Nope. I'm not the original PP you "responded" to, but yeah I'd cop to bullying you because you are a troll extraordinaire. |
Going to a neutral third party will help you understand more about the problem. Right now, all you can see is that you've asked her for more sex, and she doesn't want to have it. But, there is probably a lot more behind this than you can (or want to) see. You probably have a larger role in your wife's low libido than you understand, and she can probably do a lot more to meet your needs. |
For the first time, I am sympathetic to the man in this scenario. How selfish of OP's wife to not make any effort to fix their sex life herself, or communicate better.
I really think that, whether you are a man or a woman, you should accept that sexual satisfaction is a big part of a marriage and if you aren't prepared to put in the effort to make that happen, you deserve to be cheated on. |
Wife here again. If DH came to me and said we have to have more sex or I'm going to start divorce proceedings, I'd be very sad. But I would understand. Sex is part of a marriage. It's a part I don't like and I'm not every going to like it to the degree he does. It's not fair to him to not get his part of the deal. I might be able to muster up the willingness to have sex more often for a few months, but then I'd regress and we'd be right back where we are now. And I'm not sure how he would feel if he knew we were having sex just so he wouldn't divorce me. Whether or not I agree to have sex doesn't change if I WANT to have sex. At that point, I'd just be going through the motions. |
OP here. I have been hesitant to bring up the open relationship issue because I would have thought that would heighten her radar for me cheating and if I cheat I really don't want to get caught. I would, however, be totally fine with an open relationship, i.e. both of us getting sex met outside of relationship. Our best friends had gotten into swinging and they divorced a year later leaving small kids in the middle, so my DW has commented on several occasions that she sees extra-marital sex as not worth the risk. Thanks for the feedback, it is really appreciated. |
I'm not the only one who's called you out, liam. Try sticking to actual arguments instead of using red herrings to justify your "positions." It tends to annoy people here. |
I agree with this except I don't think anyone deserves to be subjected to the lying and deception involved in a secretive affair. But I do agree that it's not fair to demand sexual exclusivity from your partner if you're not actually having sex with them. |
Honestly I'm a dw with a lower sex drive than my DH. I have a 1 and 4 yr old. U do remember being this low drive vit here I am at 33.
Can you plan date nights. With the expectation of sex. Talk to her about it. Seduce her! I need this and knowing sexy is coming up in a scheduled day vs DH expecting it at 11pm helps. It makes me gear up me mentally and physically (shave etc). Are you or her out of shape? Canyou exercise together. Maybe if she felt better about you or herself. This is big for me. My DH has let himself go and I'm still In shape. Help out more, make sure she's not To tired. Sorry but kids burn out moms. Sleep in the same bed. Talk before bed and reminess abt your days. BOND! Look Into a naturopath and a doctor and have her hormones checked out. |
Pp here, I wanted to say I don't remember having such a low drive before the kids. But that's where it's at at 33. |
When will you people learn to delete the rest of the quoted crap and only leave the last post? It isn't hard people. |
Why don't you just take cheating off the table, and if she doesn't agree to an open relationship, then get a divorce? |
These seems like part of the most logical answer to all of this. 1. Tell her you are not satisfied with your sex life. Ask her if she would be willing to seek help/counseling to try and increase it. If she says no, then... 2. Ask her if she would be ok with an open marriage. If she says no, then..... 3. Tell her you would like a divorce. I stuck with my ex for many, many years in a sexless relationship because we made great parents/partners. She was my best friend. We got along great. But when it came to sex, it just fizzled out after our daughter and my ex was not willing to do anything about it. But I stayed. Given the chance to go back, I would have done the steps I wrote above and left if I had to years ago. |
Honestly, tell her it's gotten to this point. If my husband came to me and said this and was DEAD SERIOUS I would realize I had three options:
Figure out how to enjoy sex again and have it more Allow my husband a physical affair with the caveat he does everything in his power to not let it get emotional Understand that is pretty unlikely to happen without him eventually realizing he could be happy with someone else and chooses to divorce me, and just not waste the time and go ahead and agree to an amicable divorce. Really, those are her three options. She can choose which she can live with and you can go with that since it sounds like at this point any of the three would work for you. But give we the courtesy of knowing you have reached this point so she can do some work and figure out how to handle it. You owe her that. |
Husband here in very similar position to OP, but not considering cheating.
Part of the problem is the negative results of brinksmanship. I don't want to threaten my wife with divorce (or an affair) to convince her to have sex with me any more than I want to threaten her with violence. So I tell her I want more sex, but I leave out the "or else." Not to rain too much on a parade, but when I see suggestions like in the prior post to have date nights and romance her, I think they're just very naïve. I wouldn't be venting here if I hadn't tried those things. And wives in this position who just wish their husbands would romance and try to seduce them, think back to how you got in this dynamic. I spent many nights over many years trying to romance and seduce my wife only to get rejected. Fool me once, shame on you. Reject me 1,000 times and don't turn around and expect me to try time number 1,001. You need to initiate a lot of sex first, then only after that, tell me you want to be seduced. And then fuck me every single time I seduce you. No excuses. Then, and only then, I will start putting in that effort again. Until then, you've beaten me down and you have to live with the consequences. Don't blame me. Sorry for the vent. /s/ good dad, sensitive and kind husband, who lives in a sexless marriage with his best friend. |
Definitely lots of women posting in this thread. Man here.
Your position is understandable, and seems like you've thought it through. I'd say if DW isn't willing to work things out, just go ahead with the affair. What's the worst that can happen? You get divorced. Well sounds like that will happen anyway. Really make sure to compartmentalize. In my case, I have little contact with any mistresses when I'm at home (as in when I'm in the city where we live), other than an email every 1-2 months. They are living in other cities, and I see them when I'm in those cities on business. |