Is He/She Gay » Is he gay/bi/dl » June 21, 2025 2:34 pm |
Sorry to see you on this forum. I would like point out that the main issue here is not that he is (probably) attracted to men, but that he has been keeping secrets from you, isn’t opening up and isn’t initiating intimacy with you.
I would like to point out that the main issue is most definitely that he is attracted to men. That is after all, why Cherrytrees has reached out to this resource for support. Her voice and concerns are her own, and her issues with what has taken place are felt by her alone. It is up to her as to what is, and what is not acceptable in her relationship. Not all gay and bisexual men are as lucky to have understanding and accepting wives as your partner does. Some women do genuinely find the idea of their men being sexually attracted to, or sexually engaged with other men a bit disconcerting or even abhorrent. It can often entirely kill their sexual attraction to them. They certainly don’t need to believe that the issue may lie with their inability to accept latent or active homosexuality in their partner. If they did, they probably wouldn’t be here at all.
Support » I just want an apology » June 21, 2025 1:44 pm |
Tiggerslife wrote:
Over several weeks I found text messages, his profiles, his sissy clothes, and his meth, and came to the realization that the man I had been married to for 35 years had another life that I knew nothing about. I knew we had issues and there was something going on, but nothing could have prepared me for this. He is a retired Marine and now has a successful civilian career.
I have so many questions I’ll probably never get answers to. Did you ever really love me? Do you regret our family? Did you hide behind me and our family during your Marine career to cover your sexuality? When did you start cheating on me? Do you miss me, our son, our Granddaughter? Do you regret taking a hit off the meth pipe? Do you ever wish you had handled this differently?
Tomorrow would have been our 37th anniversary. I’m glad we are divorced and I don’t have to be worried anymore. I’m still healing from the sudden discovery, the years of lies, and I’m learning to trust myself again. How long will it take me to let go of the hope of getting answers to my questions or apologies that will never be said? Will these thoughts and questions fade with time? I sure hope so, because the apology I’m waiting for will likely never come.
The juxtaposition between the man you thought you knew and the man he actually is would be incredibly hard to reconcile. It is like going through life and hitting a brick wall. the shock of it moves through you and into your past.
Support » I just want an apology » June 21, 2025 1:38 pm |
Netjer wrote:
Hi, Tiggerslife,
…
I’m pretty new here—only about three weeks post-disclosure—and I just wanted to say I really relate to what you’re feeling. I keep coming back to the same thing: I want an apology. I even asked my wife to listen to the OurPath podcast episode for friends and family, especially the part aimed at LGBTQ spouses. It took her a week to find the time—which honestly felt like a gut punch.
Twenty-two years together, and she couldn’t carve out an hour during a commute?When she finally did listen, she just said, “I listened to it.” No follow-up, no acknowledgement, no reflection.We went to our first couples counseling session this past weekend. We're not trying to reconcile—just figure out how to co-parent and eventually tell the kids. But the level of gaslighting, even in that setting, was surreal.
Since I made the appointment, I suggested she start by sharing her perspective. She opened with: we’re ending the marriage, the focus should be on how to move forward, not on the past. The therapist gently pushed back, saying that sometimes you have to look to the past to understand how you got here.So my wife continued—talked about how long we’ve been together, how we’ve had communication problems, how things got hard when she stopped working after we had kids. I asked if she wanted to add anything else. Only then—after being prompted three times—did she say, “I also realized about 10 years ago that I have repressed feelings, and I came out to him a few weeks ago.”That’s the kind of revisionist narrative I’ve been dealing with.
The story she tells is: He was too needy. He wanted too much. I never felt like I could do enough. Then, oh by the way, I’m gay, and I’ve known for at least 10 years—but that has nothing to do with the rest.Really?What about all the times I told you I felt unloved? The years of no intimacy? The way I felt like I was just a provider? The girls' nights and weekend pl
Support » Bisexual Wife Not Willing To Commit To Continuing Our Marriage » June 20, 2025 12:12 pm |
In terms of a resource that was primarily intended as a safe space for straight people to find answers and support for issues directly associated with trust, deception and some form of understanding as what and why their lives have been upended, context is key.
It is not phobic or hateful to assert that being straight is predominantly normal in terms of human sexual orientation. It is a biological necessity after all, as to this date, no man or woman has succeeded in being impregnated or been impregnated by a same sex partner. This is due to the forces of evolutionary biology, and has nothing to do with social acceptance or a desire for widespread inclusivity. In the world of the straight partner, the revelation that their chosen partner is bisexual is not experienced and felt as being anything other than the information that the disclosing partner is gay or homosexual to a certain degree. The straight aspect of a bisexual identity is irrelevant to them. That part of the sexual identity was a given.
What modern society has forgotten is that all of the traditions and generally accepted rules about partnering with someone were there to allow for the safe and secure raising of children within the confines of a straight relationship where both masculine and feminine traits and energies would work together to provide for a balanced upbringing. The revelation after the fact that your partner is gay on some level will be felt to be destabilising to a degree. it represents a risk that there could be abandonment of the existing relationship and potentially a family at some point for the allure or temptation of a same sex relationship. This risk is of course present in a heterosexual relationship, where there is a chance that our partner finds a better option than any of us.
The truth is that over the years a great many of those who have used this resource for guidance and support have found that the bisexual revelation was a stopover on the journey to gay town. In ma
Support » Discarded during Christmas after 6 years » January 20, 2025 4:07 pm |
When your formally straight partner tells you they now identify as bisexual, they are in effect telling you they have homosexual attraction. The straight part of such an identity is irrelevant to the straight partner. Now, there are reasons why they are going to tell the straight partner this. It could be that they are being honest from a perspective of love and respect. They may find that their homosexual attraction troubles them in some way and may have done so for some time. There may be no intent to act on this desire or attraction. The other reason could be due to realisation that they have a same sex attraction they would like to explore. This exploration can be made easier if the straight partner consents to it. If they do not, and want to hold their partner to a monogamous relationship, you can get into a situation where deceit comes to the fore. They may treat the straight partner as a safe harbour from which to make exploratory missions into a ‘scene’ or another sexual or romantic relationship. Frequently being able to compartmentalise two different sides of themselves until needs and musts override the safety they held on to. For men, the compartmentalisation of a same sex attraction can be more likely to be physical. In this case, there can be often no emotional or romantic need to be with a specific partner, and it is compartmentalised as ‘just sex’. They will genuinely still be emotionally invested in the heterosexual relationship. It is still infidelity of course, coming with certain other risks. For women, the risk is more from them developing an emotional attachment to another woman. There is a higher likelihood that a physical affair will quickly become an emotional one. As soon as this happens, the man in this case will be rejected and likely vilified at the same time. This can happen to female straight partners as well, but this is probably more likely if the male partner was actually gay in denial or repressed more than bisexual and or b
…General Discussion » When will I feel better ? » December 24, 2024 8:02 am |
It should come as no surprise that someone who has constructed a false narrative should live according to that narrative. To spend sometimes entire lives, hiding in plain sight requires enormous amounts of delusional thought. They will believe that they have done the right thing by staying closeted from all of the social pathogens they imagine there to be. Whether this is due to parental expectations or a fear of being excluded, the ramifications are the same, hiding the truth. Someone who is capable of hiding the truth from themselves, is of course not going to face the reality of what they are doing or have done. Victim mentality is very powerful, particularly in modern times. It becomes both a shield and a sword, You cannot attack them with your truth, because their shield of imagined persecution protects them. Because they are ultimately the victim in the face of repression, they can cut you down with the sword of justification. Abusers will always believe they are the victim in any relationship they have, it is what makes them so very good at it.
When it comes down to separation and divorce from these people, we have every right to tread very carefully. It is not without good reason that we fear dishonesty and selfishness. The fear that we will have to face an Anti-partner who exists now, where we thought our partners were is all too real. Should we threaten to out those who choose to lock us in their closets? Should we accept their truths as our own? It is a moral dilemma indeed. The fact that it is a dilemma, suggests that it is because we have morals still, when they seemingly do not when it comes down to us. The closet is a prison, where the straight partner is bound in lies, and gagged by inclusivity. To the point where they are ultimately the one who is excluded.
Support » Struggling to Decide and How to Feel » December 20, 2024 11:40 am |
blankcanvas wrote:
Thanks for the responses Lily and Ordinary guy. To answer Lily, I do have family I talk to about this stuff and they have been as supportive as they can be. They have had their own full lives of failed marriages and tbh has tinted my views on marriage in general. I grew up witnessing many divorces, so I can only lean on them so much for advice. Also my head is spinning I suppose because none of what she said or done has felt malicious, I don't feel like when she is saying any of these things that it comes from a bad place, but more so that she wants things to work but is still confused and adjusting herself perhaps. I can sense her strong desire for a family, and she states that she can only see that with me.
In response to Ordinary Guy, I wouldn't say we are "in a relationship" currently, as she and I have completely separated in terms of living space and financials. We are more in a place of deciding what to do next, which is where a lot of my confusion comes from, because it feels like it comes down to me deciding whether or not to keep trying for the relationship. At times I feel like I can still see that future together, but I keep requesting space from talking because I need to know how I truly feel and if we talk all the time it starts to cross my wires. Also she has stated that she does not feel like she is a lesbian, and still desires me sexually, which makes things even harder, as I feel like if she just said "I only like women" it would make things much easier. But I highly agree with your perspective, I am beginning to find my own feet to stand on in this and am starting to have more of a "what's best for me" mentality, which is something I honestly have put off for many years. Also thank you for the compliment, it is nice to not feel like the bad guy in all this, which sounds somewhat common for people who are experiencing the other side of their spouse finding themselves.
I have no issue with people who have and own their se
…Support » Struggling to Decide and How to Feel » December 19, 2024 12:05 pm |
Monkey branching into a new relationship, means that she will need a firm hold of the old one before deciding to let go and discard you. If the new one still has issues where she cannot fully commit to it, she will play both camps for as long as it suits her. A has been said, actions count much more than words. Do not stay in a relationship with a lesbian when you are contemplating children in the future. She has already shown you that she will leave you for a woman if the chances are there. If this happens down the line when you are a father, the implications are going to be horrendous for you and your children. You have been given the opportunity to dodge a bullet that I was not given. That, or you take it for her. You could end up as the sperm donor and the free childcare that she needs to live her authentic life. You seem to be a great guy, with your heart in the right place. This heart should sit next to the heart of a straight woman who is committed to you and the relationship as well. You don’t need to accept this amount of disrespect in your life. She wants to be be gay, or bisexual or whatever she wants to feel she is to suit her own needs. That is her problem not yours. Also, if someone tells you to look somewhere else for a more ‘balanced’ view, it is because they are trying to suggest that this view is more balanced than any other. What I will say finally is, that if you accept her and her behaviour now, this normalises it. In the future, she may use this to assuage herself of any conscience challenges when it comes to the next woman she develops feelings for.
Is He/She Gay » Have I been a fool? » December 11, 2024 8:51 am |
OutofHisCloset, I am still trying to understand the some of the implications of what you have said, but one thing I do relate to is the escalstion of his crossdressing. Since I found out about it most of the clothese he chooses to buy for himself are woman's clothes, although generally shoes, jeans and t shirts so he is wearing women's versions fo clothes most of the time, and as I think I said there is no men's underwear in his drawer. The thing that scares me though is that what you have describe is a transgender identity rather than crossdressing and from what I have read, so far, autogynephilia leads to mtf transition. My husband has said he doesn't really see himself as a man but I don't see him, and could never see him as a woman
It is a very difficult thing for anyone to get their head around. The way I see it is based on my own understanding and studies, and my perspective as a heterosexual man. There is quite an important distinction to be made at the outset for the purposes of definition. It is quite controversial for some, but sometimes the truth is just that. Transgender is different from transsexual. The motivations and presentations are distinct from each other. Transgender people experience gender dysphoria from a young age and will feel that their physical presentation of their biological gender does not meet their internal sense of who they really are. If after diagnosis, they transition physically into the gender that meets their internal view of self, it is met with relief and they will continue to live a life that they are comfortable with. It is virtually impossible for someone who suffers with this, to get into and prosecute a gender typical relationship to the point of marriage and children without the very obvious signs of discomfort and dysphoria becoming apparent. It is this presentation that society chooses to believe a transgender person to be. This is entirely valid as it shows a level of understanding an
Strategies for MOM's » Embracing my husband's same sex attraction » September 18, 2024 1:27 pm |
I wish you all the best in your endeavours Alex. I think it takes an enormous amount of effort and faith to navigate homosexuality in the way that you are. I will say that you have made a rod for your own back by physically and emotionally helping him to realise his homosexual fantasies from the outset. This was the actual line that shouldn’t have been crossed willingly. Since then you have negotiated with yourself as to what is and isn’t acceptable. The next time your subconscious steps in to point out to your conscious mind that something is wrong. Please don’t tell it is a ‘broken monkey brain’. It is only doing what it has evolved to do to keep you safe. It tells you what you need to hear to keep you happy. A bit like your husband and the gay counsellor. Who I expect has done very well over the last couple of years out of the ambiguity he has created.