There’s a tv reporter here called Vanessa Feltz who I heard talking on a podcast about her marriage ending 20 years ago....17 years married, two teenage kids, she knew nothing about it, typical BD and her then h was having multiple affairs it turned out. She said he dropped the first bomb saying he was thinking about divorce, refused to say anything more but say he’d give her 12 weeks ‘on trial’....can you imagine??....and then left 7 weeks later still refusing to say anything truthful about what was really going on. Even all these years later, you could hear the old echo of her shock and complete bewilderment. Bc tbh it’s a deeply abusive way to behave, isn’t it? To betray a spouse, unilaterally blow up a family’s life and yet feel entitled enough to put the spouse on some non-specific trial or demand that they ‘prove’ their value to you. Ridiculous actually....but most of us fell for some version of it at least for a little while bc we were shocked, heartbroken and afraid.
Imho it’s easier - if still deeply difficult - to grieve the loss and adjust to a situation you didn’t choose without carrying this kind of nonsense burden too. It’s not a normal, reasonable or respectful thing for anyone to ask of you....and sometimes reducing contact is the only way to see that.
T: 18 M: 12 (at BD) No kids.
H diagnosed with severe depression Oct 15. BD May 16. OW since April 16, maybe earlier. Silent vanisher mostly.
Divorced April 18. XH married ow 6 weeks later.
"Option A is not available so I need to kick the s**t out of Option B" Sheryl Sandberg