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Should I stay or should I go?

(36 Posts)
Dipsy10 Sun 11-Jun-23 15:27:36

My husband is impotent and has been for about 7 years due to medication. I knew there was a problem and he was embarrassed about it but he decided to sort the problem on his own by going on Camgirl websites. To cut a long story short, over the last 6.5 years he has become very close to one girl calling her his solemate, has sent her photos of our family (never me) and told her everything we do. He has sent Xmas cards, valentines cards and even anniversary cards and spent a vast amount of money on her. She became the only girl he met on the site. We have had huge rows over this but for the last year I have been silent because he says she is just a friend who has been there to help him turn his sadness at being unable to make love to me into gladness. She is now not online any more but he still has contact with her and when I caught him furtively sending a card by email the other day to her he said he knew how I felt about her and thats why he doesn’t say anything. I have been very unhappy for the last 3 years since I found out about this but feel sorry for him and me that he can’t make love anymore! Even after all this time I can’t get my head round his relationship with her I feel betrayed and still so hurt. However we’ve been married for a long time and to walk away from everything we’ve built up is very scary. I’d be grateful to know how others see this scenario - please be kind - I am very confused by the whole thing.

luluaugust Mon 12-Jun-23 09:41:02

Honestly you are so young, I have a dear friend who is in her late 70's and is experiencing a husband with an emotional attachment to someone else, it is humiliating.

fancythat Mon 12-Jun-23 11:24:14

The Bible says that that type of thing is an affair. He has broken the marriage vows.
Very sorry for your situation.

henetha Mon 12-Jun-23 11:33:59

He essentially is being unfaithfully to you, isn't he. You are being remarkably understanding about it. I would say walk away, but I realise that can be difficult (although I did it in my 50's).
A friend of mine in a similar situation decided that she could not start a new life alone, so she stayed but moved into the spare bedroom and started to live an independent life in that she only cooked for him if she felt like it, she had holidays with friends, and had days out whenever she felt like it and didn't rush home.
Maybe you could do something similar?

3nanny6 Mon 12-Jun-23 11:58:16

Dipsy10 your husband has treated you despicably he could have looked for help for his impotency as surely there is something that could have been done for him. He thought he found his cure using the webcam and of course that was not a free service for him. Silly man.

I am sorry you chose to put up with it for over 6 years what a sad waste of your time. I would say just like the rest of the posters on here get all documents you need sort out your finances and think carefully what you want to do. If that was me I would have been long gone or he would, you have been betrayed and humiliated by his actions time for a big eye opener and a chance to find some happiness which you certainly have not had from him.

Hithere Mon 12-Jun-23 12:06:11

He is cheating on you and maybe draining your finances on another woman

Lawyer now

Ilovecheese Mon 12-Jun-23 13:31:04

I doubt that it is even the same person that he used to see on the webcam. It could be anybody.

grandtanteJE65 Mon 12-Jun-23 13:42:21

To me your husband's behaviour is a form of infidelity, and whether you can or should condone it, is not really something I feel able to advise you on.

In your place I would find it hard to decide too, and my list of pros and cons would look like this (I think)

Can we afford to divorce? In financial terms that is?

Do I want to divorce him? Emotionally speaking.

Would I miss him so much that life would be difficult, if I left?

Am I prepared to go on living without sexual fulfilment, because his impotence remains a factor?

Or if not, am I prepared to find a lover and remain with my husband? (Could we both accept this solution?)

Is his impotence really uncurable?

Or is he just not interested in me any more?

I don't know if these points are of any use to you, but if even one helps a little, then that's fine.

VioletSky Mon 12-Jun-23 16:11:37

Maybe a solution would be to live together as friends

Do you have a spare bedroom?

He has realistically already ended your marriage. How would he feel if all the other things marriage offers that aren't sex were off the table too?

Harris27 Mon 12-Jun-23 16:17:13

I think you know the answer. My husband has this difficulty and sought medical help. We are happy I can’t imagine how I would be feeling if this happened to me. He’s emotionally having an affair.

LRavenscroft Mon 12-Jun-23 16:18:52

I think where I would have a problem with your situation is the fact that he has this 'woman' on line on whom he spends money and says she is a soul mate. We have all seen programmes about people being scammed/taken for a ride financially and he sounds like one of them. I would base my decision about my future taking that into consideration most of all. People cannot always help their disposition later on in life and if they are honest sad they are hurting you, they will find a way around it which is a compromise. What is not fair is that a third party, and a dodgy one at that, is in the picture.