The ‘Pick Me’ Dance

Ooh, pick me!

Are you in competition with an affair partner? Were you unaware there was a contest, and then later discovered the cheating? Does it ever feel like you’re being compared to some phantom perfect person? Welcome to the pick me dance.

One of the most insidious mindfucks chumps experience after discovery of an affair, is the expectation that they will try harder to win back the cheater. This expectation either comes from the cheater directly —  “I cheated because you’re a lousy (partner, housekeeper, lay)” — and how are you going to up your game to keep me? Or it comes from the bargaining grief of the chump — “What did I do to make him cheat? And how can I be a better partner to make him stay?”

Often both dynamics are at play, and feed into each other. The cheater, of course, is quite happy to pin this shit on you.

The pick me dance gives a false sense of control.

When terrible things happen, it’s very natural to want to feel a sense of control. To think, oh if I’d only done X, Y would not have resulted. If you are at fault, the reasoning goes, well, then you could FIX this. (Chumps love to fix things.) So you will take this crappy situation, and think you can control the outcome by just trying harder.

This is a bad idea for several reasons. First, you aren’t at fault for another’s cheating. That’s on them. As they say in therapy about people behaving self destructively – the Three C Rule – “you didn’t CAUSE it, you cannot CURE it, and you cannot CONTROL it.”

Second, if you see the affair as a competition that you must try harder to “win,” the marriage becomes a bidding war between the chump and the affair partner. The best response is to fold, because the game is rigged. There is no winning bid. The cheater just wants the competition to go on indefinitely. (See the Unified Theory of Cake.) They want to sit impassively while you do the humiliating dance of “pick me!” This makes them feel powerful, central, special.

Don’t reward a cheater’s entitlement.

Cheating comes from a sense of entitlement. All you do when you compete for your marriage is solidify that entitlement – that it is YOUR job to ensure the happiness of the cheater, and hey, you missed a spot. Healthy relationships are based upon reciprocity. Infidelity is a toxically lopsided situation. Cheaters want the scales tipped in their favor (more attention, more ego stroking, more sex, more materialism) at your expense. They just don’t want to try that hard, and they’re gonna sulk if you make them.

What does the pick me dance look like?

  • Mounting a defense of the marriage – trying to hard sell your cheater on What You Have Together.
  • Eating the shit sandwich. Not bringing up the affair. Stuffing your emotions so as not to upset the cheater with your distress.
  • Believing that the cheater’s need for “happiness” is paramount to the commitment they made to you. If they want to break that commitment, fine, there are honest ways to do that, beginning with a divorce lawyer. If they want to work on happiness, there is therapy, God, and working at pet shelters. But they cannot have all the benefits of marriage AND a side dish fuck because they aren’t “happy.”
  • Let’s make a deal! Don’t make a bargain with the Devil – as long as you try harder to make the cheater happy and fix what’s wrong, they won’t betray you.
  • Super spouse! Having hysterical bonding sex, going to the gym, and dressing spiffier. If you’re trying to be a better you to “win,” you’re just rewarding them. Be a better you for YOU. Your next partner will appreciate it a lot more than they will.
  •  Finally, don’t beg. Don’t grab their ankles as they walk out the door. Don’t drape yourself over furniture weeping. Let them go.
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Ms. Jay
Ms. Jay
11 years ago

Amen Sister! After I caught my “serial cheating” ex-husband in a web of lies for the 2nd time, I gave him his “walking papers”. I refused to give him permission to disrespect me and dishonor our teenage daughter. If he wanted to have sex with a variety of women, then he shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. If at some point in our 20+ years of marriage, he decided that he couldn’t move forward, he should have been honest with me. I would have gladly signed the divorce papers. I would rather see him happy with someone else, instead of him being miserable with me. In my opinion, you cannot make another person love or respect you, either they do or they don’t. And his actions told me that he did not love or respect me, so I assisted him in becoming a “swinging bachelor”. He has the right to love someone else, and he has the right to always be a part of our daughter’s life. However, he does not have the right to treat me like crap, and think that I would continue to tolerate his adolescent behavior. I’m so happy that he is out of my life. The chaos and negative energy that he constantly brought into our family’s home have been replaced with a sense of well-being, peace and harmony.

Susan
Susan
5 years ago
Reply to  Ms. Jay

Ms. Jay, you said sooo much in that short summary of your situation … that sounds eerily similar to my 28 year marriage that just crumbled. You articulated things in a very objective and non-emotional/name-calling way I can use in my current divorce “negotiations.” Thank you so much for sharing!

Jerri
Jerri
6 years ago
Reply to  Ms. Jay

You got it right, put a Fork in that BITCH she/he is DONE!!!!

Mitzi
Mitzi
9 years ago
Reply to  Ms. Jay

wow, Ms Jay! Cathing your man a second time…..exactlty what happened 2 days ago, same old same old, same twat too, he also couldn’t miss indicating to his pal that he was over the moon to have reconnected with her!!!!!!!!!!!!! (she called him in the office after 3 yrs)….in that instant everything I felt washed away, nothing that we had still stood – he beat me up very badly when he was dating her years ago, because he HAD to see her and spend the night, this continued for some time, possy 6 months, and now 3 yrs later, he’s happy to reconnect with her????????? I think that was worse than them actually being in touch, that, after so much violence (to protect her “dignity” and “honor”) towards me, he feels “happy”…..it was the ultimate cake remark, he has it all. I dropped him home, I left, and haven’t spoken since (got the usual million calls round midnight) I would have been doing the pick me dance before get him back, but, this killed everything in me and spurned my last inch of self respect into survival mode; I have nothing to say to him anymore………………that’s it…..nothing, we already lived apart (clever man – being everyday together like a couple but living it in both our places taking turns)….all i feel now is that I really see him for what he is for the first time and feel fysically sick that he actually “is happy” for bringing back a nightmare into what I thought was “our” lives….so; enough said…officially I should not have known, I overheard but knowing how calculating he is, it was meant to happen…..I feel stupid for having tried 3 yrs thinking it was over – stupid me…..not after him living for 7 months with another woman in another country (being told NOT to visit him, neither his kids n pals)….he is the classic twat and I am very angry with myself letting him get that far (just got back from ski hols spending it with his daughters)…..am posting here as I feel its the only place that gets my mood and situation….will maintain the no contact……but now it’ll be very difficult, fear he will show up at the door….maybe need to tell the guards not to allow him into the compound……he is not my concern anymore, more those are intelligent feelings, the heart isn’t there yet….

yo
yo
8 years ago
Reply to  Mitzi

You should NOT feel stupid just because you were forgiving and faithful! What you said really resonates with me. He brought that woman back into your lives…the one he betrayed you with…beat you to “defend her honor”? (WHAT honor? Does he know what that is?)That just shows that you were married to him but he was never married to you. It makes me sick and so sad.

OtherRebecca
OtherRebecca
6 years ago
Reply to  yo

What a wise way of seeing it…she is/was truly married, he might not have kept his vows for even a moment, certainly he’s not married now.
Like every

RioFaline
RioFaline
10 years ago
Reply to  Ms. Jay

Amen….good for you,most inspiring 😉

Patsy
Patsy
9 years ago
Reply to  RioFaline

Oh, Ms Jay – that is SO inspiring!

Stephanie
Stephanie
11 years ago

My God. You just made my day.

Thanks for giving me the thumb’s up on kicking his sorry ass to the curb so fast that it made his hair blow back. The whore who took him can have him. He’s not worth my concern.

I love your no-nonsense style!

RioFaline
RioFaline
10 years ago
Reply to  Stephanie

Haaaaa….WHORE being the key word,or sadly in my case whore(s)….good riddance!!!

Peaceful One
Peaceful One
11 years ago

I wish I’d found your web site years ago. I’m astounded at how everything you say so completely nails what I was dealing with. I wasted a lot of time staying with him but once I made my decision, I did it with strength and wide open eyes that can no longer be fooled. I’ve done what I can to protect myself financially and emotionally but boy, if I only knew what I know now five years ago I could have saved myself a lot of time and pain.

mirad
mirad
9 years ago
Reply to  Peaceful One

same here! so many bullshit online counselors out there . I tried to learn, learn, learn – what kind of affair was it? What happened to my husband to make him like this? Ugh. SO much time wasted on this cake eater.

Pinklady
Pinklady
8 years ago
Reply to  Tracy Schorn

Thank you chump lady ‘ lets see married 28 yrs husband ask for divorce back in june 2015 ‘ I was crushed Dday found her text msgs n yes I punched him square in the face betrayal is hard pill yes he even blames me for his affair he had a choice ‘ so dragging them both to court divorcing grounds adultery ‘ I will not humiliate myself playing pick me dance ‘ I am worth so much more . after divorce n house sell I am moving to florida 1500 miles away so I can find peace n harmony go back to school make new friends n start to live a life that I can be proud of ” btw AP worried about court because she is married with 2 children after this will cost her too lol .. thank you chump lady

June
June
6 years ago
Reply to  Pinklady

I understand wanting to sue the other man or the other woman however here are the facts which are not based on emotion … Anyone with a basic understanding of divorce law as it relates to adultery already knowe this …. I learned about it when my ex left me and he was a serial cheater. But when it comes to divorce we can’t base it on emotion we have to base it on facts.

Source: http://divorceinfo.com/can-i-sue-the-other-woman-or-other-man.htm

“As a divorce lawyer, I hear more than my share of plaintive requests from wronged spouses who want me to tell them that yes, they can sue that vixen who seduced their poor husband, or yes, they can sue that villainous co-worker who led their wife astray.

The CNN story itself points out that the tort is recognized in only six states, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. When I look up the population of those six states in the Census Bureau 2010 Data Book, I see we’re talking about a whooping 10.5% of the US population. Whoop-de-doo.

In Alabama and 43 other states plus the District of Columbia, you can’t do it. You have no right of action against the person who seduced your spouse. You can spend your money on lawyers and write threatening letters and post ads on billboards, but it won’t make a bit of difference other than to use up the money you need for other things and leave a trail of bitter words that may haunt you later.”

Another thing to point out is you need to be careful of your actions especially if a divorce is not finalized. Your actions … no matter how wronged you may have been …. can be used against you should it be deemed as threatening spiteful or simply vindictive.

Been there done that got the T-shirt. Simply warning others.

Duped
Duped
11 years ago

Stephanie, so glad I found your site. Comments by the other readers above are helpful and inspiring as well. Almost one year anniversary since my husband walked out on me although just days before he had been telling me I was the best thing that ever happened to him. However, he had painted me as the problem in the relationship all along by saying I was emotionally unavailable but it was just projection of his own inability to be emotionally connected and a rationalization to cheat on me for 15 years. He really had me convinced. He would threaten to leave me and I would put all my energy into coming up with systems to be better. We even had weekly meetings where I was judged on my level of connection during the week. I was usually given a C or C+ and I would argue that it wasn’t me, that I had been connected but by the end I would give in and agree to try harder. That sound so pathetic but at the time I was so afraid and ashamed of being left.

During the divorce, it came out that he had started cheating on me early on in and throughout the marriage. His excuse? He loved me and wanted to be with me but was so lonely. I guess that’s why he spent thousands of dollars at night clubs in Hong Kong known for being places to meet prostitutes, charged hundreds of dollars at women’s clothing stores, sent thousands of dollars to a young woman in Russia who was his “mistress”, thousands of dollars on porn site subscriptions–the kind with live webcams where you can ask women to do acts and send them extra money as tips, it goes on and on. Absolutely devastating and disgusting and I have been so enraged and angry off and on.
But for a year, I have still wanted to see him, spend time with him, hope to get back together with him, hope it can work out…and I’m a smart woman with a lot going on–respected in my job, lots of friends, fun to be with, a loyal and caring friend and so on…I know, I know. Just cut him off. But I still care about him, worry about him…
I’m trying.

Vegan Chump
Vegan Chump
9 years ago
Reply to  Tracy Schorn

Early on in my marriage, the Ex developed a swallowing problem. His weight dropped from 185 to 165 (he’s 5′ 11″) because he couldn’t swallow food… only liquids, nothing solid. He went to specialist after specialist to have test after test performed until finally the last specialist said, “There is nothing physically wrong with you. It’s all in your head. What you need is a psychiatrist.” After his first appointment with the psychiatrist, he came home to tell me his “swallowing problem” was my “fault”. I was incredulous. How could his inability to swallow be my fault?! Turns out, the reason he developed a ‘swallowing problem’ is because he was a pathological effing liar who was feeding me one lie after another all the while carrying on double life!

Yeah, he sucks.

Mitzi
Mitzi
9 years ago
Reply to  Vegan Chump

Hi Vegan Chump!!!! what a scream, too funny!!! I noticed that my Narc would also get very upset depending on his levels of lying, not that he had to lie, but that his lies would become so complicated that it would be difficult to maintain consistency; over the the years the truth somehow would come out: “I know where the whores live in milan” as supposed to “I didn’t know where you can find whores in Milan” years before…..that’s just one example…..lying takes a lot of energy and having kicked two psychopaths (narcissists) out of my life….I need to get this “echo” thing out of my system!!!!

TheLadyisaChump
TheLadyisaChump
8 years ago
Reply to  Mitzi

A month ago I was at dinner with my Narc cheater and two sons and his eyes were glued to the @$$ of the waitress. I was talking to him and I actually tapped his arm and said “Hello, I’m talking to you.” He turned to me and said “I’m looking at…I mean I’m listening.” NO JOKE!!! I got up and walked out. Talk about Freudian slip.

Kelly
Kelly
10 years ago
Reply to  Tracy Schorn

That’s a great and hilarious response, I laughed out loud (having lived through something similar)

The Affair Partner
The Affair Partner
11 years ago

Rip off the Band-aid and hate me.

I am “the Affair Partner.”
Long story

I’m not hear to justify the deception that I participated in with my married lovers, but to let you know that in all cases except one, no one was actively trying to hurt their spouse. It’s not that easy to have a clandestine affair and it’s not glamorous. The logistics are very convoluted and the venues are not necessarily swank hotel rooms. Again, I’m not trying to make the Betrayed Spouse feel sorry for me, but only to pop the balloon that it’s all swooning and romance. Most of the men were paranoid their wives would find out. Only one man wished that his wife would catch him so he would be appreciated more. I saw a picture of his wife, and realized she and I could do better than this guy.

Yes, we were having our cake and eating it too.

I am not proud of what I’m done, but I did get the sexual satisfaction I desired and so did they.

I just want to let the Betrayed Spouses know that sometimes it is just for the sex. Sometimes they want different sex, sometimes they just want a different person to have sex with, sometimes they want more sex than what they’re getting at home. It’s not the Betrayed Spouse’s fault. If spouses have different sexual appetites, then affairs will happen. Yes, you can make a marital vow , but promises and social constructs only go so far in stopping this animal drive that we all have to greater or lesser extents. Those with high sex drives will cheat unless the lack of opportunity or attractiveness prevents it. It will happen. If you haven’t had an honest discussion about your sex life, then chances are, one of you is cheating.

You see, I have been married for over 20 years. Most of them without sex. My sex drive is so high that I had considered getting a total hysterectomy just so I could be compatible with my husband who has no drive. In the beginning, I suggested an open marriage, but he refused. We worked on our sex life, then stopped. Then my attraction for him left, as his left for me years ago. I was a very, very loyal wife. Not even a kiss with another men. But this year, I told my husband I couldn’t take it, and asked for a divorce. That won’t happen for awhile, so now we have an open marriage. That’s when I began seeing men, married and unmarried. The beast was unleashed, but I’m beginning to settle down. I saw pictures of the men’s spouses, and I felt like crap.

Betrayed Spouses of the world, you don’t have to forgive the cake eater. The choice is up to you as to whether you divorce or to have an open marriage. Begging your spouse to stop cheating is futile. I was right in being honest and giving my husband the opportunity to be freed from a marriage with me and pursue his own love interests. I didn’t want to be unfair to my husband – having my cake and eating it too. I just told him, “Listen, we’re not having sex with each other, so I’m going to find a man to have sex with.” That was it. It was painful, but expected.

I saw a my married FWB on Facebook with his wife. His wife had the caption underneath, “The love of my life.” That was a month before he sought me out. Two years after he had an affair with another woman. He is seeing a completely different woman now. I enjoyed his company and have a lot of affection for him, but he looks like the poster boy for a cheating spouse. He will get caught, but not with me. After I saw that picture, I felt really terrible about playing a part in the deception. Yet, I wasn’t the first, and I’m not the last. When his wife finds out, unless she divorces him, he will make amends with her, they’ll be all lovey dovey, but then, he’ll cheat again. She should either divorce him, or allow herself to have some cake on this side.

A couple we have known for years has an open common-law marriage. They’ve been committed to each other for over 20 years, but occasional dalliances on the side. We used to disparage them, now, we realize they might be on to something. It’s possible to be committed to a partner, but have your sexual needs met in other ways as long as you both allow it and are communicate with each other.

So, when you find out about your spouse, recognize that there might be an extra slice of cake with your name on it too.

Mehitable
Mehitable
1 year ago

Obviously this POS should only be having sex with unmarried men instead of hurting other women and families. There is no excuse for this. NONE.

Mehitable
Mehitable
1 year ago

Hmmmmm…..12 years ago. I wonder how this POS made out.

ThrewHimOut2
ThrewHimOut2
9 years ago

THEN DONT GET MARRIED!!

Patsy
Patsy
10 years ago

Dear Affair Partner,

good sex 4 x week.

Next excuse? I am looking forward to it. I would like you also to consider that I am a PERSON who has FEELINGS which you should, if you were halfway decent, be THINKING about this.
Why don’t you fuck someone who is single? There are lots of young students who dream about being ‘done’ by a cougar. That way, the only person you are hurting is yourself and your husband.
Regards, Patsy

SueB
SueB
8 years ago
Reply to  Patsy

I have to say I agree with Patsy. Long after I divorced my cheating ex and became single again, I ended up having a fling with a cute single guy. I usually don’t even do stuff like flings. But, I’m glad if I was going to have semi-casual sex that I picked a single guy. At least this way, when it ended, only two consenting single adults got hurt a little, instead of messing with an unsuspecting spouse and innocent children.

anudi
anudi
11 years ago
Reply to  Tracy Schorn

The Affair Partner

Thank you for your insights! However, if you can kindly illuminate us about some questions, we always wanted to learn from the other side:

1. We (BSs) were into marriage, as this institution provided a) a relationship with emotional availability and physical proximity, where there would be openness about all our attributes and sharing plans (individual and together), (present and past) lives etc. b) a comfort that we had our best “friends” in the other for bad times n good times, till death do us part c) an exclusivity in knowing that someone means the world to us and we mean the world to that someone d) having kids together, the mutual sharing of important roles and responsibilities e) having other relationships together (his friend is also my acquaintance and his mother is my mother in law).

How much value these rudiments have in your life?

2. “Exclusivity” and “Openness” leads to the dimension of that “trust” on which an institution like marriage is built upon. We (BSs) hold that this is the most important dimension in a marriage (See CL’s reply on your suggestion of side-cake for BS). Any arrangement like “open marriage” is like comparing a marriage, which is an institution, to a contract (with an underlying clause that it can be broken, and therefore, only so much investment should be done that it doesn’t harm the contracting parties).

What is your expectation from a marriage (closed or open) and why should you be in any marriage?

3. Do you have temporal (time-dependent) needs of sex? I mean, do you realize after getting into a marriage that you were not quite cut-out for it, that you had different sex appetite etc.? And given that you had a hint of your make-up, what is it that propels you into marriage with BSs? Also, can some knowledge, on part of BSs, about discriminating people of your kind, help them in their selection (poster-boy cheater)?

4. What shall be your life after say 10-20 years, after your spouse and children have left you and the larger society has shirked considering your exposed inadequacies in relationships (who would want a branded cheater near their family, bad effect on spouse and children)? What is your concept of old-age like?

I always wanted that there are honest answers to these questions that always trouble me. Knowing your worldview is therefore important to BSs like us.

Regards

June
June
9 years ago
Reply to  anudi

We are used to living alone. We like living alone. We don’t have your hangups about being alone, no man around, getting older, etc. We have social networks of friends, platonic, girlfriends, married men, work friends, whatever, we have these networks, and we are interconnected, so we have more support as singles than a married woman. We don’t have to take care of a man. It’s all about us. Great sex, great conversations, relaxing times, no negativity, no money problems, no kid problems, nothing but relax and enjoy. We don’t have to do things if we don’t want when he’s not around, such as keep the house clean daily, shave our legs daily, make dinner for him, take care of his sick ass, etc., etc. Now do you see why so many single women like married men? I know I could care less what people think about my social life. It doesn’t affect any part of my life what others think. I’m single. I’m not cheating on anyone. Think about it sensibly: the MM are the ones who look badly, not us women. I would speculate if your hubby looks halfway decent and has a job, he’s in an affair. Affairs end, new ones begin. I know no MM who hasn’t had an affair, I work and have worked all my life as one of the only females in male dominated fields. I am privy to their male conversations about their affairs and their wives, who, by the way, they are always putting down. Most of them have gone to pot and are overweight and boring, doing things such as knitting, basket weaving, crafts, etc. The MM are so bored with the wife. She’s no longer fun and sexy. She’s boring. She doesn’t use estrogen cream in her vagina to keep it youthful, she’s atrophied down there and sex is painful. He can’t throw her around the bed any longer, and she’s not initiating with him. He feels forgotten. Us OW make him feel special, like a king. That’s it in a nutshell.

Mehitable
Mehitable
1 year ago
Reply to  June

You are a disgusting person who helps to break up marriages. You could be advising these men to put the energy they’re putting into your worthless hoohaa into fixing their marriages & helping their wives become they “exciting” persons they want them to be. You can’t be a teenager forever…or maybe YOU can, but I hope you have a miserable, lonely old age.

BonBonBaby
BonBonBaby
1 year ago
Reply to  June

I read this comment thinking, “lol this person is either a troll or a 20 year old narcissist whom life will slap silly in short order”.

Then I saw the other comment in which you admitted to being in your 50’s and the altruist in me thought, “maybe it is incumbent upon me to at least try to teach an old dog new tricks”. Hopefully your brain is every bit as absorbent as your vagina, valiantly fighting the good fight against atrophy (though apparently your heart lost that battle long ago, RIP).

“We are used to living alone. We like living alone.”
Which is why so many of you get hysterical over the holidays, drunk-calling as he unwraps presents with his children and thinking, ‘by next Christmas he will definitely have given up the benefits of husband for me, the clandestine shag, the prize of all prizes who has proven herself in no other area but a willingness to gargle community penis and pilfer marital money’.

“We have social networks of friends, platonic, girlfriends, married men, work friends, whatever”
Because married women are known for having no friends. The very second the words, “I now pronounce you man and wife” pass the lips of the vicar/registrar/whatever, all of the bride’s friends poof into thin air.
All sarcasm aside, this is a massive kick in the teeth to women who have been gaslit and isolated out of healthy social networks but please, harp on about what an integrated life YOU have built while you poach the lives of others.

“no negativity”
You boring married women who honour your vows just need to continually eat shit sandwiches with a smile. It’s empowering to never advocate for your interests, the walking penis and his mouthpiece said so!

“We don’t have to take care of a man. It’s all about us….We don’t have to do things if we don’t want when he’s not around, such as keep the house clean daily, shave our legs daily, make dinner for him, take care of his sick ass, etc., etc.”
‘I’m desperately trying to convince myself that my heart pumps dust and that humanity is weakness so that I can feel okay about being a receptacle. Vomit is disgusting but you can do it on my face, baby, just like in porn, baby, please just tell me I’m sexier and more adventurous in sex than your wife because that’s the only measure of worth that I understand.’

“I know I could care less what people think about my social life.”
Oh, weird, I thought your social life was perfect. But you’re right, nothing says, “I don’t care” like a seething Queen Pick-Me rant.

“I would speculate if your hubby looks halfway decent and has a job, he’s in an affair.”
Then it’s unfortunate that he can’t match my standards since I’m a smokeshow and I hold a job without getting bent over the nearest desk. It’s going to get a lot more unfortunate for him when I go shock and awe and absolutely ream him in the divorce.

I’ll level with you for a moment here; I have been cheated on before. Some had sex, some had serial emotional affairs, ALL became extremely abusive towards me during these periods. And you know what? These other women were huge downgrades; bitchy, dishonest, drug users, plain, cluster B screw-ups, you name it. I was triangulated against trash but they weren’t better than I am – they were cheap and easy attention for men who refused to grow up. Water finds its level, sweetheart and after the initial shock, we look at the likes of you with pity and confusion. Mostly pity. And then we stop looking completely.

“I am privy to their male conversations about their affairs and their wives, who, by the way, they are always putting down.”
What high quality men you’re mixing/working with! What discernment, what standards!
Interesting that you think you’re the exception to this rule despite being an aging Smurfette. You’ve gotten too high huffing your own farts, dear.

“Most of them have gone to pot and are overweight and boring, doing things such as knitting, basket weaving, crafts, etc.”
Because as we all know, Super Bowl Sunday is the zenith of excitement and culture. Watching a grown man weep as his team loses or throw a Playstation controller when the internet connection drops makes any red-blooded woman wetter than October.
Men disdain all and any stupid shit to justify an affair. No one has an affair because of a few pounds and a fcking HOBBY unless she’s pegging him with a knitting pattern open on his back.
So congratulations on encouraging another branch of emotional abuse which can and does cause suicidal ideation in the cheated-on partner (who, as you pointed out, may now have no friends).

“Us OW make him feel special, like a king.”
Coming from the same person who can’t be bothered to clean, cook or ‘take care of his sick ass’. To anybody capable of feeling love beyond the perfume and lingerie stage, to anybody who ever wanted to build a life with a safe (but passionate) person, this is the saddest, emptiest, most pathetic, shallow, tawdry crap.

So the only way the cheater can feel ‘like a king’ is to do nothing to earn the title except receive compliments on his pee-pee while neglecting his marriage and his kids. A person who isn’t even a man, much less a king.
Meanwhile you’re prepared to give up the chance of real love with a decent SINGLE man just to make this treacherous, weak-willed turd feel like a king. And maybe, by extension, he’ll toss you a bone – no, not that kind – and make you feel like a queen. Just for a second before his phone rings and his wife asks if he wants ribs later and there’s nothing your oestrogen-lubed vagina can do to make him stay and make him hold you that night or any. He isn’t treating his wife well either but you know that and you still want him.

No, you hate being the other woman. You don’t believe you deserve any better than another woman’s sloppy seconds and rather than working on yourself, you’d rather sprinkle turds and ignore the smell. We’re chumps, true, but what you’re giving up is worth more than gold; a chance of real happiness, with a loving man or without.

How sad you are.

Lisa
Lisa
8 years ago
Reply to  June

All I can think to say to you is Go f yourself you slimy whore.

Brenda
Brenda
10 years ago
Reply to  anudi

Well when things are good and my self-esteem is intact I have a mighty fine sex drive as well, when the lies start and pain starts my sex drive completely diminishes becasue of that, and most men they were not any higher sex drive than I was but wanted to THINK they were.

And sure once they screw up trust, and I realize everything was just an illusion and there in no love in there for me in a mature adult way that will take a persons sex drive and destroy it, so are all these cheaters really with a person having a lower sex drive? or do the lies make that happen as well for some women, it get’s complicated yes, but only with all the lies.

And you know I sense them and my body knows before I even do, and lets my know that by shutting down.

I cannot say any longer I loved anyone, But I loved the illusions and or dreams that never came true, Open marriage I am way more for that than for lies when both know and agree that is something completely different than cheating and not all cheaters have any higher sex drive, sometimes they are actually punishing the woman they are with maybe even for being more sexy than him, many situations.. a lot more than sex is really going on in the heads of men I will tell you that… it’s usually power NOT sex I think.

And what better power to have than to keep someone in the dark.

Arnold
Arnold
11 years ago

I think what the other woman poster fails to address is why, with the option to have sex with single men, she decided to go for some married ones. I mean, seriously, if she is halfway decent looking, she could easily fined some single guys to fuck.
Every once in a while, I come accross an article like the Dan Savage one referenced here, where there is an allusion to some affairs being justified when it is just impossible to leave the marriage. Then, kids, finances,reputation etc are cited as the reasons that is isi “impossible”.
Well, hello, this is 2012. At least 60% of marriages are dissolved, eventually. There is little stigma. There is access to child support, and half your kids’ friends are from divorced marriages, so there is not much stigma and the kids seem to adjust.
I like the fact that she told her husband and he can make his decision based on reality. But, I cannot understand why this woman would choose to fuck married guys. I mean, dicks are dicks, and if she wants some strange, why not just get it from a single guy or guys. How complicated is that?
I suspect, despite her claims at feeling guilt, that, in some weird, sick way, it is a greater thrill and she satisfies some weird competetive thing she has with other women.

Mehitable
Mehitable
1 year ago
Reply to  Arnold

Many go after married guys because they want no committment. They don’t have to deal with ugly boring things (to them) like kids, in-laws, mortgages, bills, maintenance, social obligations – the stuff of life. They only get the glamor thing and they can all pretend to be some Hollywood whore in a romance film. Until they fall in love with some married guy and then they want all that boring stuff too and they try to steal him away. I bet so many affairs start out with no strings and end up with more strings than Pinocchio.

June
June
9 years ago
Reply to  Arnold

I don’t like to date single men because, think about it, 1) they can get to where they want a more serious relationship with exclusivity, 2) there is more of a chance of diseases as they can be having sex with many women, , and 3) not chance of jealousy issues with MM, whereas single man tends to want me all to himself. I’m very sexy, average looks, but great natural body, no plastic, and in my 50’s. I like MM in their 40’s to my age, not older than I. My MM I new for many years as a friend, and I don’t visit affair sites. If I were to look for someone else, it would be in my circle of work associates or continuing education classes.

Kathleen
Kathleen
6 years ago
Reply to  June

June
You have nerve to post on this site.
Unfortunately you are a aging “whore” .

Mehitable
Mehitable
1 year ago
Reply to  Kathleen

There are few things sadder than an old whore. As for all their arguments….it’s easy to be fun and sparkles when you don’t have any responsibilities in someone’s life. When you can devote your time to being a geisha. Which is what they are. Cheaters compartmentalize their lives into at least 2 segments – the wife, who does all the boring, mundane, task oriented stuff because that’s her “role” – and it’s hard to avoid when you have needy little muppets who want food and clothing and attention all the time – and the geisha, who gets to wear the pretty clothes and do the fun stuff. Why can’t ONE WOMAN do both functions? Or would that rob the geisha of her mystery and fun illusions? What the OW does is rob the wife of the energy her husband might put into having fun with HER, being sexy with HER, being romantic with HER – the little joys of life that make the tasks bearable. If wife were the only outlet, maybe hubby would be forced to address it and try to get what he wants – ALL OF HIS NEEDS – met through the marriage. Maybe he’d have to grow up instead of pretending to be James Bond. Of course the whore steals other things from the marriage too. Like time the kids might have with dad, especially in the evenings. And things that can’t be measured, like trust in each other, the sense that this is your mate and no one else’s. The romance that comes with exclusivity. But a whore can’t understand those things because she’s all about her geisha function. Until she gets too old for someone to want her anymore because even SHE will someday stop sparkling.

Brenda
Brenda
10 years ago
Reply to  Tracy Schorn

OMG did you read my email recently or something?

I swear I said almost that EXACT same thing to someone, I said this: “What would you had done if I had married you? Tossed me in a closet blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back?”

This was a once friend that rather enjoyed hiding important information’s from me, like the fact he was living with someone.

Maybe HE thought I was the back up plan? But the thing about being someone’s back up plan is.. “That is also sort of also up to the considered a back up plan person if they want actually want to go along with that plan, LOL” and I do not, and did not, and never will.

I am only grateful that I was in no condition to date anyhow, and it was someone that I had never actually met in person… And now can never trust to meet either.

And trust is too important for me to NOT have to ignore period.

Plus I am sure he will bounce from one woman to the next, Maybe even get his dream of having kids fulfilled and then find some reason if she gains weight for it to not work out.. And then keep her around as a FRIEND in case the new one don’t work out with all his kindnesses, yet while remaining “secretive and distant” but just enough there, while he is screwing the new trimmer and younger or fitter one.

And while she waits around for years. She too can loose years off her youth and life while he is out playing the field and getting all the gains, until she too finally cannot even care anymore.

These people will harm you until you finally really do NOT even care or even feel much of anything for them anymore… Life goes on no-matter how much time was wasted folks, so let’s get over the time loss crap, it means really nothing, all we have is NOW so let’s do NOW.

Boo Boo
Boo Boo
11 years ago

I am a person with an open relationship and I try very hard to avoid married men at all costs. Problem is, men lie! I was messing with a married man for 6 months and didn’t know it. I feel like I have to be sherlock holmes to assess people’s relationships…since there are just as many psycho girlfriends reading emails and threatening to kick your ass.

My point is…even for those who try to follow the rules, it’s never easy.

Arnold
Arnold
11 years ago

Well, BooBoo, it seems to me it is not all that hard to do one’s due dilignece in this regard. I mean, seriously, in this day and age, with the technology and data bases available, you can find out if someone is married quite easily.
Ask for Id and address and start the background check. Not terribley difficult.

Linda
Linda
11 years ago
Reply to  Arnold

I did almost all that when I met my ex at work. Everyone at work said he was single. I also didnt sleep with him for 6 months to be sure it was right first.

Found out a year later that had a girlfriend of 4 1/2 years and was leading pretty much a double life. I did question a couple things during that time that made me suspicious but he turned it around on me disappointed that I had no trust in him.

So eventially i ended it shattered and broken and there was no one to support me because I’m the conniving OW. Shes the poor girl he’s committed to. He’s proposing to her on Christmas day with a 20k ring and I know this because he threatened that I did anything to jeopardize it, I would pay.. I shouldn’t hurt an innocent person and ruin her life, blah blah blah. He’s decided he’s going to be good from now on so I should just accept it and move on.

Now how could she not have known all those nights he didn’t answer his phone or come home that he was with someone else?

If anyone can tell me what I could’ve done differently to avoid this happening then please do so because in my head, I ticked all the boxes.

Come Christmas day, I’ll be feeling like a trainwreck knowing he’s popping the question. I’d like to believe in karma and that it’ll eventually come back but I don’t. I know there’s nothing I could’ve done to ask for this that’s for sure. I’m crushed.

Mehitable
Mehitable
1 year ago
Reply to  Linda

I know this is 10 years late and you’ve moved on but for others in the same dilemma…ALWAYS TELL THE GIRLFRIEND OR SPOUSE. They have a right to know what they are married to or hopefully – to avoid marrying him. I cannot imagine a man doing such a horrible thing and then marrying this poor woman who probably doesn’t have a clue. He’s probably spent the last 10 years cheating on her and making her life miserable. ALWAYS TELL THEM – it’s not your fault he lied to you, but maybe you can stop some future misery for someone else….or help them to break a very bad relationship.

Sharen
Sharen
11 years ago

I refused to beg him to come back. He told me that he would “log” all of my calls and if I contacted him he would call the police on me. Essentially after 25 years he just walked out. Okay, then my plan was simple….contact a lawyer, put his stuff out on the deck covered in a tarp, get him to come and pick it up, get him to buy our son a cell phone, and that was that. I did contact him a few times because it was a bit difficult at first, but that stopped pretty quickly because I had friends that were giving me “tough love.” Also I repeated the mantra “I do not want to be with someone that makes my children cry”.

Tiny
Tiny
11 years ago

This is so what I have been dealing with for the last 14 years. I just didn’t realize that I was being played. I have been competing with his AP the whole time. He tells me all the time that “as long as you can’t or won’t do what is nessisary to make me happy. I feel that there is no reason for me to not cheat.” He also said I have to give him a incentive to not cheat. Otherwise, it’s he right to do as he wants. When ever I confront him about his cheating he somehow manages to turn it around on me, by pointing out the thing I do that are not up to his standards (cleaning, disaplen of the children, sex). Saying anything ,and everything he can use to take the shine off of him, then shame me. I have told him meny times that I feel like he is setting me up for failure, so he will have a excuse to cheat. Of course he denighed that to be the case.
Tiny

Jen
Jen
11 years ago

I don’t know whether to sob or laugh. I thought myhusband was a textbook cheater and everything I have read on here describes him to a T. I never would have gained weight (15 lbs – to a whopping 145 total) if I loved him, and once he told me that he didn’t want to be married anymore why didn’t I try harder? I could supply you with ridiculous stories for the next year.

Laurel
Laurel
11 years ago

my husband gave me permission to date. yes, I know… strange and I was so clueless, I couldn’t put 2 and 8 together. I just thought he wasn’t interested in sex any longer. He was just not interested in sex with me, and vice versa. HOWEVER, what I have a problem with is the word– DECEPTION. (lying) I was always truthful with him and told him how much he wanted to know. It was a failed experiment and I realized that that sordid world was not for me.

However. I chatted with 100s of men and I know this is going to sound weird… but I kept hearing the same old tired excuses… like we have different sex drives.

BULL FUCKING SHIT!

So, I started counseling them as a wife, myself. I would say… hey, have an affair with your wife! buy HER the little maid outfit. Take HER to the motel. (that’s hot). Arrive as the UPS guy with her “package.” (sorry for the lame pun)

and how about COMMUNICATING. I know, I know… so scary. well, yes, it can be, especially for the intimately challenged amongst us and I daresay, who’s so supremely confident with their sexuality, etc. that they are not somewhat challenged? This communicating thing is really scary. However, its very vital.

I tried communicating. I told my husband that I needed a man who truly loved and desired me. He made me feel unattractive. (I’m not. I’m considered to be a beautiful woman.) But, that is how I felt and I longed to feel appreciated as a woman, again.

When I finally figured out where the encouragement to date was coming from. (because he had been messing around for at least 10 years), I decided that we were through, but it took me 18 months to leave.

My husband was my best friend. We both have the same sick sense of humor. We have a long history together. We were not at odds. Its really sad. I do not believe that marriage is “work.” However, it does take EFFORT. Husbands, you have to pay attention to your wives. If you put only HALF amount of energy into your wife that you spend in procuring new pussy, you would have a GREAT marriage! It takes no effort to eat the cake. But baking it (from scratch) takes practice and bit of time.

I can tell you from personal experience, that its well worth the effort. There is nothing more delectable than HOME-MADE chocolate cake. My husband could’ve had me any time he wanted. However he talked himself into believing that we didn’t have any chemistry.

I guess that’s why he married me. right. he’s full of shit! just another lame excuse that cheaters use to justify their piggy behavior.

Laurel
Laurel
11 years ago

ps: I no longer long to feel desired by anyone at all. its total crap and was just a dangerous escape to fill something that I was trying to avoid. I wasn’t facing my life head on. I needed to leave. I needed to take care of me, but in order to do that, I needed to leave not cover up the pile of shit with whipped cream, cause underneath its still toxic.

one last thing. I lot of cheaters get their start with porn. I have read that heavy porn viewers are far more likely to act out in person. I am not a prude at all. In fact, in the early years, I rather enjoyed watching the porn WITH my boyfriend then husband.

He had lost his job. His was bored and lonely. I would’ve always been there for him.

I was right there. I never would’ve judged him or made him feel badly about anything… but in addition to the affair partners, he went to an old fuck buddy from thirty years earlier and used HER as a confidante. I read in an email that SHE was the only one who knew the ENTIRE story. (this was AFTER he left his cyber sex OPEN on MY lap top, by “accident.”)

really? can I tell you that it was this sort of thing that hurt me to my core? I met her once and she is a controlling cow who cheats on her husband and has had sex with her shrink. nice lady.

I married my husband because I thought that he had more integrity than anyone I had ever met. Didn’t we all think that?

moda
moda
11 years ago

One thing that felt just oh-so-good was when I told my ex, “Honey, I didn’t lose you to that skank; YOU lost ME when you CHEATED. She can keep you, and all your issues. Have a great life.”
Of course, that little fling of his didn’t last. In fact, it might have already been over at that point. Don’t know, don’t give a gnat’s ass. Never did the dance and wasn’t about to.

Hazel
Hazel
10 years ago

This post described me to a tee one year ago…

My ex hired a 23 year old girl to work for him (who had zero experience) and then began to spend all his waking hours with her to “show her the ropes.” That was his excuse. Then he said they weren’t having an affair (emotional / physical – all the same to me – total bullshit). Call me crazy but when your husband is texting in the middle of the night under his pillow (“checking the weather”), spending 45 mins in the bathroom with his cell phone, ignoring his family… you get the picture. OH, and SHE pretended to be my friend the whole time.

After we separated (when I kicked him out for going away with her and caught him in the lie), she started badmouthing me online, he continued to sleep with the BOTH of us, and I kept trying to get him back up until July of last year.

The best thing I ever did for me and my children was to stop chasing him. It’s amazing this site, how many spineless narcissistic people exist in the world. And the lies. In all honesty, the best medicine for the two of them is to be together. I’m grateful to be done with him legally. And maybe my son will meet a man who can actually be a role model instead of a serial liar and a douchebag.

I appreciate your no-nonsense approach and this site…I’m enjoying reading the posts.

Valentine
Valentine
10 years ago

Sadly….I was a ‘Pick Me’ person….I believed if I dressed nicer, allowed him to use me sexually and didn’t pressure him, he would come back…or as he put it “maybe he wouldn’t leave”, then after he left “maybe he would come back” after he had some time to ‘think’.

As time went by, I realized he wasn’t coming back. By this time, I was having a hysterectomy at 40 after years of fertility treatments and 3 lost pregnancies. Then I got a text from a friend exclaiming she didn’t know me and Mr. Not so wonderful had divorced. I told her we weren’t and she texted back, OH. So I made her tell me what was going on. She was at a restaurant and he was there with the PREGNANT OW. Talk about the floor falling out from under me!

I really DO regret doing the dance. I wasted a lot of time. I played right into his hand. Oh and he was REALLY into porn too. DOn’t know if it is significant or not, but its the truth

All I can say to those who are currently doing the dance: STOP. NOW.

Rob G
Rob G
10 years ago

I did the dance. I’m French decent. So I started texting her in French like when I did when we dated 20 years ago. What a joke. She had 4 OM during a 6 month stint. Her family has infidelity all over it.

Geoff
Geoff
10 years ago

I did the dance too, but with a different tune. I didn’t know at the time she was cheating. I just felt her being distant, so I turned into super-hubby. When I found out the truth, I was that much more pissed off. She did say though, that she ended the affair and “chose” me. Didn’t she do that at the altar?

No more free cake
No more free cake
10 years ago

My ass clown ex-boyfriend is still enjoying the fact that 2 hideous women (his EW and ex FWB) are still playing this Pick Me Dance with him. I left him and told them they can keep eating the shit sandwich, and keep hoping that one day he will choose one of them and be faithful and trustworthy (yeah, right).

This is a guy that continually ping pongs to one or the other depending on who will be desperate enough to put up with his bullshit. He can’t be alone or he becomes totally undone and deflated and extremely depressed.

I also had the feeling that when I dated him, he was probably checking in with all of us around the same time he would make his calls. He would call me, then the other one, then yet another. It was all so bizarre it is almost unbelievable but when you learn about their state of “fuckedupness” you kind of understand that this is how they operate to ensure they have plenty of sources of cake.

He was also very protective and secretive with his cell phone -he acted like it was his umbilical cord. He would never let me see who was calling, sometimes would not answer and make up an excuse as to why he didn’t, would be on the phone when he went out for a smoke or whatever. So much was done in secret with tons of excuses, explanations, reasons, and more servings of shit.

It was actually funny, because one time I called him on his bullshit. His EW was calling him on the phone, and then texting him, because obviously he wouldn’t answer with me being present. I asked him who called & why he didn’t answer. He told me it was his daughter and I knew he was lying because he always pretty much answered whenever she called. So I interrogated him a bit about it (very calmly to really get him unglued) and he became extremely agitated and I said “It’s okay – just hand me the phone so I can check the call log and it will prove to me who just called you – then I will know that you were telling the truth.” His hands started shaking and he started getting loud telling me that his phone isn’t working again, it’s fucked up and doing weird things, then he started yelling at me asking me “Why the fuck don’t you believe me – why are you questioning me, etc.” This was after the fact that I busted him by calling his ex previously and her admitting to them screwing around. He acted as if I had no right to question him. The balls! I know I should’ve seen the signs and ran like hell – especially after I discovered he was sleeping with his EW and supposedly the ex FWB.

My only hope is that he ends up alone on his fucking barstool at his favorite bar looking back at what a piece of shit he was in life.

Laurie
Laurie
9 years ago

I love the one about “my phone isn’t working right… it’s fucked up and doing weird things.” I got that and many, many other shit sandwiches like… never answering the phone because it “must be a wrong number”. One time I grabbed the phone and answered it… and the person ont he other end was in a state of shock… “uh, uh… uh… iiisssss ummmm, well, uuuhhh Sheila there?” Yeeeahhh – no, she is not. Goodbye. The best one was… I just need a new cell number. What?? A new phone I might buy… as a chump – but new number? Nice try fucktard. 😛

RioFaline
RioFaline
10 years ago

Haaaaa……oh man,I hear ya on that….one can only hope 😉

Kat
Kat
10 years ago

I had someone try to cheat on his girlfriend, who he was living with, with me. Lasted a week and I caught him in a lie. I’m REALLY tempted to put his girlfriend’s phone number on craigslist, with his name attached. Hehehehehee. I know revenge isn’t good, but DAYUM would it feel good!!! lol

Smart Ass Texana
Smart Ass Texana
10 years ago

Hi there…
I found an article on facebook today.
I tried and TRIED to copy & paste but to no avail.Maybe it is not allowed.
I think it is worth looking at just to realize but fucked up the RIC really is.
The article is titled;

“How should a cheating husband be treated?” dated Dec.1, 2012 @2:30 a.m.Facebook.

” Prepare his favorite foods and don’t nag about what he is eating. Also have more sex, initiate sex often so he will not wander.”…. in other words… REWARD his bad behavior !!!! He “just might stay with you ” ?
What a load of shit !

lili
lili
10 years ago

I am sooo glad I discovered this website!!! What a relief! Found out 3 months ago my H of 10 years has been cheating for at least the past two years with prostitues, one night stands, women he meets at bars, etc. He’s on all the dating sites, porn sites, everything. Works out of town 2-3 weeks at a time so he has the perfect scenario for a double life. I found crazy explicit sexual texts between him and a prostitute he’s been seeing for at least four months. He wasn’t the least bit contrite, in fact he said I forced his hand (some ongoing unresolved issues we’ve had blah blah), and in fact told me until I changed he wasn’t going to stop, to “get my shit together” and in the meantime, it is what it is. Very cold and matter-of-fact. I reacted by doing the dance, pick me, pick me! Didn’t know there was a term for that! Turned up the freakiness in the bedroom, lost 21 pounds, working on a better me! What a load of crap!

Nena
Nena
10 years ago

Know what the funny thing is? These cheating types will lose out in the end. Good looks don’t last forever. Eventually they will be ugly and their vigor gone. Nobody would want them.

deedee
deedee
8 years ago
Reply to  Nena

@ Nena- not true. My ex is an impotent, Aspergers, narcissistic workaholic who has so many physical problems he can’t even effing walk the dog. But he has his cheap, grifting, gold-digging whore’s leg to hump anytime he wants. Why? Because he gives her money hand over fist.

The main thing is money. If they have that, they don’t need looks, vigor, virility, good hygiene, or anything resembling human traits. And the whore makes him happy because she only cares about the other bulge in his pants, and that makes him feel manly. *eyeroll.

KarenE
KarenE
10 years ago
Reply to  Nena

This is exactly what has happened to my ex’s father (his role model in cheating, and in treating people badly in general). He was young and good looking. He had a pretty, smart and extremely loving wife in my ex’s mother, cheated so often and so obviously that she finally kicked him out. He then married his AP (who didn’t know she was an AP), she also loved him and treated him great, but he kept cheating and she eventually kicked him out as well. Then he lived with the last AP from his 2nd marriage (who probably also didn’t know she was an AP) for a few years, until she left him. Now he’s in his 70’s and alone. Plus of his 3 kids from his first two marriages, only 1 still talks to him (my ex – who says his father is an asshole, but doesn’t recognize how similar he is to his dad!), and his 3 grandkids don’t want to have anything to do with him either.

Love to see that karma bus doing its work!

CW
CW
10 years ago
Reply to  KarenE

Wow. My XW’s father was the same way. He could (and did) literally “charm the pants off” of women and was a big-time narcissist.

L
L
10 years ago

Wow. I’m now playing the “pick me” game. My BF of 2 years was and still is doing something. I don’t know what but I know it’s something that stinks of betrayal. I found sexting texts, FB messages & dating website profiles to name a few. We were in a committed relationship for nearly 2 years when I suspected something due to late night texts he was receiving and sending. When I looked (yes I snooped) at his phone, I was shocked by what I saw. Texts of an extreme sexual nature to at least one woman and 2 or 3 other women with whom he had “friendly” texts going back and forth. Thing is that I didn’t know any of these other women. In looking at FB messages, I discovered that he dated one a few months ago when we were supposedly planning our moving in together. When I confronted him, he GOT MAD AT ME for snooping on him. He said I could not be trusted and that his privacy was paramount. He would NEVER think of invading my privacy as I’ve done to him because he has ‘principles.” OK, so there is no arguing back with this type of logic. Believe me, I’ve tried. He has since moved out because of my snooping. He says he doesn’t remember the texting because he knows it was wrong and he’s blocked it out. I’m stuck in this pick me game though and can’t seem to get out of it. I think the events of this have really damaged my own self esteem and I feel so emotionally wounded. What could I have done differently, how could I make this better, and my internal conversation goes on and on in this manner.

KJ
KJ
5 years ago
Reply to  L

Sounds like you dodged a bullet.

He “doesn’t remember” that he was involved in the graphic sexting of other women. Yeah, right. Unless he is recovering from a head injury, he remembers just fine. Sorry, but cheating trumps snooping. Especially in longer term relationships where everything from your social lives, your children, pensions, home ownership etc is all entwined with the person who is cheating. You shouldn’t snoop for no reason, but you have an inalienable right to protect yourself from disease and financial ruin.

hanika
hanika
10 years ago

Your blog is amazingly powerful & I feel humiliated for the authors of blogs who are trying to reconcile with serial cheaters. You know when you feel shame & embarassment for someone else & you didn’t do a thing? Yea, that’s how I feel. I would never want to live with that feeling on a daily basis as a BS. You teach great lessons like, it is okay to leave & divorce is not a bad word. Divorce can be a beautiful thing, a new chance at life. Because no matter how wives of serial cheaters want to slice it, their lives with always be a show, a put on, a prison if they decide to reconcile. I don’t buy the reconciliation fairy tale when it comes to serial cheaters. That is why you see these wives of serial cheaters posting blogs on reconciliation 3, 4, 5, years out. They aren’t healing & they’d rather have control then be strong enough to walk away.

Gio
Gio
10 years ago

I can’t find my comment from yesterday…is there a place to I can type in my name and see it? Thanks!

Brenda
Brenda
10 years ago

This has to be one of the best sites I have come across in a long time that actually makes sense, if only this had been around years ago for me to see – it would have saved me a lot of time wasting non-sense.

Not one ex rather a cheater or player or just selfish from my past is in even one way desirable NOW.. I only wish back when I thought they were that I had seen this site, So many things would have made sense SOONER, and spared me years and years worth of misery.. Like this is like the REAL truth.

“The best response is to fold, because the game is rigged. There is no winning bid. The cheater just wants the competition to go on indefinitely.”

Deb
Deb
9 years ago

I have a vague memory of laying on the floor begging as the (nothing can name such a horrible person) walked out the door. And it is so crystal clear to me now that the pick me dance is you fooling yourself.

You really don’t want that (nothing can name such a horrible person) you just haven’t gotten to that in your head yet.

I found myself changing my mind when one day he was telling me something he liked, which I already knew that as I had been with him decades by then. It became so clear, I wasn’t going to start all over and pretend with him we were all new to see if we should “MEND”

I ALREADY DID THAT, in what is MY LIFE, and raising our kids and LIVING. And then I got really angry.

When you hear your husband say he never eats pasta and he is Italian and his mother was in Italy during the bombings in ww2 and he says that, really, you know he has lost his mind and just, don’t do that dance, such a waste of yourself.

Marylin
Marylin
9 years ago

Marvelous, what a blog it is! This web site provides helpful facts to us, keep it up.

AussieChump2
AussieChump2
9 years ago

“I cheated because you’re a lousy ” – and how are you going to up your game to keep me? Or it comes from the codependency of the betrayed spouse – “What did I do to make him cheat? And how can I be a better partner to make him stay?” Often both dynamics are at play, and feed into each other. The cheater, of course, is quite happy to pin this shit on you.

All of the above! But it was a game I didn’t play. I figured (after she left) that it takes two to make a relationship work. After I tried very hard to make it work when we were together only to be rebuffed at every turn, it was up to her to make an effort and put some runs on the board. I was certainly open to any approach she might have made and remained available, and even went out of my way to encourage communication, but no approach, no explanation for her actions or behavior was ever made.

CalmityJane
CalmityJane
9 years ago

I know this blog started two years ago, but I just want to put in my two cents.

IMO I believe cheaters think love and betrayal are the same thing. I did the pick me dance for one day. He picked me, and it made me sick to think I had to do that for the rest of my life to stay in a relationship with someone who thinks love and betrayal are the same thing when I know that is not true.

The chumps are people who believe that sexual intimacy is communion with their lover, husband, S.O. It is spiritual, all consuming sexual abandonment with someone they trust and love. It is felt, embraced and personal. IMO cheaters do not see sex this way. To them, sex is love betrayed. They do not trust it. They cannot experience true ecstasy with someone because of this lack of trust. They don’t share or give sex. They are greedy for their own orgasm. I believe this because the cheaters have to continue to “chase the pipe” so to speak. The high does not last like it does when you experience true sexual communion with your partner. They keep trying and trying for a lasting high. But that only comes with love for your partner. Something they lack. Love.

The sadness is when you realize you felt it with them, but it was not reciprocated. It wasn’t shared. The good news is this website shows there are people out there who are capable of love and we are not alone in our absolute sorrow and madness of misjudging the character of someone we loved.

Those flea sucking, loveless, entitled, motherfuckers…

Whew… now I feel better.

Kay
Kay
8 years ago
Reply to  CalmityJane

Ok so this was written 4 years ago but I’m having a rough day and have to comment. My husband has moved in with another woman, basically went NC and it’s been a year and a half ( I had no idea it was another person, stupid, I know). Anyway, fastforward that painful time, we are divorcing which he wants by Valentine’s Day. (We’ll be a few days late) Today he gets girls( no warning) takes them to breakfast, and buys a present from them to me. Usually it’s like the ugliest, cheapest crap ever, but today he gets me a gift certificate to the place where we used to wait tables. Just hurts. I just can’t believe how this has turned out. I feel so sad so alone. But it will get better I know. Jeez though. I just never thought he’d be this person. I know I’m preaching to the choir right? Wow. Ok. I’m finished. Putting kids to bed. Thanks for letting me vent!!

WARNING Hopium Kills
WARNING Hopium Kills
7 years ago

At the time it seems the only option you have. But looking back on it, the humiliation i feel for having danced it is excruciating. I tried to change everything i did and how i looked, just everything about ME thinking if only I change everything will be okay. How stupid and delusional i was. He never adapted or changed ONE thing! Didn’t even try, although i did not see it at the time. During that stage we are just blind with grief and pain.
But i can and will forgive myself.

Sona
Sona
6 years ago

I need this article tattooed on my back! I’m leaving a POS (3 children, our youngest is 4 MONTHS HOLY CRAP RIGHT?!) and I’m about to start college.

I’m trying SO HARD not to blame myself and do these things. he did it. He did it. Of course, HE IS THROWING IT ALLLLL in my face.

Nope. Not today. Thanks Chumps, you’re saving me ladies. 🙂

Tammy
Tammy
6 years ago
Reply to  Sona

I am right there with you! You are not alone!!! Just had my suspicions confirmed of a workplace affair after 4 months of feeling crazy and trying to fix my faults to make my (H) of 22 yrs. happy again! He was miserable and tired of walking on eggshells all of the time, blah blah blah… He started having issues with his dick around 4 months ago. Got a vasectomy 2 months ago, it got infected ( she must have had strep throat, and didn’t know it, bc he got strep in his balls and was laid up in the hospital for over a week). He has been off work for over a month, bc he was so septic before I took him to the hospital, but that hasn’t stopped him, he went on vacation last week to camp, fish, and spend time in Gods word to see what God would have him do about our marriage… I found out he took his whore with him by looking at the phone log while he was off spending $$$ on a “much needed and well deserved vacation” and noticed a # that started filling page after page up of calls and txt. All hours of day and night, which also started 4 months ago… once I found out it was a whore from work, (whom I’ve had bad vibes from the start about her skanky ass.) I found out she also must have needed a well deserved vacation, as her # Mysteriously stopped showing up on the phone log, during his “time alone with God” and then as soon as he got back to his dad’s house from his vacation, her # started showing up again!!!????
so I’m in a predicament now, (as they both drive for UPS and the phone records show they have neglected to sleep before each work day, and stole and Continue to steal from the company time, as they call and txt throughout the work day, during delivery hrs.) I could have 2 jobs with one call to HR, or I could collect maintenance for some time while I go back to school and start living life for me for once…???? What to do, what to do?
I’m going to wait and find out what all I can get through this divorce (maintenance, healthcare, etc) before making my final decision!
They both know i could have them fired, and I’m feeling good about that for now. Let’s see how well stress agrees with them, as I’ve had to endure my fair share for several months of taking the blame for my (H) unhappiness.
Of course it wasn’t the whores fault, as I heard from the (H) that they are only “good friends” and that our marriage was barely hanging on by a thread for yrs. (lol)… funny how your history gets rewritten as the guilty party grasps at straws, so he doesn’t have to take responsibility for his choices.
Every thought leads to an action and every choice has a consequence.
So I’ll grieve my marriage now and he can grieve his actions for the rest of his life!!!! He has traded in his wife for a ho, and everybody knows you can’t turn no ho into a housewife!!! ????

Simon
Simon
6 years ago

This was how my relationship was, I had to give so much, I really gave so much it left me devastated when we broke up. I just had to work so hard to bring qualities to her life. There was almost no reciprocity, she gave little, I got crumbs of attention in-between other men after work. At the time I didn’t realise the effect it was going to have on me. Much that I shared with her was sacred, which is why the relationship was so special. She summoned the best of me and it was nice to feel like that person again after those aspects of my potentiality had been unrealised for so many years. It was such a joy to give, I miss that experience of fruition and the tenderness so much. She was so beautiful, she is accustomed to being the subject of attention, I was just one among many. I was one who was stupid enough to lavish attention on her when she had no one else, that was my function in her life.

Ed
Ed
1 year ago

You are absolutely correct. I left a cheater after being a chump for 4 years. She found a married guy, also enjoying cheating on his wife, played me for years until I finally began hearing messages like this. I’m the happiest I’ve been in many years. I despise what my wife of 25 years did to me and our family. I only regret staying as long as I did and taking so long to wise up.