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January 11, 2022 4:22 am  #1831


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Sean, I don't remember what user name I had. The content described the use of transexual porn, the only porn, he viewed escalating to adult friend finder, and my space, and him having these open, oozing sores on his hands, arms, and groin area. Multiple cell phone calls to numbers that I have no idea to where or who. I have been told that straight men view transexual porn but I believe in his case, since it was the only type of porn, he could justify to himself since they "looked like women" it was okay. I have heard him talk in his sleep during this time that quote, "I hate sleeping with her. I like dick." He says he would never say this and called me a liar. Why in the world would I make this up??? He told me to get over it and stop beating a dead horse. He was just tired of hearing about the way he made me feel. Anyway. I hope that jars your memory.

 

January 11, 2022 9:40 am  #1832


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

In response to OSD:

1. Sean, I don't remember what user name I had. The content described the use of transexual porn, the only porn, he viewed escalating to adult friend finder, and my space, and him having these open, oozing sores on his hands, arms, and groin area. Multiple cell phone calls to numbers that I have no idea to where or who.

Yes this rings a bell but "oozing sores", egads! 

2. I have been told that straight men view transexual porn but I believe in his case, since it was the only type of porn, he could justify to himself since they "looked like women" it was okay.

I like to paraphrase Judge Judy, "If a gay-in-denial and/or cheating husband's mouth is moving, he's lying." 

3. I have heard him talk in his sleep during this time that quote, "I hate sleeping with her. I like dick." He says he would never say this and called me a liar.

Classic Gaslighting - Wikipedia

4. Why in the world would I make this up??? He told me to get over it and stop beating a dead horse. He was just tired of hearing about the way he made me feel. Anyway. I hope that jars your memory.

It does jar my memory although I have to admit how painful it is to read about what a complete *sshole this man is. 

5. ​I've seen a few posts here examining their husband's constant use of hemorrhoid cream. I see the correlation but need more clarification. I know that my husband uses it constantly.

This would suggest he's a gay bottom, or more on the receiving end of anal play. While there are endless combinations, most gay men are either tops (car), bottoms (garage), or versatile (both).  

6. Even had to have them [hemorrhoid] lanced. These also started around the same time sex life dropped off. Do all gay men experience hemorrhoids regularly?

I myself do not. While I'd suggest consulting with a medical specialist, what you've described suggests your husband is involved in frequent and rather extreme anal/ass play. While I won't delve into any details, please do not have sex with this man. Between the oozing open sores and now the hemorrhoids, I think that any sexual activity with this man would be very very risky. Please don't put your health at risk. 

Last edited by Sean (January 11, 2022 10:55 pm)

 

January 11, 2022 3:21 pm  #1833


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Hello again Sean,
You wrote before that you truely loved your wife when you met and continued to for a long time until porn and cyber sex started to take up your mind. Also that having sex with your wife felt like doing it with a sister. It was finished once you had been with a man.

So would you say you started hating your ex as your desire for men grew or still loved her in a platonic way while being mean and cruel for control purposes. Do you still love her? Like a sister? Like a best friend? Or is it more like feeling affection and attachment for a pet or toy because you have memories? Would you get out of your way to help her even if she or your children don't ask for it? For example if she were in crisis, victim of crime, financial trouble, illness etc.. would you make yourself available for her? If she never remarried or does not have a partner in the future, would you be at her deathbed? Would you want her to be there at your last hours(I know you have met someone but her as a plus one)?
Maybe you answered these already. I Apologize if you have. I didn't manage to read all 180something pages ^^
I am just wondering (having already made my mind to leave)  if my husband, even if he never comes out of the closet, once I am out of his way, would his kindness and humor he showed at the beginning return? Not that I would ever get back in that mess.. I miss the man I fell in love with so much. It all feels so wrong now. I think he did have true feelings for me initially like you did for your wife. Very protective, so kind, so understanding, so keen to learn about me and to share what he knew... we dated a long time. It is only a year after the wedding the metamorphosis started.

Last edited by Lostintranslation (January 11, 2022 3:29 pm)

 

January 11, 2022 10:55 pm  #1834


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Thank you for writing LIT. In reply: 

1. Hello again Sean, You wrote before that you truly loved your wife when you met and continued to for a long time until porn and cyber sex started to take up your mind.

Correction: I used to write that I loved my (then) wife, but I truly loved the cover she provided me to hide my sexuality. I think it would be more accurate to state that I loved her as a beard, not as a wife. Urban Dictionary: Beard

2. Also that having sex with your wife felt like doing it with a sister.

Correct. As a gay man with zero attraction to women, having sex with my ex-wife always made my skin crawl. 

3. It was finished once you had been with a man.

True. Once I'd had real-world sex with another man, I could no longer have sex with her for three reasons: first, I could no longer "pretend" that I was attracted to women; second, I couldn't ask her to start using condoms without raising suspicions; and third, in the back of my mind I always feared giving her an STD/STI if we had unprotected sex.  

4. So would you say you started hating your ex as your desire for men grew or still loved her in a platonic way while being mean and cruel for control purposes. Do you still love her? Like a sister? Like a best friend? Or is it more like feeling affection and attachment for a pet or toy because you have memories?

If I'm being totally honest, I never loved her (see answer #1) so today it's more like affection/memories. 

5. Would you get out of your way to help her even if she or your children don't ask for it? For example if she were in crisis, victim of crime, financial trouble, illness etc.. would you make yourself available for her? If she never remarried or does not have a partner in the future, would you be at her deathbed?

Yes. 

6. Would you want her to be there at your last hours(I know you have met someone but her as a plus one)?

No. 

7. Maybe you answered these already. I Apologize if you have. I didn't manage to read all 180something pages. 

I don't believe I've answered questions 4-5-6 so thank you for asking.  

8. I am just wondering (having already made my mind to leave)  if my husband, even if he never comes out of the closet, once I am out of his way, would his kindness and humor he showed at the beginning return? Not that I would ever get back in that mess.

It's impossible for me to predict how he will act once you leave with your son. 

9. I miss the man I fell in love with so much. It all feels so wrong now. I think he did have true feelings for me initially like you did for your wife. Very protective, so kind, so understanding, so keen to learn about me and to share what he knew... we dated a long time. It is only a year after the wedding the metamorphosis started.

Given this statement, I think it's safe to assume that he pretended to be this person: 

Very protective, so kind, so understanding, so keen to learn about me and to share what he knew...

and the man you're with now is who he truly is. Once you leave and effectively stop acting like his beard (Urban Dictionary: Beard), there is no way to predict how he's going to react. But given the information provided so far, I would be prepared for a lot of anger and retaliation. Good luck my friend and please keep us posted. 

 

January 12, 2022 2:02 am  #1835


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Understood. Thank you.
Last question,
Considering you loved your ex as a beard but never had real feelings or emotions for her as a human being, is the love for your children fake too? Is that feeling also just from attachment and memories? Is it social responsibilities or morals that make you remain in their lives as a father? As a person who cared so much to appear straight to the world, is it a continuation to appear you are still a great father despite being gay? Sorry if I am offending you.

I understand women who decide to go through pregnancy from rape, who hate the rapist but still love the child somehow because as a mother, there is a biological connection. But the rapist wouldn't give a damn about it. Maybe the comparison is wrong but I hope you get the geste I am trying to explain here.

And thanks again for the truth. Makes my departure even easier.






Sean wrote:

Thank you for writing LIT. In reply: 

1. Hello again Sean, You wrote before that you truly loved your wife when you met and continued to for a long time until porn and cyber sex started to take up your mind.

Correction: I used to write that I loved my (then) wife, but I truly loved the cover she provided me to hide my sexuality. I think it would be more accurate to state that I loved her as a beard, not as a wife. Urban Dictionary: Beard

2. Also that having sex with your wife felt like doing it with a sister.

Correct. As a gay man with zero attraction to women, having sex with my ex-wife always made my skin crawl. 

3. It was finished once you had been with a man.

True. Once I'd had real-world sex with another man, I could no longer have sex with her for three reasons: first, I could no longer "pretend" that I was attracted to women; second, I couldn't ask her to start using condoms without raising suspicions; and third, in the back of my mind I always feared giving her an STD/STI if we had unprotected sex.  

4. So would you say you started hating your ex as your desire for men grew or still loved her in a platonic way while being mean and cruel for control purposes. Do you still love her? Like a sister? Like a best friend? Or is it more like feeling affection and attachment for a pet or toy because you have memories?

If I'm being totally honest, I never loved her (see answer #1) so today it's more like affection/memories. 

5. Would you get out of your way to help her even if she or your children don't ask for it? For example if she were in crisis, victim of crime, financial trouble, illness etc.. would you make yourself available for her? If she never remarried or does not have a partner in the future, would you be at her deathbed?

Yes. 

6. Would you want her to be there at your last hours(I know you have met someone but her as a plus one)?

No. 

7. Maybe you answered these already. I Apologize if you have. I didn't manage to read all 180something pages. 

I don't believe I've answered questions 4-5-6 so thank you for asking.  

8. I am just wondering (having already made my mind to leave)  if my husband, even if he never comes out of the closet, once I am out of his way, would his kindness and humor he showed at the beginning return? Not that I would ever get back in that mess.

It's impossible for me to predict how he will act once you leave with your son. 

9. I miss the man I fell in love with so much. It all feels so wrong now. I think he did have true feelings for me initially like you did for your wife. Very protective, so kind, so understanding, so keen to learn about me and to share what he knew... we dated a long time. It is only a year after the wedding the metamorphosis started.

Given this statement, I think it's safe to assume that he pretended to be this person: 

Very protective, so kind, so understanding, so keen to learn about me and to share what he knew...

and the man you're with now is who he truly is. Once you leave and effectively stop acting like his beard (Urban Dictionary: Beard), there is no way to predict how he's going to react. But given the information provided so far, I would be prepared for a lot of anger and retaliation. Good luck my friend and please keep us posted. 

 

January 12, 2022 4:58 am  #1836


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Hello again LIT. In reply: 

1. Considering you loved your ex as a beard but never had real feelings or emotions for her as a human being, is the love for your children fake too? Is that feeling also just from attachment and memories?

That's an excellent question. As a deeply closeted gay man and narcissist, my feelings towards my former spouse and children were largely performative. While closeted, I thrived on the approval of family and friends, not love. As I shared in my podcast interview, I didn't have the capacity to love because I spent all day, every day, fighting to hide my sexuality. At the time, I had about all the capacity to love as a praying mantis. Now out and no longer living in fear, I have genuine love and affection for my children. It was rocky for the early years following separation, divorce, and coming out, but now I love them very much for who they are and not for the approval/status/cover they provide me.   

2. Is it social responsibilities or morals that make you remain in their lives as a father? As a person who cared so much to appear straight to the world, is it a continuation to appear you are still a great father despite being gay? Sorry if I am offending you.

You're not offending me as these are excellent and insightful questions. I went through "gay adolescence" during the dying days of my marriage and for a time after separation. During this time, I did things with my kids purely out of a sense of obligation and/or performance. Now that I'm no longer acting like a petulant teen, and now that my kids love/accept me as their gay dad, my relationship with my three kids has healed. But it took time.  

3. I understand women who decide to go through pregnancy from rape, who hate the rapist but still love the child somehow because as a mother, there is a biological connection. But the rapist wouldn't give a damn about it.

Troubling. 

4. Maybe the comparison is wrong but I hope you get the gist I am trying to explain here. And thanks again for the truth. Makes my departure even easier.

I think I understand what you're asking, namely: 

- Did my husband ever love me? 
- How will my husband act/react when I leave? 
- Did he ever love our son? 
- How will he be as a father following separation/divorce? 

I think these questions are best answered by fellow members of the forum and perhaps by a mental health professional who has experience with coming out, narcissism, and divorce. In my unprofessional opinion and based on the information you have provided here, your future ex-husband appears to be deeply closeted. Please keep in mind that he may continue living in two worlds: outwardly straight but also living a hidden paralell existence. (You mentioned something about your husband having a secret appartment for gay hook ups.) So please keep in mind that these two worlds may never merge, particularly as he ages. A good reasource if you're interested would be "The Velvet Rage" by Dr. Alan Downs. There is a chapter on "splitting" which is the stage your husband currently lives in: gay online and then straight with his family. For me personally, while in my own closet, I lacked the ability to love others because I always saw relationships as conditional. Conditional because I had to be ready to end the relationship if they found out my secret (gay). While I think it's very healthy and normal to focus on your future ex-husband, I wouldn't lose a lifetime trying to figure him out nor solve his problems from afar. Once you two separate/divorce, he's no longer your responsibility. You'll then be free to lavish all of that love and affection on yourself, your son, and your own family. I hope that helps. Be well! 

Last edited by Sean (January 12, 2022 5:02 am)

 

January 18, 2022 9:25 pm  #1837


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

This is very helpful for me to read. I married my bisexual husband as a very strict religious kid just out of college, after his conversion therapy told him he’d stop having same sex attraction if he married a girl. Like God would remove it because of his faith. He felt attraction to women, but wanted the male attraction gone because it was seen as evil. Of course, it didn’t go away and we both have had 20 years of painful marriage because of that lie.

In October I found Our Path and heard a podcast that may be yours. It wrecked me! It was our story. He listened and then went out for hours of driving, because it cracked open his denial and abuse of me. The sexless marriage, blaming everything on me, being emotionally cruel but also very helpful so everyone saw him as godly. He came home, asked me if we could go away from the kids to talk, and for two hours he confessed that he was doing this to me. I didn’t realize before that the sexuality was the reason - I always thought I was disappointing and unlovable. We’re in marriage therapy, he’s getting his own sex therapy, he was diagnosed with Intimacy Anorexia and he’s recovering.

In this new recovery, he’s admitting that he doesn’t like our 5 kids. He’s never attached to them or felt like a dad. He resents having to take care of them. He doesn’t like having all these little kids always around. I don’t get it at all! But he says he wanted to move up in church leadership and also avoid suspicion about his sexuality. Having a big family meant everyone seeing him as loving kids. It’s so confusing to me. But I’ve always FELT all of this, and was deeply pained by how he isn’t really connected to them. I just didn’t know why, since he’s more helpful with kid stuff than any dads I know.

We’re trying to make this MOM work. He’s now really loving and initiates sex all the time. He’s doing great in therapy, is switching careers so he can stop being burned out and drained. I’m eager to see who he really is when he’s more healed and authentic. We left church so he’s not performing for them any more! I have so much pain from how he abused me, but also hope now for the first time.

 

January 19, 2022 4:13 am  #1838


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

I appreciate you posting LMM. Before getting started, I'd encourage you to: 

1. Read this website's OurPath (formerly SSN) Open Forum » First Aid Kit: How to survive finding out your partner is LGBT (boardhost.com)
2. Get tested for STDs/STIs. 
3. Reach out to friends/family or Personal Support - OurPath for help. 

In reply: 

1. This is very helpful for me to read. I married my bisexual husband as a very strict religious kid just out of college, after his conversion therapy told him he’d stop having same sex attraction if he married a girl. Like God would remove it because of his faith. He felt attraction to women, but wanted the male attraction gone because it was seen as evil. Of course, it didn’t go away and we both have had 20 years of painful marriage because of that lie.

This is a common story and I'm so sorry you've both suffered. "Pray Away" is an excellent Netflix documentary about faith-based reparative/conversion therapy. It is now understood that sexuality cannot be changed through such methods and many former leaders of such groups have now condemned such practices.   

2. In October I found Our Path and heard a podcast that may be yours. It wrecked me! It was our story. He listened and then went out for hours of driving, because it cracked open his denial and abuse of me.

If you're referring to this podcast: S4 Ep 3: A “Narcissist in Recovery” Gets Real - OurPath, yes this is me. I'm sorry if it caused you more pain but am also relieved that your husband admitted he was abusing you. Denying our wives sex/intimacy, gaslighting/blaming them, cheating on them, and lying about our sexuality are all forms of abuse in my opinion.  

3. The sexless marriage, blaming everything on me, being emotionally cruel but also very helpful so everyone saw him as godly. He came home, asked me if we could go away from the kids to talk, and for two hours he confessed that he was doing this to me.

Good. I hope he apologized as well. 

4. I didn’t realize before that the sexuality was the reason - I always thought I was disappointing and unlovable.

None of this is your fault. 

5. We’re in marriage therapy, he’s getting his own sex therapy, he was diagnosed with Intimacy Anorexia and he’s recovering.

I also hope you're in individual counselling because you're a victim as well. 

6. In this new recovery, he’s admitting that he doesn’t like our 5 kids. He’s never attached to them or felt like a dad. He resents having to take care of them. He doesn’t like having all these little kids always around. I don’t get it at all!

That's quite the admission. While I know it's a lot, please also try to focus on how this is affecting your children. They are often the silent victims of toxic gay/straight marriages. 

7. But he says he wanted to move up in church leadership and also avoid suspicion about his sexuality. Having a big family meant everyone seeing him as loving kids. It’s so confusing to me.

His sexuality does not explain everything...some men are just *ssholes and terrible fathers. Again I'd consult with a child psychologist because it's highly damaging for children to grow up with angry/resentful fathers who don't love them. 

8. But I’ve always FELT all of this, and was deeply pained by how he isn’t really connected to them. I just didn’t know why, since he’s more helpful with kid stuff than any dads I know.

For me personally, there was often an element of performance in everything I did and this included fatherhood. As I shared during the above podcast, closeted/questioning husbands like me are often very good at being "on stage." This means I "played" the good dad and perfect husband for others. But once I was "off stage" I stopped.  

9. We’re trying to make this MOM work. He’s now really loving and initiates sex all the time. He’s doing great in therapy, is switching careers so he can stop being burned out and drained.

I myself am against mixed orientation marriages, particularly when husbands are gay and have a history of abuse.  Statistically most MOMs fail but there are support groups for MOMs and a thread on this forum as well. With regards to him initiating sex, I'm very happy for you both but I'd be mindful that there is often a "honeymoon" phase in these relationships. By "honeymoon" I mean a short period of a few weeks or months during which the gay/questioning husband furiously acts like the perfect spouse to keep his wife from separating/divorcing. (Some books also refer to this as "love bombing.")  

10. I’m eager to see who he really is when he’s more healed and authentic.

Based on my experience, the "honeymoon" phase doesn't last more than 3-6 months. If after this time, he's back to his former toxic ways, once again is the angry/distant father, and he no longer has sex with you, I'd discuss all of this with your qualified therapist in individual counselling (not with your marriage counsellor). I'd also suggest journaling so that you can keep track of everything because gay/questioning husbands often shift blame on to their caring/empathetic wives.  

11. We left church so he’s not performing for them any more! I have so much pain from how he abused me, but also hope now for the first time.

The difficulty for straight spouses in your position is determining who you married. Is this new "honeymoon" version of your husband really him or is he just playing the role of "recovered husband"? Only time will tell. I apologize if I've rained on your parade because I do want you to be aware of the risks in these marriages. Regardless, I applaud your husband for finally being honest with you, hope his abuse stops, and wish you both good luck. 

12. [Added from your post on the MOM thread] But I worry about misleading him. I’ve told him that I agree with his therapist that when our kids are grown and our worldviews have time to grow, I might be OK with different things. He hopes I'll be OK with something like him having oral sex with a guy at a gay bar but not emotion-charged sex in the sense of spending the night in bed with a guy or having ongoing relationships. For now, it feels good to say “Hey, we’ve changed so much lately maybe I’d be fine. But there’s a good chance I won’t.” Still, he may be pinning a lot of hope on it because now for the first time there’s a chance.

Good on you for setting your boundaries: NO to an open marriage until our young children are grown and out of the house. If I'm reading this correctly, you've just started couples counselling and your husband is pushing hard for an open relationship. If true, that's some straight up bullsh*t. A kind and caring husband would: acknowlege your feelings; apologize for hurting you; stop making you feel like you're holding him back from "exploring" (read: cheating); and then let you set the timeline for moving forward. While I'm not a mental health professional, you appear to be apologizing for having boudaries and I reckon your boundaries are more than justified: you're not ready for an open marriage. It's perfectly normal to state: "I'm uncomfortable with my husband f*cking other men." A normal/loving husband would respect this totally acceptable boundary. An abusive husband punishes you for non-compliance with things like brooding behaviour, the silent treatment, and little digs to chip away at your resistance (inappropriate statements to test you followed by "I'm just joking...lighten up!"). This is why I'd urge you to have individual counselling to have someone 100% focused on you and perhaps explore co-dependency. Moreover, he's using the bullsh*t Christian/conversion therapy language like "blowjobs aren't cheating" (wrong) and "it's ok if I don't have feelings for the other man" (again wrong). Cheating is cheating, particularly if he's choosing to have sex with men outside of your marriage. So what's my point? He doesn't get to set the agenda here: you do. He doesn't understand honesty enough to declare his sexual preference: you do. He doesn't have the right to unilaterally open you relationship: that's a decision for both of you. From what I understand, most women in your situation who have successful MOMs acknowledge their husband's attraction to men, without opening the marriage. While I'd discuss this with a mental health professional, I think it's a huge red flag if your husband is so quickly pushing to open your marriage and appears to be oblivious as to why you have boundaries about the same. End of rant! 

Thanks again for posting and please keep coming back. As always, if you disagree with anything I wrote or would like to ask additional questions, feel free to post again. Be well! 

Last edited by Sean (January 19, 2022 4:51 am)

 

January 19, 2022 8:26 am  #1839


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Thanks so much for these thoughts - truly helpful! I actually found Our Path through the Pray Away movie website! My husband had conversion therapy from those people as a teen, but watched Pray away without realizing he’d see the people who abused and damaged him. Then he asked me to watch with him, and he was even more broken watching it again. It was good but very hard for him to see those same people apologizing and recanting what he was still trying to do. He was gone the next morning, just disappeared in sort of a breakdown that day. He cried for days and he never cried our whole marriage, even when our kid almost died in the ICU! A few days later I found your interview and that’s when he really opened up to how bad he treated me.

It’s helpful to know about the 3-6 month phase. I’ve wondered that. I’ve had my own therapy a few years now and just joined a 12 step group to heal from abuse. Everyone tells me to only trust changes behaviors, not words! I’ve been amazed at how remorseful he is, after never admitting to being wrong before. When he broke down, he really pulled back the curtain to show me why things happened. He’s afraid he’ll go back to that. He apologized to our older kids for making them think things were my fault and making himself look like the stable, nice parent. We’ll see if he keeps recovering.

Our kids have all been in individual therapy for trauma and anxiety for a couple years. Now I understand why they all needed it so badly. We just found out our youngest (at 5) isn’t autistic, like they thought for 3 years, but has complex PTSD. This family life is a killer for kids. I was a really sheltered but gentle and kind Christian girl who thought I’d love being a mom. Instead I’ve been in this unmanageable life of constant pain. I wish I could go back and not listen to the Christians who said God called me to heal his sexual problems. It’s not fair to my kids that they were born into this nightmare.

Last edited by LMM (January 19, 2022 8:27 am)

 

January 19, 2022 10:06 am  #1840


Re: A gay ex-husband answers your questions

Thank you for replying LMM. You wrote: 

1. Thanks so much for these thoughts - truly helpful! I actually found Our Path through the "Pray Away" movie website!

Glad you found help/support. For those who don't know "Pray Away", it's a Netflix documentary about conversion therapy. 

2. My husband had conversion therapy from those people as a teen, but watched Pray away without realizing he’d see the people who abused and damaged him. Then he asked me to watch with him, and he was even more broken watching it again. It was good but very hard for him to see those same people apologizing and recanting what he was still trying to do.

I can imagine watching "Pray Away" was difficult for you as well. 

3. He was gone the next morning, just disappeared in sort of a breakdown that day. He cried for days and he never cried our whole marriage, even when our kid almost died in the ICU! A few days later I found your interview and that’s when he really opened up to how bad he treated me.

Let's hope that honesty and healing continue. 

4. It’s helpful to know about the 3-6 month [honeymoon] phase. I’ve wondered that.

For those who haven't read our previous exchange, I mentioned that gay/questioning husbands often initiate a "honeymoon" phase following conflict. In my limited experience, it's an intense period of "love bombing" during which he tries to win back a straight spouse; a spouse who is seriously considering separation/divorce. He initiates sex (often after years without intimacy), buys her gifts, talks about his feelings, and generally acts like the husband/father she's always wanted. Sadly, it's often short-lived. Many gay-in-denial (GID) husbands can only keep this act up for a few weeks or months. Over time he eventually falls back into old habits: no sex; back on gay porn; verbal abuse; or (worse) cheating with men. My point is that only time will tell if he's changed or is pretending to have changed.   

5. I’ve had my own therapy a few years now and just joined a 12 step group to heal from abuse. Everyone tells me to only trust changes behaviors, not words!

Good for you! Joining a 12-step programme for abuse is an excellent idea. I hope you find a lot of love and support through that fellowship. 

6. I’ve been amazed at how remorseful he is, after never admitting to being wrong before. When he broke down, he really pulled back the curtain to show me why things happened. He’s afraid he’ll go back to that. He apologized to our older kids for making them think things were my fault and making himself look like the stable, nice parent. We’ll see if he keeps recovering.

Again this is a very good start. Only time will tell if he's a loveably bunny or a scorpion who just occasionally wore a bunny suit to hide his true nature.  

7. Our kids have all been in individual therapy for trauma and anxiety for a couple years. Now I understand why they all needed it so badly. We just found out our youngest (at 5) isn’t autistic, like they thought for 3 years, but has complex PTSD. This family life is a killer for kids.

Amen! Thank you for having the courage to share this. Toxic dads and toxic marriages are like second-hand smoke for children...meaning that no matter how much we parents try to hide and protect them from the smoke, it gets into everything and everyone. 

8. I was a really sheltered but gentle and kind Christian girl who thought I’d love being a mom. Instead I’ve been in this unmanageable life of constant pain.

I'm so sorry you and your children have suffered.  

9. I wish I could go back and not listen to the Christians who said God called me to heal his sexual problems. It’s not fair to my kids that they were born into this nightmare.

This hurts my heart but I reckon you're doing the right things to protect yourself and your family. Thank you again for sharing so openly & honestly. Be well! 

 

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