Thanks for this supportive post. I can see where some of the others can't see any way to forgive this betrayal - I admit I am having a lot of trouble imagining a day when I will be past this.
Yes, she did a terrible thing to me. Call me a fool if you like, but I cannot accept the notion that she doesn't love me because she did this.
People make mistakes. I'm one of them and I know how easy it is to become attracted to the point of an affair.
How?
Well, it happened to me about 9 years ago. I ended it before it became a full - blown affair with sexual intercourse, but I never told my wife about it. I just carried the guilt around with me. It made me feel I wasn't worthy of my marriage and caused me to become withdrawn and probably contributed to the reasons she went out and had an affair herself.
Since finding out about her affair, I have told her about the affair I had so many years ago. I explained that I had a certain amount of empathy toward her since I'd been there myself.
I'm sure some of you out there are thinking that I'm getting what I deserve now. That may be true.
I prefer to think that I am strong because I am staying with her, not weak. The easiest thing in the world to do would be to just kick her to the curb, but given my past, that wouldn't be very fair would it?
Affairs are never justifiable, but they are understandable - and if they are understandable then they must be forgivable.