Not comfortable having affairs

Mr. Frustrated

New member
Hello everyone, I am 51 years old and my wife of 20 years is 49. My wife is post-menopausal, whereas I have a robust libido. We have not been intimate for about 2 years now. Hormone therapy is not an option for her since my mother-in-law had breast cancer. We have tried to be intimate on a number of occasions, but it causes her too much pain and basically she has no desire for it and describes her situation as "dead down there." She has been telling me for the past year that I should have affairs with random women (no relationships), and that although she does not feel great about the thought of it, she is totally accepting of it. She points out that I carry this frustration with me and that when any small matter comes up, I am already worked up over such a small issue, and it affects the family. We love each other very much and otherwise have a great marriage, but... I am not comfortable doing what she suggests I do. I take my vows seriously and we renewed our vows on our 15th year anniversary. I work out of town 4 days a week and she sees this as a great opportunity for me to take care of my "business." We have been to couples therapy and I have attended therapy on my own in the pursuit that I can be accepting of her demands that I be with other women. Trying to get over the guilt, even though I haven't done anything yet. Any advice? Thank you.
 
I guess I wonder these things.

Are ALL forms of sex off the table, or just PIV?

You don't seem to want casual sex in a Don't Ask Don't Tell model. Why not decline?

Is this person no longer the right spouse for you? Have you talked about a peaceful divorce and changing to exes and friends and sharing friendship and growing old together that way instead?

If you did start dating outside the marriage...

What happens if you fall in love with the person and it stops being casual? Are you expect to just dump them?

Would you negotiate changing to polyamory with wife, or just do polyamory without telling her because of your DADT model?

What if you meet a game-changing person who you fall in love with and want to marry, but can't, because you're already married? Would you get a divorce?

She points out that I carry this frustration with me, and that when any small matter comes up I am already worked up over such a small issue and it affects the family.

What if your mood is not any better, because sex becomes like a "dirty little secret" you don't feel good about doing on the side? Then what? What would have been the point?

What are you all trying to "fix" with this idea? Could it be fixed another way?
 
Are ALL forms of sex off the table, or just PIV?

You don't seem to want casual sex in a Don't Ask Don't Tell model. Why not decline?

Is this person no longer the right spouse for you? Have you talked about a peaceful divorce and changing to exes and friends, and sharing friendship and growing old together that way instead?

If you did start dating outside the marriage...

What happens if you fall in love with the person and it stops being casual? Are you expect to just dump them?

Would you negotiate changing to polyamory with wife? Or just do polyamory without telling her because DADT?

What if you meet a game-changing person who you fall in love with and want to marry... but can't because already married. Would you get a divorce?

What if your mood is not any better because sex becomes like a "dirty little secret" you don't feel good about doing on the side? Then what? What would have been the point?

What are you all trying to "fix" with this idea? Could it be fixed another way?
I understand your point of view. However, not being with my wife is a non-negotiable. The only way I would approach being with another is to lay it out plainly that I'm not here for a relationship, just intimacy. I realize that you can never be prepared in whom you meet, and yes, I could meet an amazing woman, but I have an amazing woman whom I adore and love. I'm thinking that the best scenario is to meet a woman in the same predicament, someone who loves her partner, but is missing intimacy in the relationship.
 
Greetings Mr. Frustrated,
Welcome to our forum.

I would point out that it is not an affair if it is done with your wife's consent. Consenting nonmonogamy is very different from nonconsenting nonmonogamy. My only concern is that your wife doesn't want you to fall in love with any of these women you have sex with, however having sex often leads to falling in love. So I don't know, you might want to talk with your wife about that. Note that in poly, you can love more than one person. If poly is something you wanted.

Good luck!
Kevin T.
 
Meeting regularly a woman who is also deprived of intimacy is a recipe for falling in love...
 
Meeting regularly a woman who is also deprived of intimacy is a recipe for falling in love...
Didn't think of that... This venture becomes more problematic. First, I have to come to terms with myself to actually attempt this. Then, there is the issue of viable partner/s that hopefully don't lead to emotional attachments. I am going to discuss this with my wife and hopefully she will rethink her views. Still leaves me with the abstinence problem, but better the devil I know, I guess...
 
This venture becomes more problematic. First, I have to come to terms with myself to actually attempt this. Then, there is the issue of viable partner/s that hopefully don't lead to emotional attachments. I am going to discuss this with my wife and hopefully she will rethink her views. Still leaves me with the abstinence problem, but better the devil I know, I guess...
Hi. I am very sorry your libido and your wife's no longer match up. This is an incredibly common problem in long-term relationships, sadly. It's really a lot to expect to have our libidos match up over many years/decades, due to emotional changes, hormonal changes (pregnancy, lactation, menopause, "manopause"/erectile disfunction), children using up one's energy, illnesses, medications, etc.

I just wanted to point out that this is a discussion forum for polyamory. This word polyamory means "many loves," not "multiple sex partners" or "cheating affairs." Included in the definition is the idea that multiple love partners are consented to by all people involved. That is, your wife would consent to you falling in love with, or at least being fond of, your other dating partners, and she'd know you were dating this other person or people. Likewise, your newer dating partners would know you were married, in love with your wife, and not planning on leaving her for them.

Another part of polyamory is that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If you were to be dating others, it would be fair for your wife to also date others, should she choose to do so.

Neither you nor your wife seem to be polyamorous (although you're just starting to look into opening your relationship, so it's probably too soon to tell, really). However, you're so sexually starved, you may be polySEXUAL. That is, you might want to have sex with multiple women, with a minimum of emotions involved. This would fall under the umbrella of "ethical non-monogamy," and be considered an "open relationship."

Or maybe you're monoamorous (in love with wife), but also monosexual... and only want to have sex with one other woman, just one other dating partner. You'd prefer to have sex with the woman you love, but failing that, you'd have sex with one other person who is not your wife.

I just thought it would help you to define where exactly you fall under this umbrella of considering having sex with women other than your wife, purely for sexual release.

It does seem like you could find a married woman who is in your boat, who loves her spouse, but has a higher libido than her spouse does, and just also wants sexual fulfillment. It's more likely to find people like this who are cheating. Poly-dating (ethical non-monogamy, where it's all above-board and no one is being deceptive) is relatively rare in our culture, unless you live in a progressive city or area. Even if you were not cheating yourself, it can feel icky or risky to be dating someone who is.

Maybe this whole idea of seeking others for sex seems overwhelming and fraught with difficulties. Sometimes when one partner loses their libido, but still cares enough about the other who is still interested in sex, you can work out something whereby your wife would aid you a bit while you masturbate, by at least letting you hold her while you take care of yourself, as long as you don't touch her breasts, ass or genitals.

Another option would be to make use of sex workers, either virtually or in the flesh. That way you don't run the risk of emotions being involved, as it's purely business.
 
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