OurPath Open Forum

This Open Forum is funded and administered by OurPath, Inc., (formerly the Straight Spouse Network). OurPath is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides support to Straight Partners and Partners of Trans People who have discovered that their partner is LGBT+. Your contribution, no matter how small, helps us provide our community with this space for discussion and connection.


BE A DONOR >>>


You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



February 4, 2022 12:01 am  #1


Walked in on my husband with his friend

I’ve been happily married for 33 years , perfect husband etc, only to walk in on my husband with a man. It has come to light that they have been meeting up at our home, his home, cars etc for just over 3 years. This is also his friend, who is also married.  Undressing, etc etc 
My husband says he loves me always has, never stopped wanting me, says it was a curiosity thing and it just kept going. He says he’s not gay, bisexual and he’s not even into men
Can anyone tell me if this could be true - I’m devastated and a mess

 

February 4, 2022 4:46 am  #2


Re: Walked in on my husband with his friend

Watch18 I'm so sorry this is happening.

A man who has a 3 year sexual affair with another man is gay.  He is also unfaithful. And dishonest. You CAN'T take the word of a deceitful liar about how many partners or how long he's been cheating.

He could have been honest and come out to you, given you a great divorce settlement, and gone on to live his gay life.  Instead he deceived you and has cheated for years before being caught. This means you can never trust him again and need to start looking after yourself and protecting your health and your share of marital assets.

Firstly stop all sexual contact and have a thorough STI check,
including HIV. 

Secondly find a therapist you can talk to to help you manage the emotions and maybe clarify what you want to happen next.

Thirdly check he isn't running up debt or spending family money behind your back.  Cheating is expensive.

Fourthly, consult a lawyer about what divorce might look like for you.

Now he's been found out, prepare for anger, excuses, him blaming you, threats of suicide, requests to have an open marriage, and many other nasty surprises. Don't fall for any of it - this is all on him.

Please understand that you did not cause this, you are not responsible for him or his choices. He could have been honest but chose to be a lying cheater instead. He has treated you and your marriage like rubbish.

Get angry, get organised and get rid of him.

I wish I could give you hope but there isnt any. Again, I'm so sorry.

 

February 4, 2022 5:55 am  #3


Re: Walked in on my husband with his friend

Watch18: I'm very sorry you have to go through this. 
Your husband is definitely into men.
I just want to say that it's possible your husband is not lying. He may actually believe what he's saying, despite the obvious evidence. People have surprising ability to avoid or deny uncomfortable truth. And sometimes they are just confused. My bisexual husband believed that everyone is curious about the same sex. He was genuinely surprised when I told him in detail how heterosexual people feel about having same sex relationship.
In any case, this is a difficult situation. You should follow Soaplife's advice and be prepared for anything. But trust your own instincts and don't let your husband deny the obvious.

 

February 4, 2022 8:37 am  #4


Re: Walked in on my husband with his friend

He's "just curious"?  For three years and through numerous sexual encounters in your marital bed, the other man's marital bed, their cars?  That's some curiosity!   He sounds like a Dr. Seuss book!  "I was curious here!  I was curious there!  I wanted to do it in a bed!  In the car I gave him head!"   It defies credulity.  For him to think you're credulous enough to buy this desperate excuse is either insulting or a measure of his desperation that you not act on the truth you've uncovered.

He loves you?  He sure has a funny way of showing it!  Men who love their wives do not have three year long affairs with other people--men or women, gay or straight. 

I'm sorry you need to be here, but you are in the right place, because not only is your husband cheating with a man and therefore by all evidence a closeted gay man denying to you and maybe in denial to himself about his sexuality, in handing that flimsy excuse of "just curious," your husband has begun the run-through of all the excuses in a closeted and in denial spouse's playbook. 

This current sexual partner is likely not his first, either.  He's just the first one you know about.  One move in the playbook is to admit only to what has been discovered, when the overwhelming likelihood is that this man is just the latest in a line of male lovers. 

One of the most difficult things to absorb for those of us married to closeted and/or in denial spouses is that maintaining their cover and protecting their secret (and their secret lives) is their primary motivating force, and this is true whether they are trying to deceive only others or also themselves. 

  They do not want their secret out.  They do not want to accept who they are.  They do not want their cover blown.  They do not want a change in their lifestyle.  They are afraid of exposure.  Afraid of admitting to themselves that they are gay.  Afraid of losing the lifestyle they currently enjoy.  Your value to your husband is as his beard (his cover), and they will do and say quite a lot to keep you compliant and their cover intact.

  They will throw up a smokescreen of lies.  They'll count on our shock over our discovery, weaponize our love for them, and make themselves into victims in order to manipulate us into doubting ourselves, all in order to keep us compliant and silent and in the marriage.  They'll give us a show of contrition.  They'll ask for our "understanding," our pity, and to give them a chance!  They'll undertake to show us their contrition and their love.  They'll act out in desperation and threaten suicide. 

   Or, depending on their personality, and especially if and when we show signs of exposing them or leaving them, they'll  attack.  They'll blame-shift.  They'll threaten.  They'll follow through and become vindictive in the divorce proceedings.  They'll even marry another woman as cover when we divorce them.  

  Because your husband is a cheater, you might want to visit chumplady.com.  There are a number of women and men posting there who are dealing with same-sex cheating. 

Last edited by OutofHisCloset (February 4, 2022 8:45 am)

 

February 4, 2022 9:34 am  #5


Re: Walked in on my husband with his friend

I am so sorry. My gay ex boyfriend and I went to his vacation home and took a young man that was our friend. The young man slept on the screened in porch. I woke up to find my friend in his bed. My ex said that he was "hot" and could not sleep. I had seen some red flags but this conformed it for me. My ex will be 78 this month and is well known in all parts of the state. He will never, ever come out. I know that you are in shock. Please know that the shock will lessen with time. I am holding a good thought for you.

 

February 4, 2022 10:21 am  #6


Re: Walked in on my husband with his friend

Watch18,

Am so sorry this happened to you.  If you haven't already, please read the first post on this thread:
First Aid Kit: How to survive finding out your partner is LGBT

https://straightspouse.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=1217

Here it is in a podcast:

https://ssnvoices.libsyn.com/s1-ep-14-a-checklist-for-newbies-with-seth-blackman-ssn-board-member-and-straight-spouse

Make sure to get support from trusted friends, family, clergy members.  This isn't a burden you should carry on your own.

Your husband gave you a double whammy - cheating and being outed as not straight.  That breaks the trust in a relationship and permanently changes it.  He needs to be 100% honest with you going forward.  Excuses and word salad from him are a signal that he wants to sweep this under the rug, and not help you with the pain and hurt he caused you.

You deserve to be treated with love and respect. Take care of yourself.


No - It's not too late. It's not hopeless. Even there, there's something I can do. I just have to find the will. Ikiru (1952), film directed by Akira Kurosawa 
 

March 10, 2022 3:08 pm  #7


Re: Walked in on my husband with his friend

I'm so sorry that this is happening to you. I guess you wont have to wonder the what ifs or whys or anything like that because you caught him with your own eyes.

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum