No one wins with infidelity. As the unfaithful partner shoulders all the blame for how the relationship went south, the person cheated on may harbor resentment to a point that they may want to exact revenge.
This is what a man did when he found out his wife had betrayed him. He made it a point to make her life a living hell, all while she owned up to her mistake and did all she could to win the trust back.
Unfortunately for the woman, she is left dealing with lifelong scars, both physical and emotional, all while dealing with a massive responsibility on her own.
A woman cheated on her husband, but has since made the effort to win his trust back
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She even went as far as breaking their child-free agreement and gave in to his request to have a baby
Image credits: freepik (not the actual image)
She sacrificed the hard work she put in to have the physical appearance she deemed perfect
Image credits: wavebreakmedia_micro (not the actual image)
However, she later learned it was all part of her husband’s plan to get back at her
Image credits: freepik (not the actual image)
The woman now feels lost and confused about what to do next
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Infidelity is often a result of deeper unresolved issues that have finally reached a boiling point
People tend to focus on the betrayal itself as the most damaging aspect of infidelity. However, according to licensed therapist May Han, LMFT, it is a much more complex issue that is typically deeply rooted.
In an article for Spark Counseling, Han says a partner’s unfaithfulness may also be caused by their unresolved personal trauma, which could be childhood abandonment, lack of self-worth, or attachment issues.
Han clarified that whatever reason the person may have had for choosing to cheat isn’t excusable. Because at the end of the day, their actions caused immense pain and suffering to their partner.
Resentment is one of the many manifestations of that pain, which could hinder the process of healing. As psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Dr. Anthony Mazzella points out, harboring resentment may lead a person to act vengefully towards the person who wronged them.
“The partner holding onto resentment often feels a need to ‘make the other suffer’ as much as they have,” Dr. Mazzella wrote.
It will take a while to heal from the pain of betrayal, but the efforts to mend and start over must come from both partners. As Dr. Mazzella states, the first step is to recognize the destructive nature of resentment. Both parties must realize that when prolonged, the process of healing also takes longer.
Dr. Mazzella adds that couples must have the willingness to forgive, “if not for the relationship, then for their own well-being.”
However, in the story’s case, the husband only made the possibility of reparations bleak when he doled out what he believed was his wife’s much-deserved “punishment.” At that point, he eliminated all remaining chances for them to move forward.
It may be best for the woman to have a lawyer involved and not navigate through the legal headaches on her own. She may also need to seek professional assistance from a therapist to help her through her fragile mental state.
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