Understanding

ReaderofThreads

New member
Well let me first state I am mono, not poly. But I am very open-minded. My wife on the other hand has recently discovered that she may be poly. I say may because she has just started this journey and who knows what may happen, you know?

How it started is a very long story, but the bare bones fact is she met some knew friends and had phone sex with another woman. I had to confront her about it because I could tell something was going on. She would try to lie and hide it, which is funny because she would tell me all about open and honest communication being important in relationships. But I guess she was scared, or maybe ashamed.

I forgave her for going behind my back and rather than get mad and be mean I chose to understand why she did this, even going so far as to talking with the woman, who I found to be extremely nice and helpful. This woman helped me to understand about love for many and not one. It was a bit difficult to wrap my head around but I was open to learning.

Fast forward a bit and my wife decides to back off from anything more so we could work on our relationship since we have had many difficulties. While doing this I also began researching polyamory to get a better understanding of it and get a better understanding of her.

Unfortunately, she did not hold true and started another relationship with someone else who lives in another state. She promised to not do anything but once again ended up breaking her word. Needless to say it caused all manner of stress and problems.

Fast forward a bit more and I now have a new person in my life. There is a lot to this story and if you ask I will go into it, but for now I was wanting guidance. Like I said, I have studied and learned. https://www.morethantwo.com is an extremely valuable tool and I encourage everyone to read it because it has good stuff for individuals as well as any type of relationship. There are other sites and whatnot but that one is my favorite.

Back on topic. I know my fears and insecurities and I am looking for helpful guidance. There is only so much you can learn from somethings and what better way to gain knowledge and understanding and fight ignorance than to go out and educate yourself?

My wife has recently just left the state to see the new guy in our lives and I find myself imagining all kinds of things that are causing me much discomfort. Fears of neglect, abandonment, and comparison are there in front of me. She reassures me but since this is the first actual physical encounter for them no one knows truly how it will go. So I am scared. But I want her to be happy and get what she feels she needs. I hate the idea but at the same time try to encourage and be open. I am conflicted but trying to do what is best for her and us.

Sorry for the long story, trust me it is A LOT longer. I will get to it the crux of the matter. How did you find it best to deal with these insecurities the first time around? Or what are some things you have learned to help you through your partner's NRE? I want to be okay and loving for my wife, because I am sure this is no small thing for her. She is super nervous and her mind all over the place like mine. It didn't help that I kept surprising her by being understanding and actively learning about this stuff rather than yell and get mad.

Thank you for your patience if you read this. If it was too long for some, then I apologize for not keeping your attention. Open and honest feedback will be most appreciated. And I am willing to answer most questions, but beware, my answers may be lengthy.
 
Hello ReaderofThreads and welcome! :)

Don't worry about the length of your first post - sounds like there was a lot of information that's pretty crucial! I think it's great that you are trying to understand your wife as a poly person, even if you yourself are mono.

Can you help me by providing some timeline for what happened?

Month, Year - XX, XXXX: Wife had phone sex with another woman
Month, Year - XX, XXXX: You found out about phone sex (not because she told you voluntarily, because you kept asking?)
Month, Year - XX, XXXX: Wife starts another relationship without telling you, while trying to rebuild trust with you
Month, Year - XX, XXXX: You found out about other relationship? (Did she volunteer this? Or continue to hide?)
Month, Year - XX, XXXX: You two decide to open your relationship
Month, Year - XX, XXXX: Wife starts dating New Guy, as part of opening
July 2015: Wife goes to see New Guy for first (date? Sexual encounter? Something else?)
Other key events?

I think it would be helpful to have some context to understanding your current struggles/insecurities.

Also, do you perceive what your wife did with phone sex and other relationship (not sure of the extent, sounds like it became physical?) as cheating? It sounds that way to me, but I wanted to hear your perception. What have you two done to rebuild trust? Heal from cheating?

Do you intend to date others? I was confused at your statement that you have a new person in your life. Do you both date New Guy?

Have you talked with Wife about expectations? Are you okay with her falling in love with other men? Other women? Are there things you are NOT comfortable with her doing?

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts along the way, and others will be here to comment shortly I suspect! :)
 
Hi ReaderofThreads,

When I have experienced jealousy in the past, I have found that it was because of some specific need of mine that wasn't getting met. I had to identify the need, then ask for help in meeting it.

Re (from OP):
"Fast forward a bit more and I now have a new person in my life."

Who is this new person? Can you tell me more about them?

I hope we can help you with your situation.
Sincerely,
Kevin T.
 
It happened over the course of about three months. I saw signs that my wife was a bit interested in this sort of thing very early on into our relationship but stayed quiet because her whole life she had certain expectations crammed down her throat by her father, this later caused some problems in our relationship, which I alluded to. So she came from lots of emotional abuse where she had to behave a certain way. And I also came from abuse, I have ptsd from child abuse and rape. So we make quite a pair.

It was while we were working on getting a handle on ourselves she began to realize the poly way of life. The phone sex with the woman, yes I saw it as cheating, came as a surprise to her because she considered herself straight. I forgave and since she had been essentially living inside a box created by her father I tried to help her grow as she came into this new world.

This new group of friends she had, most of which are poly, helped her to see what her life could be like. Unfortunately she got so caught up in it she made some mistakes. These things happen. I did my best to understand and grow with her. We were partners. I think that scared her.

This new guy, no I do not want a relationship with him beyond friends if possible, had gone through a lot of the emotional abuse she did and helped her. This turned into a romance and I told her to be careful. It took her about a week before they started having phone sex.

I told her that it was immoral without my consent. Not only that but it was fast. That not only did she break her promise to take things slowly, she also ignored the fact that she had a husband and two children and how starting a new relationship might affect them. It was like she did not care. I understand a bit more about it, but I hate that they went behind my back when I was trying to understand and maybe agree to it down the road.

Her response to me being upset was to divorce. She wanted this whole other life and to leave behind her family. Or keep her family, we all live together, but she and I are no longer married. It was very confusing. It was a bit selfish since she would get all she wanted and I had nothing.

Eventually she came back around to us working it out but she wanted to stay open, which I had been a bit okay with going towards. Once that was out of the way I again delved into learning and understanding, coming up with some expectations and guidelines and such. Oddly, it was mainly me trying to get this whole three of us thing to work. The other guy seems nice and will talk to me a little but he pretty much just talks to my wife. That makes me a little worried how he will handle this, but he is from a poly family so you never know.

Her going to see him was also a really fast thing, they have known each other two months. When I suggested me having more time to deal with them being sexual she got very angry, making me think this is all about sex. She denies it and says there is more there. We will see I guess. So there are fears of her neglecting me, comparing me with him, or her just leaving her family. She assures me but since this has happened very fast and I have had little time to adjust, not to mention my ptsd not making it any easier, I am a bit worried. But I love her and want her to grow as an individual to make our relationship stronger.

See? Long answers
 
The new person is her new boyfriend. Since he and my wife have a relationship, the three of us do. I did not ask him into my life and he was kind of forced upon me. But I do not hate him and am hoping we can get along.
 
That was indeed very fast. I would not reccomend going about it like this but, well, now she has. And she is basically given you the option of staying with him if you are staying with her. That is not what I would do - or did - at all, but if that is how she feels that is how she feels.

As for the guy, you will need to get to know him and she will need time to get to know him. If you approach him as a potentional new friend you might find out that he has some qualities that you can respect. And it is important that you let him get to know you.
 
Hi Reader,

It seems to me that you are trying to determine whether you can trust your wife. She has done things to violate your trust, so that makes it hard to extend it to her now.

Can you guys get a poly-friendly marriage counselor? I wonder if that would help.

Regards,
Kevin T.
 
That was indeed very fast. I would not reccomend going about it like this but, well, now she has. And she is basically given you the option of staying with him if you are staying with her. That is not what I would do - or did - at all, but if that is how she feels that is how she feels.

As for the guy, you will need to get to know him and she will need time to get to know him. If you approach him as a potentional new friend you might find out that he has some qualities that you can respect. And it is important that you let him get to know you.

This is how I felt. Very fast, especially for something new. Hopefully it turns out okay. But yes, I believe friendship is very important if there is the possibility of this guy being in our lives for a while and he meeting our children. My wife gets surprised when I emotional about the whole thing, as if she expects me to be okay with it in a day. I have to remind her that the way the relationship started, without consent and with knowingly breaking trust, and the time frame on the entire thing greatly ups my anxiety and stress which escalates the jealousy and fear. Plus this whole thing is new to me. I am having to make some very rapid changes. But I am willing. We truly do love each other and I want her happy and she has gone out of her way to assure me and to help me in the transition. Now with her new relationship about to hit a new level my insecurities are escalating a bit. I am hoping for advice for getting into a better headspace when she comes back home in a few days.
 
501

Hi Reader,

It seems to me that you are trying to determine whether you can trust your wife. She has done things to violate your trust, so that makes it hard to extend it to her now.

Can you guys get a poly-friendly marriage counselor? I wonder if that would help.

Regards,
Kevin T.


I have thought about that and have tried to reestablish trust by taking her at her word. Again. She has acknowledged what she did and listened and empathized. Then I showed her some articles from the more than two website and she saw the value in them and put some of the methods to use. So really has turned herself around and wants this new relationship, as well as ours, to do well and is doing all she can to do so. Except give me more time to adjust. I will just have to make do.
 
There is also a book "More than Two" (by the same author as the website). Might be a good read for you and your wife both.
 
Just bought it. Thank you for the advice. My wife and I had been thinking about it for a bit. What better time to read and learn about how to handle this stuff better than while my wife has gone to spend a few days with her boyfriend. Wow that feels weird to say.
 
Welcome to the weird world of polyamory. :)
 
lol, that is putting it mildly. I can't even think of how to explain all this to my friends. They wanted to condemn my wife for her learning about herself and could not open their minds to at least try to understand. I stood by her though and our love has actually gotten much stronger in the past month because of it. There are still some sticky spots but overall good.
 
I am not doing well at all this morning. My mind is playing all sorts of mean things on my about what she is doing with this guy. I want to understand and be in a good headspace. I feel I was not given enough time. When I asked her for more time to get used to the idea of her being sexual she got angry with me and out right refused to give me time. I have had to adjust to all this in a matter of weeks. I would appreciate some help if anyone has some advice
 
I'm sorry to hear about how hard things are for you, Reader.

I wish I could offer you more advice at this point. Empathy is the best I've got.

I can't imagine opening up my marriage within a few months, while already being unsure if I can trust my partner (after he/she cheated twice recently).

The image that pops into my head is like you and she are going down the river and you fall out of the boat. So you are clinging onto the boat and you look ahead and see rapids. And you ask your partner "hey can you slow down? Help me into the boat?" and she keeps paddling and says "you can either come along for the ride or let go now." And you decide that it's better to cling to the boat than let go and swim to safety.

I believe it is going to be a very bumpy road for you. :(

You sound like a very kind, forgiving person. Many partners would not stick around after experiencing what you have.

May I ask, what is your partner doing in all this to improve your and her relationship?
 
She is trying to work on loving me. To actively listen and be understanding with how I feel. She has a tendency to take what I am feeling and go the extreme with it and say all sorts of things to make me feel like I cannot speak. At times I want to cry and she resents me for it. She is getting better and she is truly a wonderful person. And I have done my fair share of problems in the relationship. I just sometimes feel I am doing most of the work to making the poly thing work for everyone which is funny considering i am the mono that was cheated on. I really want this to work out. She really is a good person, this is just a weird time for her to. And I don't hate this new guy she has. If she likes him than there is a chance I will to.

There is just so much I have to get used to so fast. I have the tools and resources, but not the time. It is frustrating. I would love even just a month. Too late for that now.
 
Last edited:
Re (from ReaderofThreads):
"When I asked her for more time to get used to the idea of her being sexual she got angry with me and outright refused to give me time."

Sounds a little ruthless to me. :(
 
Last edited:
The image that pops into my head is like you and she are going down the river and you fall out of the boat. So you are clinging onto the boat and you look ahead and see rapids. And you ask your partner "hey can you slow down? Help me into the boat?" and she keeps paddling and says "you can either come along for the ride or let go now." And you decide that it's better to cling to the boat than let go and swim to safety.

That is a really good analogy. But perhaps she feels like she isn't paddling at all, but being dragged along by the Rapids. What she needs to be doing is getting a better balance of helping you into the boat whilst making sure she (and the other guy) don't fall out. It's a way more difficult balance to achieve when NRE is involved.

Reader, I commend you for your general attitude towards all of this. Your wife is incredibly lucky to have your support. Be kind to yourself okay? Sounds like you are doing your best to make everything great for her, but please take care of yourself too...
 
Honestly, her actions don't sound very loving to me. I sometimes wonder if cheaters don't just use poly as an excuse when they're caught cheating and want to keep cheating without giving up the benefits of their existing relationship. That's not poly, imo.
 
Honestly, her actions don't sound very loving to me. I sometimes wonder if cheaters don't just use poly as an excuse when they're caught cheating and want to keep cheating without giving up the benefits of their existing relationship. That's not poly, imo.

this is one of my fears that i am working on.
 
Back
Top