I’m sure OP feels bad enough without random strangers lecturing him about commitment live.
Unless you have lived with a partner who is physically disabled and suicidal then you are in absolutely no position to judge him and the decisions he has to make which he is not going to take lightly.
What happens now is that you move on. It’s the only way you’ll find any peace.
If you decide to stay then, honestly, you’d deserve what you get. The unending feelings of betrayal, sadness, anger, anxiety…etc. You’ll always second guess what she’s doing/thinking. You’ll feel like the backup plan at best (you are).
Forgiving something like this shows that you don’t respect yourself. So why should she show any respect for you after you’ve taken her back?
Walk away and walk tall. Know that you are worthy of respect. If you don’t enforce your boundaries, don’t be surprised when people walk all over you.
Do you have friends or family with a vehicle? Someone else asked what it is your looking for… I’m starting to wonder too. I’m not trying to be rude, but you’ve had excuses for every answer people have tried to give you. Your situation sounds frustrating, but there are things you can do.
I have DRAWERS full of letters and photos of old boyfriends. I have chats from my ex husband, chats from the guy I was dating last year…. I wouldn't worry about it.
I feel you, man. I've been through a similar experience, and it sucks – something has to change; as you've recognised, you can't keep living like this. I'll give a bit of my wisdom:
Therapy needs to be a priority for yourself. If you're not set on divorce, couples therapy could help with a lot of the issues (division of chores is incredibly simple for a trained third-party to help with), however things may be beyond the point of no return. Personally, I think that point came when she hit you, but that's your call to make. Regardless, it sounds like you have a lot of pent-up frustration and worries to work through, and a therapist will make you feel a lot better throughout this process.
The only other point I'll make from my experience is this: people are resilient, when they have to be. I honestly thought my ex would be dead within a month of me leaving her, and she did too, but it has been years now and we are both a lot happier with our lives now. She was 100% dependent on me in almost every aspect of life, but when she was forced to adjust she did.
It sounds like you both need better communication. And I will always think that it’s never a bad idea to look at what you can do to make it better before shifting blame and criticism to your partner. (This doesn’t apply to situations where there is clear abuse)
It sounds like you are quick to be defensive. This is probably because she is frequently getting annoyed at you when you feel like you’ve handled the situation appropriately. And as it escalates you both feel justified in your upset because it’s escalated.
Next time try to not escalate. You can be firm without being defensive. I would try making the partner aware that there is another option. “You’re getting mad at me because you think I’ve not taken this reasonable step, when I feel I have done the right thing. Would you like to ask about it before getting mad?”
The other thing is if she gets overly annoyed at something you have done, but you don’t feel the result is justified. “I don’t think it’s fair that you speak to me that way when I’ve done x thing. You make mistakes too and I don’t speak to you that way, and so it’s not okay that you this to me”.
It’s about highlighting the communication being used, instead of trying to defend the issue being raised. By being defensive you’re basically just arguing back, no one is taking the step to be the bigger person. If you do get better at it, you may find she does to, as you’re both learning to better communicate and have better results.
They have a child together. It's not just ex hanging out with parents, its parents spending time with their grandchild. This seems like a very healthy family dynamic.
And yes, it is absolutely weird and toxic to hate your partners ex just because they're an ex. That is not ok, and should not be normalized. She's literally the evil stepmother.
I'll probably get down voted for this but if you want to stay in the relationship its going to require work from both of you.
First you both have to accept that your old relationship is dead. She broke it.
She needs to to work on rebuilding trust and you need to work on letting go of your negative feelings. You both need to work on communicating better and understanding what you both need and expect from each other.
There were many opportunities where she could have voiced what she was feeling but she chose to choose the brief hit she got from doing something illicit instead of working on the relationship. She needs to understand why. Therapy will help both of you but there are no guarantees you'll ever get back to where you were before this happened.
I’m sure OP feels bad enough without random strangers lecturing him about commitment live.
Unless you have lived with a partner who is physically disabled and suicidal then you are in absolutely no position to judge him and the decisions he has to make which he is not going to take lightly.
What happens now is that you move on. It’s the only way you’ll find any peace.
If you decide to stay then, honestly, you’d deserve what you get. The unending feelings of betrayal, sadness, anger, anxiety…etc. You’ll always second guess what she’s doing/thinking. You’ll feel like the backup plan at best (you are).
Forgiving something like this shows that you don’t respect yourself. So why should she show any respect for you after you’ve taken her back?
Walk away and walk tall. Know that you are worthy of respect. If you don’t enforce your boundaries, don’t be surprised when people walk all over you.
Do you have friends or family with a vehicle? Someone else asked what it is your looking for… I’m starting to wonder too. I’m not trying to be rude, but you’ve had excuses for every answer people have tried to give you. Your situation sounds frustrating, but there are things you can do.
I have DRAWERS full of letters and photos of old boyfriends. I have chats from my ex husband, chats from the guy I was dating last year…. I wouldn't worry about it.
I feel you, man. I've been through a similar experience, and it sucks – something has to change; as you've recognised, you can't keep living like this. I'll give a bit of my wisdom:
Therapy needs to be a priority for yourself. If you're not set on divorce, couples therapy could help with a lot of the issues (division of chores is incredibly simple for a trained third-party to help with), however things may be beyond the point of no return. Personally, I think that point came when she hit you, but that's your call to make. Regardless, it sounds like you have a lot of pent-up frustration and worries to work through, and a therapist will make you feel a lot better throughout this process.
The only other point I'll make from my experience is this: people are resilient, when they have to be. I honestly thought my ex would be dead within a month of me leaving her, and she did too, but it has been years now and we are both a lot happier with our lives now. She was 100% dependent on me in almost every aspect of life, but when she was forced to adjust she did.
It sounds like you both need better communication. And I will always think that it’s never a bad idea to look at what you can do to make it better before shifting blame and criticism to your partner. (This doesn’t apply to situations where there is clear abuse)
It sounds like you are quick to be defensive. This is probably because she is frequently getting annoyed at you when you feel like you’ve handled the situation appropriately. And as it escalates you both feel justified in your upset because it’s escalated.
Next time try to not escalate. You can be firm without being defensive. I would try making the partner aware that there is another option. “You’re getting mad at me because you think I’ve not taken this reasonable step, when I feel I have done the right thing. Would you like to ask about it before getting mad?”
The other thing is if she gets overly annoyed at something you have done, but you don’t feel the result is justified. “I don’t think it’s fair that you speak to me that way when I’ve done x thing. You make mistakes too and I don’t speak to you that way, and so it’s not okay that you this to me”.
It’s about highlighting the communication being used, instead of trying to defend the issue being raised. By being defensive you’re basically just arguing back, no one is taking the step to be the bigger person. If you do get better at it, you may find she does to, as you’re both learning to better communicate and have better results.
They have a child together. It's not just ex hanging out with parents, its parents spending time with their grandchild. This seems like a very healthy family dynamic.
And yes, it is absolutely weird and toxic to hate your partners ex just because they're an ex. That is not ok, and should not be normalized. She's literally the evil stepmother.
I'll probably get down voted for this but if you want to stay in the relationship its going to require work from both of you.
First you both have to accept that your old relationship is dead. She broke it.
She needs to to work on rebuilding trust and you need to work on letting go of your negative feelings. You both need to work on communicating better and understanding what you both need and expect from each other.
There were many opportunities where she could have voiced what she was feeling but she chose to choose the brief hit she got from doing something illicit instead of working on the relationship. She needs to understand why. Therapy will help both of you but there are no guarantees you'll ever get back to where you were before this happened.
“I’m not going to wipe my ass until you clean up”