Jackie, my husband left me for another woman and I still love him. We dated for 10 years, and we were married for 6 and a half years, we have no children. My now ex husband was behaving very weird for months, he swore everything was fine but I was suspicious. I even confronted him and asked him if he was seeing someone else, which he denied completely and even got mad at me for asking.
Still after that, he was still very distant, he did a lot of traveling due to business. One day he told me he wanted to talk. I was happy because I thought he finally wanted to share with me what was bothering him. I never thought he was going to tell me he wanted to leave. He gave me no more explanation than saying he was overwhelmed by the marriage and wanted to be alone and single, that I was not the problem, that it was all him. This helped me a little to manage my own guilt, but still all this has crushed me. He asked for a divorce 3 weeks later, two months after that, we were already divorced.
It’s been 5 months today since the day he left, I’ve been in therapy which
has helped me a lot but still hurts like hell. The thing is, he
moved out of the country less than a month after we signed the divorce,
he supposedly was given this job offer after he decided to leave me. I
guess no one will ever know if that is true. He still swears there is not
someone else, he lives alone in this new country. I feel betrayed, hurt, humiliated, I expected an apology, a more elaborated explanation or maybe even a goodbye. He walked out of almost 17 years of relationship and forgot
everything very easily and left me here.
What hurts me the most is that he thought divorce was the only option, he didn’t fight for our marriage, he didn’t even give us a chance, no couples therapy … Nothing.
Advice for: “My Husband Left Me For Another Woman”
Of course, I first want to tell you how sorry I am for the pain you are going through. How awful not to have the answers and know the real reason your husband chose to leave. That’s a hard way to live. So, I’d like to offer you 6 pieces of advice that might make sense, with the hope to make what happened to you a little bit easier.
1. Try not to focus on continuing to figure out why he left.
I know myself and if I were you, I would be coming up with a new explanation every day of why he MIGHT have left for another woman. And, it would drive me insane. So, if you are doing that, stop. Just stop. You might never find out, or one day, you might.
I have a friend who was separated for four years and never really knew for sure why his wife wanted a divorce. Four years later, the ex-wife of some guy called him and read him emails from four years earlier between her now ex and his ex-wife. It was then he found out she was having an affair. (The guy ended up divorcing her, by the way). I have a feeling you might find out some day. But for now, just say to yourself that you might never know and accept it. Try to come to peace with that.
2. Stop blaming yourself.
If I were you, I would probably be saying things like, “Maybe if I would have paid more attention to him…” “Maybe if I was a better wife…” “Maybe if I would have appreciated him more and shown him for affection…” “Maybe if that one time when he wanted to go to Europe, if I had said yes…” Stop. Say these words to yourself: “I was the best wife I knew how to be and I will not look back or regret anything because it won’t bring him back. I will forgive myself for anything I think I did that wasn’t the best, love me for who I am, and try to learn and grow from this.” Be kind to yourself. I suspect the reason he left had much more to do with HIM.
3. Write to him (but don’t send anything).
When I was separated, I used to write really long letters to my ex (which makes sense because I’m a writer) but the thing is, I never sent them to him. I just wrote them to soothe my pain, and guess what? It worked. Pour out your feelings. Tell him everything you want to say. Call him every name. Tell him you still miss the smell of his pillow. Write whatever helps you feel better. But, do not send anything to him. Writing can feel so good, and can be better than any bottle of wine or drug you’ve ever taken!
4. Minimize time with his family.
Hanging around his family is not helping you. I’m sure they are very nice people and I’m sure they love you, but you need to focus on YOUR friends and family, and meeting new friends. I’m not saying never see them, but it’s just hurting you more right now, and if you want to move on, I would distance yourself a little bit.
5. Nurture and love yourself.
This is really big. You’re saying “My husband left me for another woman,” when you are the woman you should be focused on! Please take care of yourself and love yourself. Just because a man chose to leave you, that doesn’t mean you aren’t lovable. He is just one man.
6. Celebrate the rest of your life.
Do you realize that you have an entire life ahead of you, a chance to be with someone who won’t leave you? It doesn’t matter if you are 40, 50, 60 or even 70. If you hae health, you have time; time to make a great life for yourself. Maybe not the one you envisioned, but you have the freedom to do anything! Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what that life is. A divorce coach can be very very helpful in finding your path.
My husband left me for another woman and I still love him is BRUTAL. I’m not minimizing the pain you must be feeling. Maybe someday what happened will make sense and maybe it never will. But instead of focusing on that, focus on day-to-day life, living for now, and planning for a bright and happy future. It may seem unrealistic to think about a new life, and that’s OK. Just take it day by day. I promise, things will get better, but you have to help it along by getting the help you need, taking care of yourself, and honestly, just letting time go by. But one day, you will look in the mirror and realize how much better everything is, and that where you were 6 months ago was way worse. That will continue to happen. Try to have patience and faith. And love yourself because this wasn’t your fault! You deserve love and a good life. Tell yourself that every day.
