Anonymous wrote:Turns out my ex has traits that could be defined as sociopathic by a professional. I'm not a professional, however. It is chilling. There is no humanity and there are no ethics. Accepting this about them makes it easier to move forward as does working with a therapist to understand the part of you that was drawn to this kind of person in the beginning. I'm grateful every day that it's over. And grateful I have the opportunity to look at my part so I don't repeat that again.Anonymous wrote:Reading these stories just makes me ill. The description of these men primping, buying new underwear, paying meticulous attention to personal hygiene, etc. This is what you do when you’re dating. How on earth can men with wives and families and homes live in that environment and still have the temerity to court a new woman? Like where is their humanity and ethics? This isn’t getting drunk at a bar on a business trip and messing up. This is getting ready for a date in your own home while your wife is in the next room, probably feeding your kids dinner. It’s chillingly sociopathic.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Reading these stories just makes me ill. The description of these men primping, buying new underwear, paying meticulous attention to personal hygiene, etc. This is what you do when you’re dating. How on earth can men with wives and families and homes live in that environment and still have the temerity to court a new woman? Like where is their humanity and ethics? This isn’t getting drunk at a bar on a business trip and messing up. This is getting ready for a date in your own home while your wife is in the next room, probably feeding your kids dinner. It’s chillingly sociopathic.
So after the dating period is over, you are no longer paying attention to personal hygiene?
It's sad that buying new underwear, primping, paying attention to personal hygiene are signs of cheating for many on this board.
If you are living in relationships where these basic things were no longer normal, your relationship was already bad and doomed anyway.
Anonymous wrote:SO many of these! The weird work schedule, the irritability, covering his tracks administratively (hiding the phone bill, opening a secret bank account.) I feel like being secretive with his phone is universal. Anyone seeing that should be concerned.
But one I haven't seen here is new sex tricks. I had been his first, and we'd been together 15 years, and he hated porn. When he started doing something new in bed, my hackles went up. Yeah, she told him something she liked, and he brought it straight home and tried it on me. Vile.
That happened to me once and it was so gross I never had sex with him again. In hindsight that was the moment I should have filed for divorce. But I'm free now, THANK GOD.Anonymous wrote:SO many of these! The weird work schedule, the irritability, covering his tracks administratively (hiding the phone bill, opening a secret bank account.) I feel like being secretive with his phone is universal. Anyone seeing that should be concerned.
But one I haven't seen here is new sex tricks. I had been his first, and we'd been together 15 years, and he hated porn. When he started doing something new in bed, my hackles went up. Yeah, she told him something she liked, and he brought it straight home and tried it on me. Vile.
Anonymous wrote:Come to think of it I found a pair of women's underwear in the laundry that were not mine and were not familiar to me as belonging to my teen dd. I didn't think too long and hard about that - could have belonged to one of dd's friends, but he left so many f%$#ing clues once I made a mental note about that ridiculous basic b%tch cocktail.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For me it was when he started ordering Espresso Martinis. I thought "Christ, what next, Cosmos?" They were so so out of character for him. And then there were a million other little signs and I was correct about the affair but the Espresso Martini really gave me pause. I've read that narcissists (which he likely is) often mirror the person they are fixated on. His AP is definitely an Espresso Martini girl.
Finding clothing in the trunk of his car and other places that didn’t belong to me. A winter coat, small sized women’s gloves….
Anonymous wrote:Reading these stories just makes me ill. The description of these men primping, buying new underwear, paying meticulous attention to personal hygiene, etc. This is what you do when you’re dating. How on earth can men with wives and families and homes live in that environment and still have the temerity to court a new woman? Like where is their humanity and ethics? This isn’t getting drunk at a bar on a business trip and messing up. This is getting ready for a date in your own home while your wife is in the next room, probably feeding your kids dinner. It’s chillingly sociopathic.
Come to think of it I found a pair of women's underwear in the laundry that were not mine and were not familiar to me as belonging to my teen dd. I didn't think too long and hard about that - could have belonged to one of dd's friends, but he left so many f%$#ing clues once I made a mental note about that ridiculous basic b%tch cocktail.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For me it was when he started ordering Espresso Martinis. I thought "Christ, what next, Cosmos?" They were so so out of character for him. And then there were a million other little signs and I was correct about the affair but the Espresso Martini really gave me pause. I've read that narcissists (which he likely is) often mirror the person they are fixated on. His AP is definitely an Espresso Martini girl.
Finding clothing in the trunk of his car and other places that didn’t belong to me. A winter coat, small sized women’s gloves….
Anonymous wrote:Reading these stories just makes me ill. The description of these men primping, buying new underwear, paying meticulous attention to personal hygiene, etc. This is what you do when you’re dating. How on earth can men with wives and families and homes live in that environment and still have the temerity to court a new woman? Like where is their humanity and ethics? This isn’t getting drunk at a bar on a business trip and messing up. This is getting ready for a date in your own home while your wife is in the next room, probably feeding your kids dinner. It’s chillingly sociopathic.
Anonymous wrote:For me it was when he started ordering Espresso Martinis. I thought "Christ, what next, Cosmos?" They were so so out of character for him. And then there were a million other little signs and I was correct about the affair but the Espresso Martini really gave me pause. I've read that narcissists (which he likely is) often mirror the person they are fixated on. His AP is definitely an Espresso Martini girl.
Turns out my ex has traits that could be defined as sociopathic by a professional. I'm not a professional, however. It is chilling. There is no humanity and there are no ethics. Accepting this about them makes it easier to move forward as does working with a therapist to understand the part of you that was drawn to this kind of person in the beginning. I'm grateful every day that it's over. And grateful I have the opportunity to look at my part so I don't repeat that again.Anonymous wrote:Reading these stories just makes me ill. The description of these men primping, buying new underwear, paying meticulous attention to personal hygiene, etc. This is what you do when you’re dating. How on earth can men with wives and families and homes live in that environment and still have the temerity to court a new woman? Like where is their humanity and ethics? This isn’t getting drunk at a bar on a business trip and messing up. This is getting ready for a date in your own home while your wife is in the next room, probably feeding your kids dinner. It’s chillingly sociopathic.
Anonymous wrote:and walking behind me or in front of me.
wouldn't hold hands anymore
setting me up to fail and being unappreciative
stopping eating what I made for dinner
he felt empty when I gave him a hug