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Advice on moving forward after someone is unfaithful...

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    Advice on moving forward after someone is unfaithful...

    Hi everyone,

    I originally started posting on here as my current boyfriend and I used to be long distance, at this point I really need someone to talk to and I don't want to discuss this with friends or family because I don't want to be judged or lectured. I'm hoping to get advice from someone who has experienced the same situation as me. I know this is not a LDR thing now but I've found in the past people on here have been very nice and helpful.

    Okay so my boyfriend and I have been dating almost two years, we were together nearly every day for the first two months of our relationship/dating, he was the first one to say I love you and was supposedly head over heels crazy in love with me. Anyway two months into our relationship he has to go back to college to finish his degree, I knew this going into it and knew at some point we'd either decide to break it off or be LD. So before he leaves for school I sit down and have a talk with him that are you sure you want to try to do this LD thing (he was only 21 at the time) I said you're going to this new school and you're going to want to party and stuff with your friends and you're going to forget all about me. He assures me that I'm the one for him and he wants to make it work and he's past his partying stage and is ready for something more. (And he really isn't a big partner/drinker to begin with)

    So fast forward everything is going ok, I fly up to see him about once every 30 days, and then during christmas break he comes down to see me for almost a month. After the month of being with him all of the struggles of the LD relationship go away and we have this absolutely amazing connection. Before he leaves to go back to school he tells me that the more time he spends with me the stronger his feelings get (and he's not the "player" type, I believe everything he has said is sincere.) So everything is seemingly going great, HOWEVER (and a big however) at school he has met a new friend, and shockingly (not) he's a guy who doesn't have that many other friends so my bf and him become basically besties, he's a total douche bag, thinks it's ok to cheat on his girlfriend (and does so regularly), always wants to go to the bar (and I mean always... like a monday night), he's one of those people who is unhappy with himself so he tries to play off as this big player/womanizer and hides his unhappiness with drinking. My BF is none of these things, he is kind and caring and is a relationship type guy, but he is however easily influenced and very easygoing.

    So progressively before Christmas break he and this guy become better and better friends, my BF is still being a good BF though, it's hard but we're making it work. After Xmas break it's almost like the new friend is jealous of our relationship and the happiness we have, when my BF returns to school it's as though douchebag wants to turn up the fun meter. Suddenly they're going to the bar almost literally every night, my BF becomes shady about calling/communication, we start fighting and have arguments, etc. When I mention this new behavior and express my concerns about douchbag his argument is that he doesn't really know anyone else or like to hang out with anyone else from around there. Now mind you I'm perfectly aware it's is totally my BFs choice to hang out with this douchebag and he is responsible for his actions, but I do feel like if it weren't for douchbag none of this would have ever happened, it's just so out of character for my BF it's like he was a different person around this guy (not that that is any kind of an excuse).

    So later on in the relationship I discovered that he had a one night stand at douchebags house, about 2 weeks after visiting me on christmas break. For about three days after I hardly hear from him, which was not surprising as things hadn't been going well. Anyway needless to say the next about month or so until I discovered the truth does not go all that great but we're hanging in there, on the positive side the night he has the one night stand is the last night he hangs out with douchbag and after that he wants nothing to do with him, at this point I don't know why but at least that loser is out of our relationship and that helps a little. So anyway to make a long story short, about a month and a half later I find out on my own what happened, and he happened to be visiting me during spring break, we had been in a bit of a rough patch but since he'd come down and we'd actually got to spend more than just a couple days together things were going great again and he was back to his old self, until I found out the truth.

    I was pretty devastated, heartbroken, angry, you name it. I really thought that he was a better guy than that, and at this point he was done with school and had asked me to move in with him (literally he came down during spring break to help me pack/move) So we have it out and I quiz him about all the details and how many times this happened and yaddy ya. He tells me it was just that one time and he never intend for that to happen and he felt awful and that's why he was pissed at douchebag and quit hanging out with him, and it would never happen ever again and he realized what he had in me and had been ridden with guilt but he didn't want to tell me because he thought I would leave him, and he just wanted me to give him the chance to make it right.

    So anyway, after everything I decide to give him the chance to make it right with me (please don't judge, that's not the point of this post). When he and I are together we have basically the perfect relationship, I've never felt this way with anyone else (and I'm older than him BTW) so I decide against what my brain tells me to do and go with my heart and we move in together.

    So we've been living together for over a year now, and he has really been great, I've never been suspicious of him, he treats me great, we have a great relationship, and for the most part I feel happy. However, and here's the point of this whole post, I can't seem to get over/move on from what happened. We've talked about how I feel multiple times and I still get sad about it every so often. Whenever this happens he's awesome he asks what he can do to help me feel better, he admits to being wrong, and he tries his best to comfort me, he never gets mad or upset or defensive. I've noticed that my bad feelings seem to get about 1000Xs worse when he leaves for a few days for work (he travels every so often for 2-3 days at a time), I feel like I can trust him but it's like when I get left alone and it's just me and my thoughts I turn into a crazy person.

    He's been gone since Monday night and finally last night I was overwhelmed with emotions about what had happened, I get suspicious that there's more to the story than he told me about and I remember all the lies he told me. Like I said it was like he was a different person and his behavior/actions were so hurtful. Everything comes flooding back and I ended up crying myself to sleep at 2am.

    What I need advice on is how do I keep moving forward? I don't want to keep remembering these things, I want to move on, I've forgiven him, I trust him, but how do I stop reliving the past? I feel bad bringing it up and taking about it when it's been over a freaking year already, even though he's really good about it. Did I make the wrong choice and that's why I can't let it go? It's ridiculous, I just want to let it go and be happy, I have zero suspicions of him doing anything since then, but whenever he's gone my brain goes into overreact mode and reminds me of all the reasons why I should be freaking out and getting upset. It seems like here lately I've been thinking about it and getting upset about it more often than I had been in the past, why?

    Has anyone else gone through something like this before? Do I need therapy? Do we need therapy together? Am I just a crazy psycho who is completely overthinking everything (Most likely)? Please help!

    #2
    You either need to learn to forgive him and forget it or let him go. It isn't fair to say you have and keep bringing it up. I had this almost exact situation in a previous relationship where a friend was a bad influence, but in the end it wasn't his friend's fault. He chose to hang out with that guy, and he chose to act the way he did. His friend couldn't make him do anything. The way my ex acted around his new friends ended up ending the relationship. It does seem he is genuinely sorry, didn't try and hide it, and did what he could to stop the behavior. You need to work on trusting him again and letting this go if you want the relationship to work. A counselor might be able to help you with all of this.

    To help let it go, you need to remember who he is, and identify where those feelings are really coming from, probably missing him.

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      #3
      It could be that it does take a long time to rebuild trust. If you think it would help, therapy could be worth a shot. But, if it still bothers you and is a problem, it is possible it's something you can't get past, and you do need to think about whether that's something you're willing/able to deal with indefinitely.

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        #4
        First and foremost, I'm sorry this happened to you. That's a really crappy thing to do to someone. But I agree with silvermoonfairy. you need to decide if this is something you can eventually learn to move on from if you want to make the relationship work. If you feel like you'll never be able to get over this, then you might need to let him go.

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          #5
          Time heals all wounds. Maybe you just need a bit more. I applaud you on making the RIGHT choice and forgiving him. Most women (and men) won't, and I disagree. We all make mistakes. We are all human and fallible. I've been thru a VERY similar situation, unfortunately I forgave my BF, and he became more and more damaged and disappeared on me. He fell into a deep depression (more aspects of his life were very bad....36, divorced 2x, HUGE child support payments, issues with kids, LDR, etc). We broke up.

          You need to evaluate what you can tolerate. Cheating is awful. It feels so degrading. It sounds to me he admits to a mistake, and learned from it, and will be a better man for it. Use that to build your own strength and healing. Don't let your past haunt you. It's just that...the past. Think of what happened as a gift to bring you closer, stronger, and more understanding. :-)

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            #6
            Hi everyone, thank you so much for your input and comments.

            I definitely feel like this is something I can get past and that I want to get through, he is really a great guy and supportive in so many ways. He called earlier today while I was still pretty upset (I get sad, not really angry and I never throw it in his face, at this point it's more about me not dwelling) and he was so great about it, he kept saying "I love you and nothing will ever happen again and what can I do to make you happy, I want you to be happy" again and again until I felt better about it.

            notyourprincesspeach- I really like what you said about focusing on where this might be coming from and I think you really hit the nail on the head, we spend A LOT of time together (I'm a website developer and I work from home) and he also has a job that allows him to work from home the majority of the time, so when he's gone I REALLY miss him a lot, and the times when he's away is really when all of this seems to bubble to the top and boil over.

            ittybittypilot- Thank you for your kind words, and I believe in not throwing something away when it can be repaired, it's so hard to talk to friends/family about something like this because everyone is so quick to judge and tell you you're an idiot for giving someone a second chance.

            I still feel a little upset but between getting this off my chest and the supportive words from my BF I think I've been able to shed some positive light on the situation.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by ittybittypilot View Post
              I applaud you on making the RIGHT choice and forgiving him. Most women (and men) won't, and I disagree.
              I disagree with your blanket statement. Every situation is different and it depends on the context and the people involved whether forgiving or not is the right choice for them. They certainly shouldn't be shamed for it.

              To the OP; for me to be able to truly let go and move on I need to understand where it came from. Why did he do it? Did he get too drunk? Was he trying to impress his friend? Was he flattered by the girl's attention? The reason 'why' exposes the weakness behind it and once he understands what it is, he can repair it so it doesn't happen again. And when you see him repairing it, it should help you rebuild trust and move on. If he got too drunk to understand what was going on, maybe he needs to stop drinking. If he was trying to impress his friend, what made him so insecure? Is that insecurity still lurking? If he was flattered by the girl's attention, why did he need validation like that? It may be that he're very self-aware and already dealt with it himself but you need to see it before you can move on.

              It's all fine when he says he loves you and it won't happen again, but it's just a temporary reassurance. I'm not saying he isn't trustworthy, just that it's not different from how he felt before he cheated. You said you had an amazing connection right before this happened, the same kind of connection you're trying to recreate now, yet it still happened. Having an amazing connection isn't the solution, it's the consequence of the solution you apply, and it takes certain steps to get there.

              Also, may I ask how did you find out? Was it from him or someone else?

              Like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. - Steve Jobs

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                #8
                Originally posted by Malaga View Post
                I disagree with your blanket statement. Every situation is different and it depends on the context and the people involved whether forgiving or not is the right choice for them. They certainly shouldn't be shamed for it.
                Yes, this! Jeez, ittybittypilot, who are you to say that forgiving someone who cheats is always the right choice?
                Last edited by CynicalQuixotic; May 30, 2014, 09:56 AM.

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                  #9
                  I've experienced a similar situation. Like you, I kept thinking about it, and trying to figure out what was true and what was lies. It was eating me up. Even after a year. Even though I trusted him. Then one day I realized I didn't want to live that way. We had a heart to heart. I told him I would forgive him 100% and never bring it up again if he answered every question I had truthfully. I asked lots of questions that day. He answered them. I accepted it as truth, and it was never discussed again. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I never forgot...but I forgave. And it was worth it. Good luck.
                  sigpic

                  I love him. Forever. And every day after that.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by CynicalQuixotic View Post
                    Yes, this! Jeez, ittybittypilot, who are you to say that forgiving someone who cheats is always the right choice? It

                    Agreed. Not that refusing to forgive is always the right choice either, but with cheating it's *realllly* situation-specific, person-specific, relationship-dynamic-specific, and both choices on it can be the 'right' one and valid.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by silvermoonfairy3 View Post
                      Agreed. Not that refusing to forgive is always the right choice either, but with cheating it's *realllly* situation-specific, person-specific, relationship-dynamic-specific, and both choices on it can be the 'right' one and valid.
                      And the thing is, too, that leaving someone doesn't mean you can't forgive them. I feel I'm worth more than to stay in a relationship where my partner would cheat but I'd certainly reach a point of beingable to forgive it, even if it ended our relationship.

                      All in all though I agree with Malaga.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by TaraMarie View Post
                        I've experienced a similar situation. Like you, I kept thinking about it, and trying to figure out what was true and what was lies. It was eating me up. Even after a year. Even though I trusted him. Then one day I realized I didn't want to live that way. We had a heart to heart. I told him I would forgive him 100% and never bring it up again if he answered every question I had truthfully. I asked lots of questions that day. He answered them. I accepted it as truth, and it was never discussed again. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I never forgot...but I forgave. And it was worth it. Good luck.
                        Thanks TaraMarie, I really like this because I feel as though it's always the same questions and doubts that keep coming up over and over in my head, very specific questions about certain events or things that happened. Maybe I'll give this a shot, I want to voice my questions but it seems like it's always easier to keep them in (which is not the healthy thing to do).

                        Malaga- I happened to find out on my own by putting it together and some other things led me to the idea, I began asking questions and the truth came out.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I was in kind of a similar situation with my ex, and you can guess what decision I made since he's now my ex. But my situation doesn't apply to you in the least. Just because we decide that we're not going hold onto things anymore doesn't mean that we actually do let go of them. For me, I just bury them and when they finally rear their head again it's ugly.

                          Try and do some soul searching of your own and figure out what about this is really bothering you. Is it the trust issue? It is loneliness? Is it self-esteem, jealousy?

                          I do agree with TaraMarie's suggestion of talking to him. But at some point you're going have to decide to either trust him, or not. Yes, he did something that really shook you to your core. Since then he's made changes that you have to either trust he's being truthful about or not. It's always your choice.

                          For some reason this keeps coming up in your head and eating at you. Perhaps it's the insecurity and ample away-time you two have. Part of your conversation with him could include these insecurities that you seem to be going through. I think communication is key in any relationship, LD or CD. Whatever is going on in your head is eating you alive and continuing to punish him for something he may or may not be doing. Neither of you deserve this. There might be other things that you two can do to help you move forward. My gut thinks that this is no longer about his cheating, which happened quite some time ago, but something more personal and close to home for you. Keeping quiet about problems does seem easier in the short term, but a life-time is a long time to be unhappy. You two have been through quite a bit together. Trust in the strength of your relationship to help you both continue to grow.
                          Last edited by merlinkitty; May 30, 2014, 09:18 PM.
                          "Sometimes you just have to let art flow over you."

                          Comment


                            #14
                            If you say you're over it then you have to be. This is why I would never take someone back because I'd always have sinking suspicions that you have and I certainly don't want to live life that way. I ask myself, "Am I worth to be cheated on?" If he really loved me he could commit no such act whatsoever.

                            What if you were married? You signed a contract and he did that? It's very fortunate this is just only a relationship right now and you can cut ties.
                            I would tell the cheater how it makes me feel that he cheated, like he thought nothing of me that he could do such a thing to me was everything a lie? They always say real situations always expose someone's true colors. I would have nightmares that an illegitimate love child came out of the whole affair, too.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              One more thought.....don't say you will forgive unless you really are ready to. Every time I thought of what happened, I felt like I got punched in the stomach. I just couldn't live that way. It wasn't healthy for me. I just decided one day that I was ready to forgive.... And I surprised myself.... Because that just ISNT ME. Good luck to you.
                              sigpic

                              I love him. Forever. And every day after that.

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