By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
How not to react when your spouse cheats
826b4342d99f726a8caec9214c9a4e7191779869bff71ed570b9370147dfca0e
Finding out your spouse has cheated is one of the hardest things to experience. You want to take actions, but certain actions can actually cause more harm. Here are four things you shouldn't do after you find out your spouse had an affair. - photo by Aaron Anderson
Finding out that your spouse has been cheating on you is one of the hardest things to experience. You find yourself flooded with all kinds of questions youve never even had to think about before, such as What did I do wrong?, Am I at risk for an STD? and Does this mean we should divorce?

Not only do you feel shocked, but you also feel enraged that your spouse could do something like this to you. After all, even if the marriage wasnt going great, cheating was not necessary. He or she could have talked to you. But now that an affair has happened, there are decisions that need to be made. These decisions could be life altering, and affect more than just you and your spouse they can affect your children and those close to you as well.

So as youre deciding what to do, here are a few tips to help you. Specifically, here are a few tips of what NOT to do.

Dont get revenge.

Lots of spouses who've been cheated on want some kind of revenge. After all, its not fair what your spouse did to you. But even though you think he or she needs to feel the same kind of pain you feel, getting revenge only makes things worse. And definitely dont try to contact the person theyve been cheating with to tell them what scum they are. And most importantly, dont try to get revenge through your kids by telling them what your spouse did. Revenge only complicates matters and creates more problems that need to be cleaned up and healed later.

Dont make any big life decisions.

Once you find out that your spouse is having an affair, you cant help but begin thinking about how everything is going to end. You wonder things like, Will my partner end the affair?, Will we divorce? and Will my children be scarred by this? And even though your partners affair is a life-altering matter, it doesnt mean you need to make life-altering decisions at least not right away.

Making life-altering decisions right after an affair usually results in bad decisions being made. Theres too much going on emotionally and mentally for you to make a good decision right now. You need to make decisions, but limit them to short-term decisions -- things like whether you should still go on your summer vacation or not. Take some time and let the dust settle. After a while, when you feel youre in a calmer place and your head is clearer, then you can begin making the bigger decisions that need to be made like whether to divorce.

Dont tell everyone.

You will want to reach out to others for support, which is good. In fact, reaching out for help can help you as you are working through this difficult time. But show good judgment in who you choose to tell. Telling your parents (who may already dislike your spouse) might make for even more awkward holidays together. And telling your spouses boss could get them fired (if the person they were cheating with also works with him or her, for example). So reach out for help if you need, but make sure you think through who youre reaching out to.

Dont forgive right away.

Another common response when you find out your spouse is cheating is to quickly move past it so you can get back to having a happy relationship. So you quickly forgive in order to get back to being happy again. But forgiving too quickly is a band-aid cure for a more serious problem. Its necessary to talk through the tough stuff in order to address the problems in the relationship and to create real healing. You need to talk with each other and dig deep into the problems in order to create a new relationship that is healed from the affair.

The first few days and weeks after the discovery of an affair are critically important. The way you respond can help heal or further harm the relationship. Theres already going to be plenty that needs to be healed as a result of the affair. You dont want to create even more that needs to be healed as a result of how you reacted. Being aware of these items can help the healing process.
Sign up for our E-Newsletters