The Beginning of Something Else

On June 1, 2007 I found out my husband and partner of almost two decades had been unfaithful to me since before our marriage, and had been having intercourse with prostitutes for 3 1/2 years. This is what happened next.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Married Woman seeks clarity, and maybe some fun on the side

Husband and I made love again last night. We've been having more sex over the last week and a half than we've had for years. I've been in a heightened state of arousal since I found out about the prostitutes. I don't know if this is from anxiety and emotional chaos, or if I'm turned on in some way by the images in my head (because I do have images, partly based on the descriptions in his reviews, partly made up in my own imagination.) My thinking is that I've been wanting sex for many reasons. For comfort, for a feeling of intimacy that I've felt I lost, out of anger, a need to dominate and feel the power of my sexuality, to release emotion, because I've been entertaining thoughts of sex with other people, because I've wanted to give love and comfort to my husband, because I wanted to feel what is there now. But maybe I'm really just trying to compete with prostitutes on some level - to show my husband what he has.

My therapist says she detects some sexual confusion. I think that's an accurate observation. When I went over to my girlfriend's house two nights ago, we were talking about our differnt sexual experiences in the context of discussing what has happened with my husband. I'd had about half a bottle of wine, and was in this heightened state of arousal I mentioned above. And I actually asked her if she wanted to make out. At the time I was thinking it would be a safe, fun distraction. We'd both expressed in the conversation that we knew we preferred men, but were open to experiences with women. It seemed logical at the time to ask. Thankfully my dear friend had her wits about her enough to say no. In the moment it was a bit of a rejection. But after I've had time to reflect, I think I'm lucky that one of us had clarity.

1 comment:

davka said...

Wow- this is an amazing post. Have you ever read Erica Jong's "How to save your own life"?

Your ability of self-introspection is incredible- so intelligent and intuitive.

When my boyfriend cheated on me I also felt strangely turned on by it. Actually, the worst part of being cheated on by a partner for me was the way these women entered my psyche in such an invasive way via his letting them into our collective life. they haunted me and i never opened my body or doors to them and i felt so invaded by it and this made me very angry. when a man cheats he is really sharing your one flesh with someone else and that is a sort of rape in a way- well maybe that is a stronger word than I intend, but you know what I mean.

I am not comparing my situation with yours. This was a boyfriend of about 2 years, not a husband lifepartner and father of my children. So, I can't imagine.

thanks so much for writing.