She (47f) teached me (47m) that I was alone in life after 20 years of marriage. I thought I could count on her, isn’t that what marriage is about. To be there for each other?
When I was at the worst point of my life, when I needed her for the first time, she was having an affair. I caught her doing it, but despite that, I was open to staying with her for the kids, but she felt that questioning our relationship was a betrayal of her. When I asked her to stop talking to her AP, she said I was controlling and needed to trust her that she would not do something. Instead of trying to ease my pain, she exacerbated it.
Ultimately, she showed me the realization that I was alone. It hurt so much at first but it’s what woke me up.
Now, I am grateful because it’s going to make me stronger. I am going to handle everything on my own. I will be a better father and a better man for it.
The question for the group is if you think most women are like this - meaning you can’t count on them - or was I unlucky and it’s a minority? Or are 99% of women the kind you can’t really count on?
[–]meleyys 24 points25 points26 points (1 child) | Copy Link
I'm sorry she did this to you, but you can't project your experience with one woman onto 4 billion women. If I judged all men by the worst any man had treated me, I'd hate all men. I don't.
[–]Far-Veterinarian9630[S] -5 points-4 points-3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
I wasn’t trying to, I am just asking a question because I have only had one long term relationship in my life and I don’t know that many couples well. The ones I do know well are a mess.
[–]watsonyrmind 7 points8 points9 points (1 child) | Copy Link
Do you not think there are women out there with the same story? Are all men like this?
[–]Far-Veterinarian9630[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
I am not like this but yeah, lots of men are like this.
[–]Queen_Maxima 6 points7 points8 points (0 children) | Copy Link
I could write a similar story about my ex. Yes i had a hard time trusting men again after that, but the reality is that not all men are like that. Far from it, actually. Therefore, same goes for women, who are people.
People like these are the exception, but their stories stand out because they trigger lots of emotions.
I would not even think about treating my husband like that.
[–]IndicationForeign894 2 points3 points4 points (2 children) | Copy Link
Think about the audience who you are asking this question to. Don't you think that the "truthness" of the answers you receive will be skewed if you ask *divorced dads or people influenced with redpill ideologies* if they feel disappointed or wronged by women? I suspect for some reason you want people to affirm to you that yes all women are like this, so you can blame women as a collective, rather than process what happened within your own relationship and why it failed. This is about the relationship between you and your ex wife and has nothing to do with other women or other men.
[–]Far-Veterinarian9630[S] 0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy Link
I don’t want confirmation that all women are bad. I am hoping that there are men out there who could tell me their experience was different. Who could tell me which type of women would make great partners and which ones would make for terrible partners. I also know I attracted, and was attracted to, a woman with issues. That means I have issues as well and am working on that.
[–]IndicationForeign894 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
Then perhaps you should ask about experiences with women in subreddits where topics are not toxic views on dating or failed relationships/marriages. Right now you are targeting an audience of people with some type of grievances regarding relationships. Broaden your scope man
[–]crazycal123 1 point2 points3 points (10 children) | Copy Link
I think affairs are driven by one or a combination of three factors: i) Neglecting yourself (becoming unattractive); ii) Neglecting your partner (not meeting their love language needs); iii) Poor partner selection (some people are just cheats and this occurs across both genders).
I'd take this time to reflect on all three of the above so that you can take care of yourself, be a better partner and select a better partner in the future. It's hard, I get it.
[–]Far-Veterinarian9630[S] 1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy Link
I agree with this but in my case, I think it’s mostly 3. For sure, there were years where I could have been better, maybe even much better, at 1 or 2, but there were years including in the begging where I know I was very good at 1 or 2, and it still didn’t matter. I think she just likes attention from multiple men.
[–]crazycal123 -1 points0 points1 point (0 children) | Copy Link
Sorry to hear that, hopefully you avoid someone like this next time
[–]watsonyrmind 1 point2 points3 points (7 children) | Copy Link
Nah, this is the just world fallacy. Cheaters are cheaters. The issue is within themselves and it is often completely out of the other person's control.
OP should reflect on the relationship to see if there is anything he can do better in the next one, but that's what one should do any time a relationship ends. I agree he should see if there were any red flags he missed, but that's not "poor partner selection" unless it's a consistent pattern, it's learning about signs that are not always apparently until you experience it.
[–]thekeytovictory 1 point2 points3 points (3 children) | Copy Link
I think your comment is just a better wording of u/crazycal123 's third point. I'd say relationships end because (1) one person is a bad partner, (2) both people are bad partners, or (3) it was an incompatible partnership.
We don't know if OP was a good partner or if the relationship was fundamentally incompatible, but we can say for certain that OP's ex was a bad partner. Withholding time, energy, and effort from your current relationship so you can invest in a new relationship with someone else is a betrayal of your partner's trust.
[–]watsonyrmind 2 points3 points4 points (2 children) | Copy Link
Yeah sort of, but I'd stress that attributing being cheated on as the fault of or preventable by the person for selecting a cheater is victim blaming and red pill adjacent rhetoric. It smacks of, "why are women bad at choosing men" when they end up in bad relationships.
I also think people that haven't been cheated on, and sometimes even people who have been, like to believe that it is entirely within their control to avoid being cheated on. Like, if they just are good to their partner and choose "right", they're immune. And unfortunately that is not the case. Tons of people are blindsided by cheaters despite doing everything "right" for many reasons.
I think we all agree though that it's healthy to reflect on one's role in a relationship any time they end. There are usually always things we'd want to do differently in the future.
[–]thekeytovictory 2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy Link
That's a good point. I agree that the cheater is 100% to blame for their own actions. Abusing a partner's trust indicates a lack of integrity on their part that no amount of treating them well would have changed.
I've been cheated on in the past, and I'd like to believe that I learned something from the experience to reduce the odds of it happening again. But you're right that no one is immune to the risk. Trustworthiness can only be established by giving someone opportunities to break your trust.
[–]crazycal123 -1 points0 points1 point (0 children) | Copy Link
Its the opposite of red pill rhetoric. Red pill rhetoric encourages emotional neglect of your partner and is why the majority of red pill men get cheated on and then come to the conclusion that all women cheat.
I was providing the framework to evaluate why one is cheated on and learn from it - I am not saying that it can be completely avoided, but you should take ownership for your own misfortune even when its not your fault. I think my perspective is empowering vs the perspective that you are doomed to be a victim of a toxic partner and that their cheating was inevitable.
[–]crazycal123 -1 points0 points1 point (2 children) | Copy Link
I don’t think that takes enough ownership. If a woman meets a man who is sporty, outgoing, intellectually curious, social, loving, and attentive—then watches him become addicted to computer games and neglect himself for years while she feels too attached to walk away—it’s not surprising that, when someone who treats her well finally comes along, she might be tempted to cheat.
I'm not absolving the cheater of their behaviour here, its cowardly and selfish, but the victim should also take ownership of what went wrong in their life, otherwise you are doomed to be a victim in the future.
[–]watsonyrmind 1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy Link
You can do everything right and get cheated on, it takes a person being willing to cheat. It doesn't take a person mistreating themselves or their partner.
OP can reflect on their role, but implying it's likely at least partially their fault they were cheated on is just victim blaming.
[–]crazycal123 -1 points0 points1 point (0 children) | Copy Link
I wasn’t victim blaming, I was saying there can be scenarios when less selfish partners cheat. I’m not justifying these partners cheating I am just presenting a rounded view that is broader than toxic stuff like “all women cheat”. If he reflects and concludes he did 1 and 2 then he knows he needs to be better at partner selection in the future.
I’m not saying partner selection is easy either, hard to find someone you like that likes you and isn’t a tool