Building a family with someone takes an immense amount of trust. Parents have to be partners and work together to make decisions that will benefit the whole family. So when one spouse decides to betray their partner, it can create deep wounds that may take years to heal from.
One mother was devastated when her husband suddenly announced that he wanted to move out and focus on himself. But as soon as she started to get past her heartbreak, her ex decided that he wanted his family back. Below, you’ll find all of the details that the mom recently posted on MumsNet, as well as some of the replies concerned readers shared.
This woman was heartbroken when her husband suddenly left her
Now, several months later, he’s begging for a second chance at their marriage
Cheating occurs in about a quarter of all marriages
Nobody ever wants to imagine that their spouse will cheat. After falling deeply in love with someone and vowing to stand by their side for the rest of your life, it’s extremely painful to accept the idea that they might one day betray you. And unfortunately, infidelity might be even more common than you realize.
According to a survey from the Institute for Family Studies, 20% of all married men in the United States, as well as 13% of married women, admit that they’ve cheated on their spouse at some point. The survey also found that spouses become more likely to cheat as they get older.
So why exactly are so many people straying from their partners? PsychCentral reports that there are several key factors that often contribute to infidelity: anger, lack of self-esteem, lack of love, low commitment, a need for variety, neglect in the relationship, desire for intimacy and situational factors.
The longer that someone stays in a relationship where they’re unhappy or feel unappreciated, the more likely they are to consider stepping out. If a person becomes detached from their spouse or their marriage, they might start to convince themself that cheating is justified or an easy way out of the relationship.
Meanwhile, some people don’t put much thought into cheating before it happens. If a man ends up in a situation where a colleague or flirty customer at a bar is throwing herself at him, he might simply take advantage of the situation (even if he knows he’ll wake up regretting it tomorrow).
While betraying your partner will always be wrong, it does not necessarily have to bring about the end of the relationship. Of course, if a person feels that they’ll never be able to look past it, they should break up with their partner. After all, some people stand by the idea that “once a cheater, always a cheater” is a fact.
It’s not impossible for a relationship to survive infidelity, but it certainly isn’t easy
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
However, if both partners are dedicated to making the relationship work, it is sometimes possible for a marriage to survive infidelity. In fact, Divorce magazine estimates that the majority of married couples choose to fight for their relationship even after someone has cheated.
It certainly won’t be easy for the person who was cheated on to forgive and forget, but Verywell Mind notes that healing is possible if both parties have deep, meaningful and honest conversations.
They must express their underlying emotions and resist the urge to become defensive, pass blame or go into denial. They must address precisely what got them to this point in the first place and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
And when it comes to deciding whether or not to take a cheating partner back, Verywell Mind points out that the partner who cheated must show remorse and be willing to explain exactly what happened. They need to agree to the boundaries and conditions their partner sets for the future.
And while it’s important for both partners to address the issues that were taking place in their marriage, they must never blame the partner who was cheated on for somehow causing the infidelity. At the end of the day, their spouse made a choice to betray their marriage.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this woman is making the right choice by refusing to take her husband back? Feel free to weigh in, and then, you can check out another Bored Panda article discussing similar themes right here.
Readers were appalled by the husband’s behavior and urged the author not to give him another chance
Finally, after reading the replies, the mother shared an update on her situation
Image credits: GreeCasual
