OP, what did you think would happen when a teen son finds that the father has been cheating on his mother? When you cheat on your spouse, you are disrespecting them. When you have kids, you are disrespecting their very existence by cheating. They will be hurt for their mom, for the loss of their family, and they will feel intense shame and humiliation for being your children. Please get therapy as a family and also individually. This is a hurt that he will never ever get over. |
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I had a similar reaction about my father's affair at 14.
No I wasn't mad at him on my mother's behalf. I was mad at him. Mad at him for the liar that he was, that he had the audacity to act as Mr. Moral and do what he did. It also messed with my image of what marriage is and it took time and counseling to get over it. It's not just your wife you hurt here. What did not work was what he did the " no big deal approach" Give him space. |
Agreed. |
Have you apologized to him for what you did? |
| whom was the affair with? |
PP again. I agree. It takes time, but it's not something easily gotten over. My dad and I are in a better place, but I still don't completely trust him and it's been years. |
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Yes I have. |
A woman I work with. |
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OP, are you the same poster whose RN wife wanted to move to California, who still works with his AP and does not see a problem with that?
Guess your plan of sacrificing your wife's emotional health in order to preserve your 16-year-old's student government career is going well, then. |
Say it like you mean it? I love the choice of words that the affair was "exposed" - you got caught but had it not been exposed you'd still be carrying on. you're probably waiting for the dust to settle to get back out there. I can sense your arrogance. |
Yes, life goes on. And that life is better off lived without an immoral cheating rat in it. I despised my father for cheating even more after I had kids than I did before. |
Now you have to wait for him to come around. You can't force him to forgive you, you don't get to control other people's reactions to your affair. But perhaps a change of scenery in California is someone he'd enjoy. Did you ask him about that? |
| Are you in individual therapy? Why did you have the affair? Have you come to understand how you acted resentful towards your family during the affair? Do you recognize times you were short tempered with your son because of the double life you were leading? Do you admit to taking time/money/energy away from you son due to the affair? |
You can't just say sorry and wait, you have to make it up to him. |