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Newest Member: Acoot63

Just Found Out :
Day 3 after D Day

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WoodThrush2 ( member #85057) posted at 2:04 PM on Sunday, July 12th, 2026

Good questions. I am sure others have ideas on exactly how, but one thing I suggest, do NOT let your wife know when or how. She very well may tip him off. Besides, doing it without her permission gives you back some agency. Will help your internal life feel like you are not a doormat, and that this offence does not go unanswered.

Regarding therapist. Sure, many therapists say they have dealt with Infidelity and Trauma....but unless they truly have been trained through CSAT, you are rolling. The dice. I have read COUNTLESS accounts of normal, well meaning therapists causing way more harm than good. Highly recommend taking a day or two to make sure to get therapist right.

posts: 359   ·   registered: Jul. 29th, 2024   ·   location: New York
id 8900196
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Pogre ( member #86173) posted at 2:05 PM on Sunday, July 12th, 2026

I have mixed feelings on polygraph testing, but many have gotten "parking lot confessions." A WS will agree to a polygraph likely hoping the BS won't go through with it, then get as far as the parking lot of the polygraph place and spill their guts there.

For me personally it was a money thing, and my wife spilled a lot. She was pretty damned candid about it. I was able to corroborate most of her story by reading her messages with 2 of her (now ex) friends. She blabbed a lot about it with them. It all lined up.

Gr8ful referred to my story. What happened was my wife was less than forthcoming at first. She jerked me around for about a month by withholding info and insisting on remaining "just friends" with her AP. She flat out lied to my face about a couple of things. This was before I discovered this site. I eventually got into her tablet, which is synced with her phone, and saw some heartbreaking messages between her and a couple of her friends. I knew she was lying to me about a few things. I hit my limit. I started calling divorce lawyers and real estate agents right in front of her and set up some consultations. When she realized I was serious she broke down, spilled everything and begged me not to go through with it. That was about 14 months ago. She's been a model for reconciliation ever since. We're still together.

The point is, sometimes it takes some drastic steps and measures to get a WS to realize just how devastating their affair is to the marriage, the BS, and get the whole truth. You're off to a different start than I was in that she voluntarily confessed to you and I had to do a little bit of detective work and leg work to find out what was happening. My wife wasn't planning on telling me anytime soon.

If you suspect she isn't being honest with you and you go that route you don't want it to be an empty threat. You have to really mean it, so don't do it half heartedly. I was dead serious. As much as I didn't want a divorce I decided that there were worse things, and living in uncertainty and infidelity was one of them. As long as she's in contact with the AP, even "just friends" (there's no such thing once that line has been crossed) then the affair was still ongoing and under no circumstances was I willing to share my wife. If you backpedal or don't follow through without the truth you'll actually lose respect and she might walk all over you.

Now, we don't know your wife. Maybe she'll be one of those rare examples who fully "gets it" early on and tells you the whole truth. It happens. Rarely, but it happens. I think her coming to you and confessing is a good start, so there's that. Combined experience here tells us that most hold a lot back at first tho.

What you don't want is for her to run the show. You heal on your terms and at your pace. This is likely going to be one of the hardest things you'll ever experience. I'm 56 years old and it's probably the worst thing I've ever gone through. I didn't realize how painful and destructive affairs were until it landed in my lap.

Take your time in making any permanent decisions. Like we've been saying, you'll likely be on an emotional roller coaster for quite a while. How you feel now might completely change a half hour from now. It's a rough ride. I hope your wife is strapped in and up for the task if you decide to reconcile. Like I said, the timeline is typically 2 to 5 years for recovery. Don't rush things and don't try to sweep this under the rug. It will come back and bite you down the road. Sometimes years later. We've seen a few posts with titles like "spouse cheated ten (or even 20) years ago and it's killing me."

Either way hang in there. It does get better. It might take 2 to 5 years, but it does improve over that time period. I'm not "over it" at 15 months, but I'm (we're) in a much better place now. There are many aspects of our marriage that are vastly improved and we talk about everything now. In many ways we're closer now than we've ever been, but it came with a lot of conversations, work, some therapy, and patience on both of our parts.

Where am I going... and why am I in this handbasket?

posts: 826   ·   registered: May. 18th, 2025   ·   location: Arizona
id 8900197
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 Eragorn (original poster new member #87566) posted at 3:26 PM on Sunday, July 12th, 2026

She seems to be 100 percent in on trying to save our marriage although I have reinforced many many times that I am not sure what I am going to do.

I have been clear as I can be many many times on the importance of telling her story with all of the details included. Anything missing I will leave. She is onboard with this as well. I genuinely think I might be the rare case. But from what I am leaning from the vets is that I need it to be so lock tight that its bullet proof basically because I can easily find myself back here down the road.

In regards to therapy. We live in a small town, literally 2 female options and the closest town is too far for us to manage the time commitment on a weekly basis. I saw her and told her my story last week. She is comfortable and says she can be unbiased seeing both of us separately. This is probably a bad idea right? My wife has an appointment with her Monday to help unload and develop a timeline. She has worked with broken marriages before and has seen success.

Questions:
Bad idea same therapist?
Is it too late for her to go see this lady in town since I've already been there?
Can someone please me more about what exact type of therapist I need and where to find them?
Any other suggestions?

Time is of the essence since she really wants to get this timeline done. She is going to do a rough draft tonight/ tomorrow morning before her appointment around 2:00 tomorrow

posts: 7   ·   registered: Jul. 11th, 2026   ·   location: GA
id 8900199
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