I just want to put this out there. I've had an “extensive sexual past” and my partner had less people than me but that doesn't mean anything. He's one of the best people I've ever been with despite our differences in our past.
I’ve tried to suggest things like flavored sparkling water but he’s not interested. He’s been drinking more coffee to try and help. I’ve just noticed that when we have soda in the house, he won’t pace himself and will drink multiple in a day.
This guy needs to be single and spend a lot of time working on himself. He's completely unable to regulate his own emotions, and making you do it puts you in a parental position.
There are a ton of things he should be able to say to diffuse it or comfort her
Even like “it's her job to be attractive, most normal people like use aren't getting paid to look good” or something
And yes it is about her insecurity but that's precisely why he should downplay that sort of thing around her. It's not that very hot to not talk about naked people of the opposite gender
You are friend zoned. Sorry. Only way I have seen to get out of it is to say something like. “I am sorry but I have really fallen for you and I cant be this close to you and not be in constant pain. Maybe down the road we can be friends again but I cant right now.” Then go no contact for a while and try and get over your feelings. Sometimes they come back and change their minds but I wouldn't bet a quarter on it.
Join some clubs. A running group a gym, a class or something. Maybe a cooking class or a language class. It will take time but you will find something you are passionate about, then you will meet people with similar interests. If romance follows great, if not what have you lost? What have you gained?
Age is less important other than you are old enough to know better and spending time as a full time student at 34 rather than full time working isn’t going to help a relationship. Your life wasn’t ready.
Raising someone else’s child is a red flag. It’s a no win situation for you.
Your relationship has always been rocky and you ignored it and married anyway. Red flag.
Your post was removed for the following reason(s):
Your title did not include at least two ages/genders or was not formatted correctly
Posts must:
include details about the involved parties including ages, genders, and length of relationship, and
request advice in real situations involving two or more people
We are enforcing the two rules listed above by making all titles start with ages/genders in the following format:
[##X][##X], [## X][## X], or [##-X][##-X] where ## is the age and X is the gender (currently M, F, T, A, NB, FTM, MTF but more can be added). You can have more than two ages/genders listed, but you must have at least two at the beginning of your title. Here is an example:
It's pretty rare to get cold sores from someone without symptoms(not impossible just very rare) and considering the majority of the population has cold sores, it's possible you got it like a decade ago and just didn't know.
As far as your gf, yeah she probably got dicked down, even if she didn't she lied to your face, why would you stay?
get proof (screen shots of the conversations). Get rent. then get revenge if you want her to feel the pain – post those conversations on her medias then change her passwords.
“she joked he likes pokemon” so… you know him and he knows you? he knows she has a bf? that's double shit.
“lease is in my name” after you get rent? kick her ass to the curb. She can sleep in the car she's been fucking him in.
The trust is gone. Regardless of whether he is actually lying or cheating, you don’t trust him.
This is not a good basis for a relationship, and it’s only 7 months in.
Either you deal with your trust issues (you have admitted your parents relationship has given you trauma – which I’m in no way judging, sounds completely understandable) or he cuts off all female friends – which one to you think is more reasonable?
I’m not saying that I don’t think your boyfriend is completely innocent here – his actions and reactions sound dodgy af – but even if he was completely innocent your trust issues are going to ruin any relationship you start until you’ve dealt with them properly.
Stop driving yourself insane with anxiety, get help for your trauma, and wait until you have safe coping methods before you get into any new relationships. You’re too young to let them ruin your life xxx
Obviously… she reached out to a hookup they aren't close to and haven't communicated in 3 years for the express reason being they were considering cheating. Cheaters trickle truth so if they say they considered cheating they likely have done worse.
If he's a doormat, why isn't he in therapy? Why does he think it's ok to converse with his ex without you knowing and spending money on her without you kmowing about it?
I truly hope you get all the help you need, and you're feeling much better very soon.
If regular food makes you gag or feel ill, consider trying a meal replacement like Ensure while you get on your feet. Getting something in your stomach and a few hours sleep can make all the difference in the world. Be well.
If you want to find out if threesomes and orgies are for you, better to do it with a casual partner with whom you have no emotional, economic, social, familial investment with. If it's something you enjoy, you can look for a more serious partner with the same outlook.
Even then though, there's no guarantee that you won't have a problem having threesomes with someone you are more deeply involved with.
A lot of people might think it's boring and vanilla having a monogamous relationship, but many of those people often have a habit of fucking-up important relationship, or don't give a shit about important relationships.
Her opinion matters because she's his partner. Her opinion matters because if, for example, she considers this a dealbreaker then he needs to make a decision based on that opinion. So clearly it does (or at least can matter).
It's his decision, but claiming how your partner feels “doesn't matter” is not a path to a healthy relationship.
I wish this sub would stop confusing bodily autonomy with this twisted idea that your partner's feelings don't matter at all. You can choose to gain 300 lbs in a relationship, but your partner might have an opinion on that. That opinion matters because it affects your decisions. “Her opinion matters” doesn't mean she gets to make the decision or in ANY WAY take away his bodily autonomy.
I'm so sorry and I hope you are able to make the decision to leave. In the meantime, you have to take back some of your individuality-if you don't have feelings for her now use that as a shield to meet up with your friends and talk to them honestly about how things are going. You need people on your side. She has pretty effectively isolated you from everyone who would support you. Here are some ideas I had:
Disconnect the router when making personal calls. No internet, no Alexa. Otherwise go outside. Honestly I would buy either a new phone on a separate plan, so she can't gain access to it. Password/biometric protect it. TAKE back your ability to have a private phone conversation. If you need to let her know about decisions you're making for yourself, text her when she is at work. Paper trail, plus she can't physically stop you. PLEASE get on the deed to your home. Depending on where you online and who purchased it/whether it is paid off, it may be a violation for you not to be on the deed. But protect yourself. I'm no expert but if she is open to working on things and you DO decide to stay(although I hope you won't) make a list of the things you need, and let her know that divorce is on the table. You have to get to see your friends. You have to be able to get sleep when you want to nap. Etc.
I think that's a weird way to phrase it, but yes you're being close minded about how people use their faces to express themselves. It's not rude or disrespectful to have an emotional reaction within yourself. It affects you zero what she does with her eyes, and yes it is a very common and easy way to express frustration and exhaustion.
I roll my eyes at myself all day, I roll my eyes at Karen's in public, I roll my eyes when my partner does something I've told him 50 thousand times not to do (ie put the junk mail on the first surface he sees instead of the trash), I roll my eyes when my mom tells the story wrong in her favor. I roll my eyes to express myself without being verbally confrontational. I roll them for ME! I roll them to take a second and chillllll so I don't cause a problem out of an annoyance, and then I throw the trash away myself or I walk away or I breathe and try and calmly discuss. My facial expressions are not disrespectful.
Nope. I said she chose to date me. I then said the next person was her exact same age. So how does that mean she couldn't? Do you understand the difference between can't/couldn't and didn't ? Perhaps English is your second language? If so, do you need help???
He spat in her face and her reaction is to ask on Reddit for advice on how to fix this. That tells me she’s already in an abusive spiral. I hope all the reactions here help her to make the step to leave. People in abusive relationships are like people standing in a house that’s on fire. There’s a bunch of people outside screaming “GET OUT!” while you’re in there burning alive saying “It’s not that bad. Just a little very hot that’s all. The living room is still pretty good just a little smoky”
I too have problems with my brain loving to torture me with all the 'what if' anxieties constantly. But if I had one of those anxiety thoughts, I wouldn't write it as 'I know X person would do this'. OP could be writing entirely from anxiety, but yeah, it does just feel way closer to being written from past experiences. I hope this post can help them, no matter which scenario it is
He appears to have thought the christmas lights plus a movie at your place was a “date,” though you did not mean it that way. Since he thought that, he made moves on you. In my opinion his behavior was pretty close to sexual assault, and you should not feel any responsibility to worry about him having hurt feelings or anything.
You can continue to be cordial to him in class, but I would avoid doing anything akin to making plans together or being alone together. If past is prologue, he'll interpret anything like that wrong again and you'll have to rebuff him again, so just don't go there.
Most universities have some free or low-cost mental health resources. If he's depressed, refer him to that and then don't follow up with him further.
Her last ex really messed her us, made her think it was her obligation to do whatever the boyfriend wanted no matter what. This guy saw that and reopened the wound and destroyed all the progress she had made.
I hope she'll message me one day to tell me she's alright but at the same time I only see it ending when he decides.
I’m just worried about putting him on the spot. My friends recommended starting a chat first and seeing where that goes but that’s easier said than done ?
That probably just means he's not good at faking crying. There was nothing in that conversation that warrants any emotional outburst whatsoever, just his apology for being a misogynist. Crying is something that people do in situations where it's not warranted to get out of an argument, to manipulate, to confuse, and to control. This guy sounds like a real piece of work. I'd be long gone personally.
I may have a different view point on trust than some others, but…
I don't believe that questioning something your partner is doing in a relationship to be indicative of a total lack of trust. When you really think about it, the expectation of someone buying what you say about every single topic 100% of the time is really a bit of a high ask. I know I have never personally done it with anyone. And when you know someone like how you know your own partner/spouse, it's not that hot to see changes that signal something not being quite right. The whole “just trust them” thing kind of allows room for someone knowing something isn't right to be made to feel like they're crazy, so they do nothing and let things go while they suffer silently through that nagging gut feeling. Personally, I just don't think it's right.
Now, if it were me and with that in mind, I could understand how my husband may at one point have a feeling that something just isn't right and I would let him do whatever he feels he needs to do in order to assuage that feeling. I wouldn't consider it “controlling” because he is my husband and I owe him peace of mind.
Her offering to allow you to look at it could be that there is really nothing going on and she has no problem with you seeing it. It could be that depending on how this happens, she could take advanced precautions knowing this may be coming and get rid of anything incriminating. It could be that while she is not saying anything inappropriate, that doesn't mean an emotional affair is not going on and some people classify an emotional affair as Microcheating.
An emotional affair mimics an the emotional bond you have with a significant other and it doesn't have to take a physical aspect. But, it also doesn't have to show up through sexual innuendo or anything like that, either. It can be 100% about how the relationship makes them feel (like when you meet someone you click with, you get butterflies, look forward to talking to them, put other priorities on the backburner) and how it is affecting their actual relationship, sometimes even being unintentional. That may be what is happening here and why she has no problem with you seeing her phone – she hasn't said anything inappropriate, so she may not realize that she is, indeed, having an inappropriate relationship.
In my opinion, any relationship that makes your partner feel insecure or neglected (within reason), is an inappropriate relationship. Especially if they refuse to listen to their concerns and just dismisses them.
As for this…
Also, she takes everything he says at face value, going as far as to say that he wasn’t to blame for something that was his fault at work purely because “he told me it wasn’t him”. Is this odd or typical of platonic friends?
You ever get with/met someone and you're so enamored with them that they just seem soooo perfect? Sometimes even in the face of massive red flags you didnt see flying until later? Thats what this sounds like to me.
Now, I'm just speaking off opinions and my own personal experience. I've had something very similar happen in the past. He hadn't done anything physically inappropriate with her and he dismissed me telling him that he was emotionally cheating and I think he did it because he honestly didn't realize he was doing it until I asked him if talking to that woman elicited any feelings he didn't get when talking to a male friend. It took him a bit, but eventually he did realize that what I told him was happening was, in fact, what was happening.
So, in the end, if this is unusual behavior that she never had toward any other legitimate friend, then yeah. I wouldn't buy what she was saying at face value.
Like a grand gesture can make a world of difference if someone is just in a little slump. If it’s more than a little slump a grand gesture will also let you know they are losing interest. What I always suggest is this.
After you drop her off at work if you have time or on a day you know you can accomplish this.
Go out and buy all her favorite stuff, wine, food, candy, flowers, etc.
Set up the house in a different way. Close the drapes, dim the lights, light a bunch of candles. Set the mood for romance.
Undated a girl once that told me her high school prom was totally ruined by her boyfriend at the time. So I literally threw her a prom at home haha.
I’m just saying go, super effort!
And just pay attention to how she reacts. If she isn’t about it.. then y’all have a big conversation to have.
If she gushes over your effort you know that this change in behavior is likely unrelated to you. You can navigate your conversation from there. (I would pick a different night though)
This is not manipulation by the way. You should be doing this out of the kindness of your heart and love for her. Don’t do it with the expectation of getting information etc. all I’m saying is pay attention to have your true raw love is received and have a conversation the next day based on that reception.
No, it does not. OP is not a placeholder. It’s just that if you see someone literally do some shit that you’ve either asked them about or had conversations about and they said no no no it’s kind of insulting. It’s like if you dated a girl and over and over she said you’re fucking chopped your ugly whatever this and that and then she goes and date someone who looks the exact same as you you’re going to feel like what the fuck? What is actually factually wrong with me. it doesn’t mean that you want to date the person who was kind of toxic to you and called you ugly over and over again.
Is his wife being invited to these outings???? No. In fact they are not even together right now. Do YOU send your friend sexual innuendos? Hopefully not. So what's your point?
Mtscheeew… be jumping through hoops to defend your sus friendships.
Have you talked to her family? Or her family?
I just want to put this out there. I've had an “extensive sexual past” and my partner had less people than me but that doesn't mean anything. He's one of the best people I've ever been with despite our differences in our past.
Thank you!!
I’ve tried to suggest things like flavored sparkling water but he’s not interested. He’s been drinking more coffee to try and help. I’ve just noticed that when we have soda in the house, he won’t pace himself and will drink multiple in a day.
Idk what to say to my aunt since this isn’t really her issue plus I don’t really agree that the relationship with my gf is just as important
This guy needs to be single and spend a lot of time working on himself. He's completely unable to regulate his own emotions, and making you do it puts you in a parental position.
There are a ton of things he should be able to say to diffuse it or comfort her
Even like “it's her job to be attractive, most normal people like use aren't getting paid to look good” or something
And yes it is about her insecurity but that's precisely why he should downplay that sort of thing around her. It's not that very hot to not talk about naked people of the opposite gender
You are friend zoned. Sorry. Only way I have seen to get out of it is to say something like. “I am sorry but I have really fallen for you and I cant be this close to you and not be in constant pain. Maybe down the road we can be friends again but I cant right now.” Then go no contact for a while and try and get over your feelings. Sometimes they come back and change their minds but I wouldn't bet a quarter on it.
Uh yeah. You were physically and emotionally abusive in that scenario. Get some help, bitch boy.
Generally only lasts up to a year
Join some clubs. A running group a gym, a class or something. Maybe a cooking class or a language class. It will take time but you will find something you are passionate about, then you will meet people with similar interests. If romance follows great, if not what have you lost? What have you gained?
Has said he wants a bit of OP?
u/Trick-Introduction76, it looks like you're trying to post a throwaway submission. Your account is too young and/or your comment karma is too low.
The right way to do it is to create a brand new Reddit account that begins with ThrowRA.
Please create a new account that starts with ThrowRA in the username and try again. Please note that we will not make exceptions to this rule.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Age is less important other than you are old enough to know better and spending time as a full time student at 34 rather than full time working isn’t going to help a relationship. Your life wasn’t ready.
Raising someone else’s child is a red flag. It’s a no win situation for you.
Your relationship has always been rocky and you ignored it and married anyway. Red flag.
i never said it wasn’t cheating, i said it wasn’t cheating IRL (ie offline) but that doesn’t at all imply there’s nothing wrong with it.
Hello /u/randomcash555,
Your post was removed for the following reason(s):
Your title did not include at least two ages/genders or was not formatted correctly
Posts must:
include details about the involved parties including ages, genders, and length of relationship, and
request advice in real situations involving two or more people
We are enforcing the two rules listed above by making all titles start with ages/genders in the following format:
[##X][##X], [## X][## X], or [##-X][##-X] where ## is the age and X is the gender (currently M, F, T, A, NB, FTM, MTF but more can be added). You can have more than two ages/genders listed, but you must have at least two at the beginning of your title. Here is an example:
[34NB][88-F] We are two people in an example post
Please resubmit with a corrected title.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
It's pretty rare to get cold sores from someone without symptoms(not impossible just very rare) and considering the majority of the population has cold sores, it's possible you got it like a decade ago and just didn't know.
As far as your gf, yeah she probably got dicked down, even if she didn't she lied to your face, why would you stay?
OP, your partnership with 2 kids, one having special needs, is absolutely important context to add to your OP
get proof (screen shots of the conversations). Get rent. then get revenge if you want her to feel the pain – post those conversations on her medias then change her passwords.
“she joked he likes pokemon” so… you know him and he knows you? he knows she has a bf? that's double shit.
“lease is in my name” after you get rent? kick her ass to the curb. She can sleep in the car she's been fucking him in.
I mean, being a guy, knowing guys, AND having a daughter myself, I kinda get it, but…. It’s not your life to impose on, not to that degree.
I just hope everybody is nice and they all turn out okay.
Even expressing that on any lesbian/women focus subs will end up with you banned.
The trust is gone. Regardless of whether he is actually lying or cheating, you don’t trust him.
This is not a good basis for a relationship, and it’s only 7 months in.
Either you deal with your trust issues (you have admitted your parents relationship has given you trauma – which I’m in no way judging, sounds completely understandable) or he cuts off all female friends – which one to you think is more reasonable?
I’m not saying that I don’t think your boyfriend is completely innocent here – his actions and reactions sound dodgy af – but even if he was completely innocent your trust issues are going to ruin any relationship you start until you’ve dealt with them properly.
Stop driving yourself insane with anxiety, get help for your trauma, and wait until you have safe coping methods before you get into any new relationships. You’re too young to let them ruin your life xxx
Obviously… she reached out to a hookup they aren't close to and haven't communicated in 3 years for the express reason being they were considering cheating. Cheaters trickle truth so if they say they considered cheating they likely have done worse.
If he's a doormat, why isn't he in therapy? Why does he think it's ok to converse with his ex without you knowing and spending money on her without you kmowing about it?
I truly hope you get all the help you need, and you're feeling much better very soon.
If regular food makes you gag or feel ill, consider trying a meal replacement like Ensure while you get on your feet. Getting something in your stomach and a few hours sleep can make all the difference in the world. Be well.
Yeah he is amazing in bed so I’m not sure if that’s the issue
If you want to find out if threesomes and orgies are for you, better to do it with a casual partner with whom you have no emotional, economic, social, familial investment with. If it's something you enjoy, you can look for a more serious partner with the same outlook.
Even then though, there's no guarantee that you won't have a problem having threesomes with someone you are more deeply involved with.
A lot of people might think it's boring and vanilla having a monogamous relationship, but many of those people often have a habit of fucking-up important relationship, or don't give a shit about important relationships.
Yes He is indeed Not wealthy. His answer to that is, He will figure it Out…
That sounds like a fun game, but I don't have that kind of money.
Her opinion matters because she's his partner. Her opinion matters because if, for example, she considers this a dealbreaker then he needs to make a decision based on that opinion. So clearly it does (or at least can matter).
It's his decision, but claiming how your partner feels “doesn't matter” is not a path to a healthy relationship.
I wish this sub would stop confusing bodily autonomy with this twisted idea that your partner's feelings don't matter at all. You can choose to gain 300 lbs in a relationship, but your partner might have an opinion on that. That opinion matters because it affects your decisions. “Her opinion matters” doesn't mean she gets to make the decision or in ANY WAY take away his bodily autonomy.
This is the answer. Your trauma is real and valid and you deserve an emotionally mature partner.
It's a leading question – it's like asking someone “when are you going to stop punching children?”
I'm so sorry and I hope you are able to make the decision to leave. In the meantime, you have to take back some of your individuality-if you don't have feelings for her now use that as a shield to meet up with your friends and talk to them honestly about how things are going. You need people on your side. She has pretty effectively isolated you from everyone who would support you. Here are some ideas I had:
Disconnect the router when making personal calls. No internet, no Alexa. Otherwise go outside. Honestly I would buy either a new phone on a separate plan, so she can't gain access to it. Password/biometric protect it. TAKE back your ability to have a private phone conversation. If you need to let her know about decisions you're making for yourself, text her when she is at work. Paper trail, plus she can't physically stop you. PLEASE get on the deed to your home. Depending on where you online and who purchased it/whether it is paid off, it may be a violation for you not to be on the deed. But protect yourself. I'm no expert but if she is open to working on things and you DO decide to stay(although I hope you won't) make a list of the things you need, and let her know that divorce is on the table. You have to get to see your friends. You have to be able to get sleep when you want to nap. Etc.
Am I close-minded on the issue
I think that's a weird way to phrase it, but yes you're being close minded about how people use their faces to express themselves. It's not rude or disrespectful to have an emotional reaction within yourself. It affects you zero what she does with her eyes, and yes it is a very common and easy way to express frustration and exhaustion.
I roll my eyes at myself all day, I roll my eyes at Karen's in public, I roll my eyes when my partner does something I've told him 50 thousand times not to do (ie put the junk mail on the first surface he sees instead of the trash), I roll my eyes when my mom tells the story wrong in her favor. I roll my eyes to express myself without being verbally confrontational. I roll them for ME! I roll them to take a second and chillllll so I don't cause a problem out of an annoyance, and then I throw the trash away myself or I walk away or I breathe and try and calmly discuss. My facial expressions are not disrespectful.
Nope. I said she chose to date me. I then said the next person was her exact same age. So how does that mean she couldn't? Do you understand the difference between can't/couldn't and didn't ? Perhaps English is your second language? If so, do you need help???
Oh, and down voting me ? Lol wow…
She might be really impressed with you & thats why she keeps starring. She might be in awe of you.
Cuz you want some space, a breather, a break from daily stresses.
Do you guys have kids? If not then take a bunch of time for yourself
He spat in her face and her reaction is to ask on Reddit for advice on how to fix this. That tells me she’s already in an abusive spiral. I hope all the reactions here help her to make the step to leave. People in abusive relationships are like people standing in a house that’s on fire. There’s a bunch of people outside screaming “GET OUT!” while you’re in there burning alive saying “It’s not that bad. Just a little very hot that’s all. The living room is still pretty good just a little smoky”
It's common sense.
I too have problems with my brain loving to torture me with all the 'what if' anxieties constantly. But if I had one of those anxiety thoughts, I wouldn't write it as 'I know X person would do this'. OP could be writing entirely from anxiety, but yeah, it does just feel way closer to being written from past experiences. I hope this post can help them, no matter which scenario it is
You are not responsible for his mental health.
He appears to have thought the christmas lights plus a movie at your place was a “date,” though you did not mean it that way. Since he thought that, he made moves on you. In my opinion his behavior was pretty close to sexual assault, and you should not feel any responsibility to worry about him having hurt feelings or anything.
You can continue to be cordial to him in class, but I would avoid doing anything akin to making plans together or being alone together. If past is prologue, he'll interpret anything like that wrong again and you'll have to rebuff him again, so just don't go there.
Most universities have some free or low-cost mental health resources. If he's depressed, refer him to that and then don't follow up with him further.
No, I had brief contact with her, but SO isn't comfortable with me talking to her.
Her last ex really messed her us, made her think it was her obligation to do whatever the boyfriend wanted no matter what. This guy saw that and reopened the wound and destroyed all the progress she had made.
I hope she'll message me one day to tell me she's alright but at the same time I only see it ending when he decides.
I’m just worried about putting him on the spot. My friends recommended starting a chat first and seeing where that goes but that’s easier said than done ?
That probably just means he's not good at faking crying. There was nothing in that conversation that warrants any emotional outburst whatsoever, just his apology for being a misogynist. Crying is something that people do in situations where it's not warranted to get out of an argument, to manipulate, to confuse, and to control. This guy sounds like a real piece of work. I'd be long gone personally.
I may have a different view point on trust than some others, but…
I don't believe that questioning something your partner is doing in a relationship to be indicative of a total lack of trust. When you really think about it, the expectation of someone buying what you say about every single topic 100% of the time is really a bit of a high ask. I know I have never personally done it with anyone. And when you know someone like how you know your own partner/spouse, it's not that hot to see changes that signal something not being quite right. The whole “just trust them” thing kind of allows room for someone knowing something isn't right to be made to feel like they're crazy, so they do nothing and let things go while they suffer silently through that nagging gut feeling. Personally, I just don't think it's right.
Now, if it were me and with that in mind, I could understand how my husband may at one point have a feeling that something just isn't right and I would let him do whatever he feels he needs to do in order to assuage that feeling. I wouldn't consider it “controlling” because he is my husband and I owe him peace of mind.
Her offering to allow you to look at it could be that there is really nothing going on and she has no problem with you seeing it. It could be that depending on how this happens, she could take advanced precautions knowing this may be coming and get rid of anything incriminating. It could be that while she is not saying anything inappropriate, that doesn't mean an emotional affair is not going on and some people classify an emotional affair as Microcheating.
An emotional affair mimics an the emotional bond you have with a significant other and it doesn't have to take a physical aspect. But, it also doesn't have to show up through sexual innuendo or anything like that, either. It can be 100% about how the relationship makes them feel (like when you meet someone you click with, you get butterflies, look forward to talking to them, put other priorities on the backburner) and how it is affecting their actual relationship, sometimes even being unintentional. That may be what is happening here and why she has no problem with you seeing her phone – she hasn't said anything inappropriate, so she may not realize that she is, indeed, having an inappropriate relationship.
In my opinion, any relationship that makes your partner feel insecure or neglected (within reason), is an inappropriate relationship. Especially if they refuse to listen to their concerns and just dismisses them.
As for this…
Also, she takes everything he says at face value, going as far as to say that he wasn’t to blame for something that was his fault at work purely because “he told me it wasn’t him”. Is this odd or typical of platonic friends?
You ever get with/met someone and you're so enamored with them that they just seem soooo perfect? Sometimes even in the face of massive red flags you didnt see flying until later? Thats what this sounds like to me.
Now, I'm just speaking off opinions and my own personal experience. I've had something very similar happen in the past. He hadn't done anything physically inappropriate with her and he dismissed me telling him that he was emotionally cheating and I think he did it because he honestly didn't realize he was doing it until I asked him if talking to that woman elicited any feelings he didn't get when talking to a male friend. It took him a bit, but eventually he did realize that what I told him was happening was, in fact, what was happening.
So, in the end, if this is unusual behavior that she never had toward any other legitimate friend, then yeah. I wouldn't buy what she was saying at face value.
Thing is I am going to work that day, it would just be a shift with different responsibilities so to speak.
He has said multiple times he is afraid I might retaliate to get back at him
I always suggest this. Start dating her again.
Like a grand gesture can make a world of difference if someone is just in a little slump. If it’s more than a little slump a grand gesture will also let you know they are losing interest. What I always suggest is this.
After you drop her off at work if you have time or on a day you know you can accomplish this.
Go out and buy all her favorite stuff, wine, food, candy, flowers, etc.
Set up the house in a different way. Close the drapes, dim the lights, light a bunch of candles. Set the mood for romance.
Undated a girl once that told me her high school prom was totally ruined by her boyfriend at the time. So I literally threw her a prom at home haha.
I’m just saying go, super effort!
And just pay attention to how she reacts. If she isn’t about it.. then y’all have a big conversation to have.
If she gushes over your effort you know that this change in behavior is likely unrelated to you. You can navigate your conversation from there. (I would pick a different night though)
This is not manipulation by the way. You should be doing this out of the kindness of your heart and love for her. Don’t do it with the expectation of getting information etc. all I’m saying is pay attention to have your true raw love is received and have a conversation the next day based on that reception.
No, it does not. OP is not a placeholder. It’s just that if you see someone literally do some shit that you’ve either asked them about or had conversations about and they said no no no it’s kind of insulting. It’s like if you dated a girl and over and over she said you’re fucking chopped your ugly whatever this and that and then she goes and date someone who looks the exact same as you you’re going to feel like what the fuck? What is actually factually wrong with me. it doesn’t mean that you want to date the person who was kind of toxic to you and called you ugly over and over again.
Is his wife being invited to these outings???? No. In fact they are not even together right now. Do YOU send your friend sexual innuendos? Hopefully not. So what's your point?
Mtscheeew… be jumping through hoops to defend your sus friendships.