Could you forgive your spouse for cheating on you? Many people would say no way, it’s not worth it, there’s too much pain and too much trust lost.
My previous post about the signs of a cheating husband stirred up quite a bit of controversy – but not in the comments section. I received a flood of emails from women who had experienced cheating husbands…and who had cheated themselves. It was a stark reminder that men are not solely at fault for ruining relationships.
Some of you didn’t like that I suggested snooping in your husband’s personal affairs. You thought that it was an invasion of privacy and a sign of mistrust.
“I completely disagree with you that wives should snoop on their husband’s computer and cell phone usage if they’re suspicious. I find such behavior absolutely despicable, a major invasion of privacy. I think any snooping automatically negates any supposed “misdeeds” FYI, I’m a married woman (have been for a little over 12 years), and I would never, ever do this to my husband, no matter how suspicious or apprehensive I was.” – Sarah
Personally, I think that a good husband shouldn’t have anything to hide from his wife. My wife knows the passwords to my computer and email accounts, and she knows how to check my call history, but I understand the sentiment.
I asked one reader to share her story about the affair that severely damaged their marriage. Her husband cheated on her but she forgave him – or, is at least working on forgiving him. Here are her responses:
1) How did it come out?
“My husband confessed his affair on his own. He had an affair with an old girlfriend who lives out of state. It had been through phone calls and texting and emails. Then he flew out for a visit (on business) and spent the last night of his trip with her. He came home, and told me the next day. Based on what he said to me, the way he described his feelings (and lack there of), I knew there was a bigger problem. I told him to look up signs and symptoms of depression and Bipolar disorder and consider calling a doctor.”
2) How & why did you decide to stay?
“He called a doctor the next morning, had an appt at 3, and was put in outpatient therapy for the rest of the week. He was urged by his doctors to ‘not make any major decisions’ until after being on medication a while and having some therapy. During that time, I did my best to stay calm and unintrusive.. all while completely falling apart inside and out. He ‘wanted space’, so I gave it to him. After some time on meds, and finding out he is Bipolar, things started to improve for him. He stopped talking to the other woman about 5 weeks after his visit and decided to work on repairing our marriage. I waited patiently for his decision, for more information, for answers.. I knew that if he did not do it on his own terms, I could not trust that it was authentic.”
3) How did you get past it & what is your relationship like now?
“Infidelity literally kills a marriage. In order for a couple to stay married and recover from it, both partners have to recognize that everything they had before is gone and dead. They have to start over and rebuild from the ground up rather than trying to ‘get things back to how they used to be’. It has been less than a year since my husband’s affair, and I’m still a complete mess (but I do have other issues too that contribute to that). Getting past an affair takes hard work and dedication – it sounds rather trite and cliche, but it is the truth. If either spouse is not 100% commited and ‘in it’ then they will soon give up in frustration. I still have days where I want to just get up and walk out, but I know that that is not what God wants for me and my family. So, when things get hard, I lean on Him.
A lot about our relationship is still the same.. but a lot is different. He is now more open with me, I’m more reserved with him. He is more trusting and expressive, I’m more closed and hesitant. Hopefully, someday, we will both be more open and trusting with each other.. but I know it will take time.”
So I ask you, reader. Could you forgive your spouse for cheating on you? What if, unlike the above example, your husband cheated without the influence of mental illness? What if he simply messed up? Would you be able to forgive him then? 
Article image by: deepsha, flickr
Cory Huff is a husband, actor, and social media guru. He’s been married to his beautiful wife Lissie for 7 years. They live in Portland, Oregon. Check out his site at theabundantartist.com.
Every situation is different, and there are a lot of ways spouses can cheat. What about the husband who becomes addicted to pornography? What about the wife who devotes every ounce of her energy towards her children and completely ignores her husband? (That’s not a good thing.)
So what would I do… I would do everything I could to forgive my wife and work things out. Notice that I said I would do everything that *I* could do. Sometimes the situation is beyond repair for various reasons, however I would sincerely do my best to forgive and repair the marriage. I love my wife, and vowed “for better or worse, ’till death to us part.”
You’re right to ask, “What if your husband cheated without the influence of a mental disorder?” The reader her shared her story above will forever chalk up his actions to bipolar disorder. I am on the other side of this coin. I am a “normie” who had an affair with a bipolar woman. It was wrong, I know, and I’m not defending adultery. But in the end, it was determined that I was the real sinner, while my bipolar lover had a medical excuse for her actions. Nice!
And for the record, Sarah says she would never “spy” on her husband. Give her one reason to doubt him, and I’ll bet she changes her tune. All happily married couples claim they would take the “high road” until the road becomes bumpy and treacherous. So give me a break!
Finally, you’re asking married people if they could forgive their spouses for cheating? No one knows the answer to this until it happens.
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Those who have bipolar disorder, know better at heart! If it has been ingrained in them that their family life is 100% great, then NO, a husband or a wife with most common mental diseases will not stray. Bipolar is not an excuse for a sexual encounter. A troubled marriage, however is exposed and we are left open to decide for ourselves the consequences of our actions. And that is the heart of the problem because we make bad judge-“mental” desicions. Our partner must be a rock! If they are giving at all then we will push because we need dramatic instances to “feel”. The best thing in my opinion is this: Mental disease or not, life can be hard, we have to be harder. If there is an instance of abuse or cheating, then get a divorce. Telling me it is OK, tells me at heart that it is OK. Forgive me if you want but my best advice is divorce and start anew. Those of us who have bpd will always hurt the ones closest to us. Ponder this…Let’s say I’m in a real crazy mood, and I go for a walk in the woods…All of a sudden I see a bear…Trust me on this: I am not going to provoke it. I am not going to push it to see how far it will go! BPD or not, I know better! When we say we don’t it is only half true and half defense mechanism. We know better, but we will always be distracted by trying to function normally. SJ-BPD friendly since 2001′