Wife asks for advice on husband’s cheating ways

When it comes to cheating on a partner, the general consensus is that it’s utterly unacceptable. However, one woman has questioned whether her husband was in the wrong when he slept with someone else given the state of their marriage at the time. 

Taking to online forum Mumsnet, the woman revealed that her husband cheated on her, but conceded she could understand why he strayed. One of the big aspects was sexual rejection from his wife. “Our sex life has got progressively worse over the past year and it had got to the point where I never wanted it and certainly never initiated anything,” she revealed.

“I know there’s no acceptable reason for cheating really but sometimes can circumstances make someone vulnerable when in different circumstances they wouldn’t have dreamt of doing it?

“We were going through a very difficult period in our marriage and our relationship had deteriorated so much that I didn’t feel loving towards him at all and if he initiated it and we did sleep together it was pretty obvious that it was just a chore to me and I wasn’t really enjoying it.”

The woman suggested that her lack of sex drive was one of many difficulties in their relationship that left her husband feeling depressed and rejected.

“It made him feel absolutely terrible about himself so that’s when he met someone who paid him a lot of attention,” she confessed.

Read more: Survey reveals women’s number one reason for cheating

She said that she’d always vowed to leave a relationship if she was cheated on, but wasn’t sure what to make of the situation now that it was actually happening to her. 

“We’ve talked a lot now and do still love each other and want the marriage to work but I’m finding it difficult to get over the betrayal even though I sort of understand what led him down that path,” she explained.

Fellow readers on the forum had plenty to say about the matter. For the most part, people didn’t believe that cheating was acceptable, even in this scenario.

One person wrote: “A relationship is about much more than sex and any relationship that falls apart because you have a drought and a rough patch isn’t a strong relationship.” Another said: “If he wanted to have sex with someone else he should have ended it with you first.”

A further comment read: “I can understand why the circumstances would have led to him cheating, I am of the belief that people in happy and fulfilling relationships are less likely to even consider it, and it sounds like this relationship wasn’t happy or fulfilling for either of you. Doesn’t make it instantly excusable though.”

It comes after a woman made headlines last month for suggesting it was acceptable for her to cheat on her husband with Alzheimer’s disease. She suggested that having some fun on the side allowed her to become a better carer and wife for her ill husband. 

What do you think? Is cheating ever acceptable? Have you ever cheated on a partner, or has it happened to you?