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December 14, 2016 2:38 pm  #1


Would love some input

New to this site and thankful to find a place where other people understand.
My story is long, but I will try and get right to the issue I don't quite understand.
My husband definitely has narcissistic tendancies and he is a master at making me feel guilty for questioning him.  
About a year ago he came out to me about his crossdressing fetish and his desire to explore it.  He says that for him it is mainly a sexual thing, that he is turned on by the clothing and lingerie.  When he first came out about it, he said it's just clothing, no big deal, I still love being a guy and being manly and I never want to change that.  I just like to dress up sometimes, it makes me feel good.
I dont even want to begin to talk about my feelings in all this, as that could fill a book.  Since that time I have watched him go from putting on panties, to full on dressing with wig, breast forms, butt pads.  He watches you tube videos and has perfected his make up.  He watches tons of tranny porn and gay porn and now states that he is pansexual. Initially, he said he just enjoys it and would never go out in public or show anyone else.  But I have found him on cams sites listed as a TG person, as well as porn and fetish sites.  When I have confronted him, he of course blames me for violating his privacy and not letting him enjoy his compulsion.  I have tried to compromise and set boundries as to what I will and wont tolerate.  And I feel I have been as empathetic as possible to the fact that he may not be able to control this and it is just who he is.  He maintains, this is just an outlet and fun and he has no desire to become a woman, live that lifestyle or even date tg or men.  He says it's like a hobby.
Over the weekend I found an email on a site where he contacted a person and told them he meets with another tg and they dress together and meet men.  Of course he swore that was all just talk, until i contacted the said tg and found out from the horses mouth that it was true.  Boundries broken.  I told him we have to separate because all trust in him is gone.  He still maintains he loves me, does not want to lose me.He says this isn't something I have to do, it's just fun.You just dont understand.
He's right, I don't.
Who is the fool here?

Last edited by lynncat19 (December 14, 2016 2:41 pm)

 

December 14, 2016 2:46 pm  #2


Re: Would love some input

Hi Lynncat.  I'm glad you found us.

He's lying, and you know that.  He wants to have his cake and eat it, too.  You're no fool.  If he wants to dress as a female and get together with others who do the same and meet men, then what's left for you in this relationship?  He'd have you think much, but he's just saying what he thinks he needs to say in order to keep you.  Why he wants to keep you is up only known to him.  Maybe you help him appear straight - which might be important to him in many ways.  Maybe without you, he doesn't feel he's accomplished the dream he had for his life.  Maybe you're a great help to him financially.  Maybe you keep house wonderfully, are a good cook and make the house homey.  Maybe some combo of these things.  Whatever the reason, it's all for him - for his benefit.  If he wanted what was good for you (honesty, authenticity, openness, fulfillment), he wouldn't insist that you two stay together.  Clearly he wants something that you can't (and shouldn't have to) give him.  And clearly he's not going to give you what you want, either.

Time to move on.  You're only a fool if you stay. And that's because you cannot trust what he says, and any attempt to find the truth is met with anger.  And boundaries you set are blown, and then lied about.  This isn't a good relationship.  Run like your hair's on fire.

Kel

Last edited by Kel (December 14, 2016 4:12 pm)


You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.
 

December 14, 2016 3:27 pm  #3


Re: Would love some input

If we forget about the TG and ignore everything in your post but "I found an email on a site.." 

That was it for me...there I was snooping looking for bad stuff and I thought to myself  why do I have to do this? Is my best friend and wife supposed to sneak around and lie.. and I have to keep snooping.

Ask him to stop what he is doing..that he is hurting you.  If your met with anger that says it all.  (And if he were to stop could you trust him.. lack of trust really kills a marriage
.it eats at you).

So so sorry.   I don't think we are supposed to be doormats and our spouses can do whatever they want..


"For we walk by faith, not by sight .."  2Corinthians 5:7
 

December 14, 2016 4:26 pm  #4


Re: Would love some input

I do hate the person I have had to become just to keep up with the lies.
It is just so very painful.  Loving someone but being forced to leave them  But I cannot live like this.

Thanks for the advice Kel and Rob.

     Thread Starter
 

December 14, 2016 4:37 pm  #5


Re: Would love some input

lynncat19 wrote:

I do hate the person I have had to become just to keep up with the lies.
It is just so very painful.  Loving someone but being forced to leave them  But I cannot live like this.

Thanks for the advice Kel and Rob.

Lynncat,
So so sorry..  I know the feeling..I loved my ex so much.  .I would shake uncontrollably as my then wife went out with her girlfriend ..usually until 2:30am....she knew that I  knew she was cheating and didn't care.   I told her to stop once on her way out and she would not..she lied to my face and made her choice then and there.
With myself physically shaking from the blatant betrayal  and discard  my body was telling me what my heart wouldn't; that I was not supposed to live like that ..even if I wanted to my body would make me physically ill..
Great spouses we have... not only do they hurt us but they keep hurting us .


"For we walk by faith, not by sight .."  2Corinthians 5:7
 

December 14, 2016 4:44 pm  #6


Re: Would love some input

yes he is fooling you.  He didn't just turn transgender he was transgender when he met you and he knew it.
he was attracted to men and he knew it.

This is a person who will continue to lack care or empathy for you.  It's all about him not you.

Now that he is transitioning from what I've heard on here he is going to become even more high maintenance.

so please reread your own post, allow yourself the space to have your feelings but be cool and careful in how you approach your husband and do everything to look after yourself.

wishing you all the best, Lily

 

December 14, 2016 6:15 pm  #7


Re: Would love some input

lynncat, 
   My husband is also a crossdresser and claims to be "transgender."  He revealed this to me in March of 2015.  Here's are some conclusions I've come to after seeing and hearing what I've observed since then.
1) It's not JUST clothing.  If if were just clothing, just comfort, just fun, it wouldn't mean so much to him.  For years I wore a man's t shirt, one given me by my husband, to bed, because the cut was comfortable.  But when I wore it, I wasn't at all times excitedly aware I was wearing a MAN'S t-shirt or thinking wearing one made me more masculine or more like a man, and feeling sexually titillated by this knowledge.  That, is, however, what our husbands are feeling.  So no, it's not JUST clothing. 
2) This compulsion is addictive, and like all addictions, it requires bigger and stronger doses to satisfy the compulsion.  This is why he went from wearing panties to decking himself out in the whole kit.
3) Their illness (and it's autogynephilia, the love of himself as a woman) comes with several features that make it very difficult to reason with them.   One, it pushes them to need validation from others, which is what he's looking for by going out to see if he can get men to respond to him.  You're obviously not feeding his compulsion in the way he'd like you to, by participating.  Another feature of the illness that makes reasoning with them difficult is that the illness pushes them to believe that the "woman" they are creating is real, that they really CAN be women/female, and it's that need to be a "real" woman that pushes them to go beyond crossdressing and take hormones and SRS--to feminize and alter the physical body, which then serves as "proof" to them they're real women. 
4) The nature of their illness, that they are in love with the idea of themselves as women, means that their sexuality is trained on themselves, their attention is trained on themselves, and to the degree they can love an outside object--me and you--we are never going to be the primary object of their affection.  They are inward looking, self absorbed, self involved.  
   I am fairly new to this forum (September) but there are other women on here who have husbands with the same compulsion, and all our stories tell the same story about the progress of the addiction/compulsion and the difficulty of reasoning with their husbands/partners.  Also during that time I have seen references to Kel's famous saying "run as if your hair is on fire," but I have never before actually seen her write it in response to someone's story.  And she has to you.  
  

 

December 14, 2016 10:11 pm  #8


Re: Would love some input

Hi Lynncat, I have zero experience in the TG experience but in my particular case I found that nothing made sense of my ex until I just accepted she's lying and has been lying the whole time. Then I could rewind the past and it was like watching a mystery movie for the second time after knowing full well the butler did it.

Really sorry you're going through this, hope you find peace soon.

 

December 14, 2016 11:48 pm  #9


Re: Would love some input

Lynncat,

I'm so sorry you're here, looking for answers. Your head must be spinning and I totally get how grief stricken you feel, loving your husband but knowing you have to walk away. I have been with my husband going on 25 years this Christmas. We are separated now for 2 months (?) it's all a blur. Actually, my whole marriage feels like a blur. He is a big, strong, dude's dude manly man who told me he was a crossdresser the weekend we met. Like your husband, over the years each time he upped his CD/TG game & I asked "Is THIS all it is? Are you SURE it will max out here?" I got the answer, "I love you, I love our life, I'm not gay, I'd NEVER want to do this full time or take hormones, switch teams"

So I stuck it out until the next level presented itself (or I unearthed more crazy shit from snooping)& then the conversation would start all over again. I'm now watching a lifetime of hurt, deceit & lies get bundled up & thrown to the curb, leaving me gutted while he is scheduling surgeries, probably taking HRTs already, and he is in fact gay. The whole damn thing was a lie because he wasn't the brave bigballz dude everyone thought he was, he was a lieingcheetingcoward dressed in my stolen lingerie & some very expensive prosthetics. The man i thought I married, never was. In fact I now realize his MALE MODE was the sham costume he paraded around.

Everyone above is right. It doesn't get better, it gets worse (for the spouse). It is an addiction & they keep getting into it deeper to attain that same initial high & eroticism they felt when they first started sneeking around with some undergarments on. They become even more delusional & selfish. You will be bankrupt financially & emotionally if you stay.

If he's dialed into tranny/gay porn, let alone made plans to meet up with someone face to face for whatever sexual arrangment, he is gay. he may not be ready to admit it to himself, or commit to that lifestyle choice, but he IS gay. Straight men don't seek that alternative out. They deny who they REALLY are because they don't want to lose that nice comfy gig they have going, married to us. Like you said, we are "Empathetic" to their "needs & desires", they can keep pushing the envelope & become more stealth, plus they don't have to give up all the perks Kel mentioned. When I really think about what my husband valued in me the most I am fuming mad!! He didn't respect me other than maid/cook/childbearer/therapist/business partner or he would have been honest with me & never married me or at the least, ducked out any one of the thousand times we had the CDTG conversation over the years. they are the most selfish bunch you will ever have the misfortune of being associated with.

Get yourself a therapist or a really gentle friend/sister who will hear you out & offer an ear & endless glass of wine. Someone who is great at simply listening to you. Do NOT isolate yourself or keep his secret. It will destroy your spirit & confidence. I only finally told someone last summer after 24 years of keeping it from the whole world and believe me, it has taken a toll that is proving to be irreversible. 

You deserve a partner who is honest, respectful & free of any gay-in-denial hangups. You're a straight woman I assume & a gay trans husband for a life partner is slow suicide to a straight woman. You don't have to hate him, you just need to look out for yourself & any children you may have. You deserve authentic love as much as anyone and a future that is shining bright with love peace & light..

look thru some threads on here & you'll find all kinds of support & ammunition to help give you strength & hope

Blessings & Hugs to you & keep chatting,
Sham

 

 

December 15, 2016 7:17 pm  #10


Re: Would love some input

Thanks to you all who responded.
I love my husband so very much. Earlier in the marriage, outside of him wanting to go to a few drag shows, I thought we had a great relationship, an amazing sex life.  The downfall started a few years ago when I found pictures on the computer of him in my lingerie.  He confessed that yes, he does dress sometimes, as a stress reliever....really no big deal.  It was bothersome to me and I did not understand it, but I had never seen him behave in a feminine way whatsoever.  But once you stumble upon one thing.....you cant stop looking.  In time, I found craigslist ads for m4m, m4t, posted by him with pictures of him not in drag.  His response....It was really just seeing what would happen.  He was always very sexually openminded.  He would convince me that nothing ever came of any of it and he would stop. I never believed him 100 %, but I believed in the dreams we had as a couple and how we were the best of friends, so I pushed my insecurites down and swallowed my uneasiness.
Last Christmas we went to a party where some friends got really hammered and there were a few couples who got very "flirty".  I could tell he was turned on, but it made me uncomfortable.  We argued all the way home and when we got home around 1 am, I went to bed.  He stayed up the rest of the night drinking and watching porn.  He got into some lingerie I had not worn in years and also a wig I had from a Halloween costume, and at 5 am I awoke to my husband climbing on top of me dressed as a woman.  How's that for an introduction?  Completely out of nowhere for me. He tried to intitiate sex and I was telling him no and pushing him away with tears in my eyes.  He looked at me, sullen faced, and said, I guess this doesn;t turn you on.  And sulked away like chid who lost a favorite toy.
Since that time he has tried every way to explain it so that I would be ok with it.  He started very young.  I know he was molested at one point in his life.  He really just likes the feel of the silky clothing, is that so wrong?  It was distressing and confusing and I did not want it in my life, but I told myself that I had made a vow to this man and if I say I love him, I have to love this part of him in some form or fashion. I told him we would figure it out.
2 months later he took a job 3 hours away, got an apartment and we have lived apart for the past 9 months.  Honestly a great move for his career.  But with 2 kids still in high school we decided to keep out home.  I talked endlessly of trust and boundaries, he nodded and agreed.  And then proceeded to wreck through those like a maniac.  He has freddom now to do what he wants and what he wants is to make a mockery of our marriage by putting himself all over the internet as  TG girl!  I google searched the name he uses and came back with 1500 hits.  Um hey.....did you know when you join one cam site and record online 1000 other sister sites screen shot that recording and plaster your face and everything else all over the internet?!
He has been on fetish sites until I find him and then he deletes the account and says he will stop. But it never stops, it just keeps accelerating.  In the beginning I had begged him for some time to get used to this, but as you know it is all about him.
He has become unrecognizable to me.  This last act of meeting, dressing and then whoring themselves out to men, I cannot tolerate.  And I, myself have become unrecognizable , in that my life consists of an obsession to keep up with what he's doing, because it is nothing but lies. He is not the man I married, not the person I thought i knew. And he has broken my heart terribly and destroyed our marriage by his selfish sex addicted, porn induced behaviors.  As I sat crying this weekend, telling him that our marriage is over, he had the nerve to say to me.....everything would have been fine if you had not been snooping.  The person I dressed with has been hiding this from his wife for 20 years and they are happy.  I told him that the person he dressed with is therefore a piece of shit.
The damage this last year has done to me has changed me.  I feel so betrayed, so disrespected and so utterly unloved.
Thank you all for hearing me out.
Lynn

Last edited by lynncat19 (December 15, 2016 7:19 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

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