purposeful breathing and meditation for myself before talking then I was able to go a longer time period before I would begin to feel overloaded with emotion. Then, the more open he was able to be because he didn't fear basically having to witness my flooding, the more I felt safety in his replies.
I would encourage every betrayed spouse to do their own work as well. Harboring Hope was my first step to healing.
Then I found a site that offered me the Self-Care that I had neglected doing for far too long because I was trying to help my husband and my marriage. thebetrayedwife.com offered so much care for me. The only person that I could control in all of this was myself.
Thanks to Affair Recovery for ALL that they do to help us all grow through the trauma of infidelity into something so much more meaningful and beautiful. We are 2 1/2 years out from our first Dday and 2 years from the last Dday. My UH biggest regret now was his trickle disclosure. We can't undo that but if I could say what helped me heal the most it would be that after 2 1/2 years he did a Full Disclosure with me. Even though I knew most of the facts through my own discovery this allowed me to put things in order in my head and allowed me to finally wrap my head around all the little details and times. An EMS virtual weekend was the beginning of his seeing the light to the depth of my pain. Take the course either in virtual weekend format or EMSO format. It was a game changer for our healing journey.
Blessing and gratitude to you all

Thank you

Thank you Cynde for your above information; I’m 1 year from the event but only 6 months from my second DDay. My husband thinks he has forgotten all the bits that I need and I still feel second place to his relationship with his AP as if they still have secrets; It nice to read a successful story even though it took so long. Time moves slowly when your traumatised.
It gives me faith in my own future; I am halfway through the Harbouring hope course and my husband is doing the Hope for healing course and also seeing a psychologist; we are both planning to do the EMSO course to.
Bless you for taking the time to put this up.
Caroline.

Wayne

You continue to be the best speaker and conveyor of emotions and rationality on this hideous subject. I am trying to listen to less and move on, but will never stop listening to you as long as you’re available. I’m not really ready to stop listening and thinking anyway so you’re the best!

Give the Betrayed information to make an informed decision

"Don't just answer the questions. Instead, go to them with information you know they want."

This doesn't connect with the rigorously honest portion. The Wayward does not know the information I need as the Betrayed so that I may make an informed decision regarding what I want to do with my life.

This sentence provides the Wayward with an "out" to continue to not provide the entire truth, to minimize and/or lie by omission.

As a Betrayed, I've been put through enough trauma. At least provide me the entire truth to allow me to process reality, and not what the Wayward THINKS my reality should be.

Disclosure

The betrayed spouse should receive a FULL THERAPEUTIC DISCLOSURE, as close to discovery as possible, usually within no more than a few short weeks after discovery, which is something different than "discovery." The words, "discovery," and "disclosure," are being used interchangeably in this article, and they are very different things. "Discovery" is just that, when the betrayed discovered sexual acting out on the part of the unfaithful. The "disclosure," which should be a Full Therapuetic Disclosure is for the unfaithful to give a FULL and THOROUGH account of their entire sexual acting out history which is read to the spouse in a safe setting, ultimately with the unfaithful's AND betrayed's therapists or coaches present for support and safety, followed up with an individual session and safety plan for the betrayed spouse's safety and processing. The Full Disclosure should also have questions (every single one) the betrayed wants answered submitted ahead of time to the unfaithful be answered during the disclosure. They are also encouraged to keep a notebook handy to jot down further questions that will arise during this process that will need to be answered during this time. Highly recommended to do within 24 hours of this disclosure, as a follow-up to verify that everything the unfaithful has provided on the disclosure itself, and all questions asked and answered, and to also make sure that absolutely not a single thing has been withheld or omitted from the disclosure, and to encourage honesty, is a fidelity/relationship polygraph. The polygraph is an EXTREMELY valuable tool in reestablishing the trust that was broken in the relationship, and the betrayed has every right and reason to ask for it. Should the unfaithful be unwilling to provide one, for any reason, beware, a big red flag on where they are in their recovery and willingness to be fully honest, transparent, and to tell the whole truth! To all the betrayed spouses out there: ASK for what YOU NEED for safety!! It's YOUR WORLD that's been turned upside down and inside out! You deserve some peace and healing in your life as you navigate the challenges in recovery!! Blessings to all wherever you are in your healing journey!

AGREE AND AMEN

"As a Betrayed, I've been put through enough trauma. At least provide me the entire truth to allow me to process reality, and not what the Wayward THINKS my reality should be."

I agree with this comment that was made. My UH after 35 years of marriage, decided to take the truth and run. Left the state, left his children, and already on to another AP. We are still legally married.

He refused to talk about any of it, refused counseling, and my therapist says he abandoned me and my children and grandchildren.

Can you share with me how to get unstuck when the UH won't participate at all? I still want full disclosure, but I haven't even been dignified with partial disclosure. Like the comment above, my UH said I have a different reality than his and he will never see the reality the way I see it. So, that gave him license to abandon I guess.

I NEED to know how to move on with my life knowing that I will never receive disclosure, amends, or apologies. I understand now that he is not willing to give me anything, but I find it excruciating even after 2 1/2 years of separation, to not know the truth or even anything at all (Except the numerous text evidence found on his phone when he overdosed (I had no idea he was using).

Wayne, how do I move on from here? I find that this haunts me over and over even though I know he is not healthy, not willing, and has moved onto another woman himself. I feel I NEED disclosure, but know I will never get it. So, how do I go on with my life, always wondering and wanting to know? He has been incredibly deceptive before, during, and after Dday, and even now. We no longer communicate for the past year at his request to stop contacting him. Much of your advice centers around couples that are working on recovery. Which programs should I engage in when one partner has abandoned everything and the other is left standing with their hands in the air and their mouth gaping open, as well as their heart torn in shreds? I need to heal but obviously can't count on him participating in any of it.

We all talk about second

We all talk about second chances but what about the underlying feelings that the betrayer has for the affair partner and when we catch our spouses cheating ,then we force them to suppress those feelings. Will it be fair to the betrayed to not knowing for the rest of their lives whether or not the betrayer stayed on freely or was forced.
And what happens if you catch your spouse after years texting with the affair partner after promises were made that there will be no contact and if contact was ever made they will notify you. Do you still give another chance

Lies and withholding information

Hello. Dday was New years eve 2021. He texted her before he even got out of bed that day. Woke up said I'm thinking of leaving, went to the store, called her, came home and said he wanted a divorce and when I said I didn't want that he said well I was unfaithful...I kicked him out, he left and proceeded to call and text his AP over 400x while ignoring me.
Said I was being mean and she was making him feel good. Says he didn't see her that weekend, but erased his Google location timelime so I can't verify.
I know he went to a friend's but I don't know if he saw her at any point. He was gone for over 24 hours and he worked with her so I don't know if he saw her in the following days.
Called me Jan 1st around 3pm to say he was coming over, I said inwas on the phone, he proceeded to turn around, call her and ignore me again. Says he chickened out because i was still upset,, and went back to his friends house....

Nutshell is i asked him to come over and talk later that night. He did and we agreed to reconcile. I didn't think to ask him if he had seen or contacted or ended it.with her, I was too traumatized.
I saw a text Jan 2 where he asked he she got out of work and thats supposedly when he ended it. But he kept snapchat, where they had been talking
And kept talking, behind my back
I had asked him to tell me if she contacted him and he said he would and didn't. I didn't find this out til Jan 25. I had to me him delete tje app..
I also saw an email on Jan 21 on his work email where he said ill call u when I can. He says he was just being nice to her and she wanted to be friends so she wouldn't try to contact me and ruin our rebuilding, but I don't believe him. I had to send her an email telling her to leave him alone, from his work email, appeared as if he sent it.

I do know she texted him a few days after he ended it, supposedly ended it. He never told me and says he can't remeber what it said.

My unfaithful husband answered some questions but I don't think a lot of them were honest. I know some weren't because I found the truth. Some i found by digging,, some from her mouth..

Now he's just saying I don't remember and changing some of his answers. Says he's done answering?s, threatens to leave gets angry, says mean things....

I don't know what to do. Hes so mean. Sometimes during arguments he blames me and even said he had tje affair to hurt me on purpose, like it was an exit affair...

Therapeutic disclosure

I wish we had known therapeutic disclosure (disclosure processes guided by a trained therapist) had existed as a resource early on. It took 5 months for the truth to come out and even now I wonder if there is more, though he says everything is on the table. Can you please bring this up in more of your videos and add it to your harboring hope and hope for healing content?

Defensive

Why do men always get defensive when they get caught lying about their affair?

Women get the same way. My

Women get the same way. My wife was like that for years

What type of affair was it?

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I would highly recommend giving this a try.
 
-D, Texas