Relationship Connection: My new wife lied about her past

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Question

I am in my 60s and I recently married a woman my same age. She is a true gift. She is what I have wanted since I was in high school.

I suffer many times every single day thinking about a terrible decision she made shortly before we met. She invited an old classmate, a convicted drug addict, into her home and bed. They lived together for only 10 weeks.

She was not truthful about that relationship for the first eight months of our relationship. She truly does regret it and has no contact with him.

We are very lucky to have met each other. This is a great time in our lives to be in love.

I want to take a pill to help me never think about my loving wife being with another man so recently. I don’t want this to poison our relationship.

Because she was not truthful with me I have this nagging concern that I need to know more. What was the truth? Her being with this lowlife person is not consistent with what I know for a fact my wife is. She is a good person.

How can I “fix” myself before I ruin a wonderful relationship?

Answer

I’m thrilled you’ve found your dream relationship! I’m sure your wife is equally fortunate to have you as her husband. Even though your joy is palpable, your pain and worry clearly cause you considerable distress. Let’s explore some healthy ways you can respond to your wife’s indiscretion.

You’ve identified two main concerns in your question. You feel betrayed by her keeping this information from you for eight months, and you’re also concerned with the type of man she allowed into her life. You’re having a strong unwanted reaction, and you’re wise to first look at your own reasons for responding this way.

Do you fully understand why you feel so threatened with her being with another man before she met you? Here are some possible questions you can ask yourself to better understand why this might be so difficult for you:

  • Are you concerned about her character?
  • Do you feel compared to this man?
  • Are you worried about contracting a sexually transmitted disease?
  • Are you worried about her judgement or boundaries?
  • Would a different relationship time frame with this man change anything for you?
  • Would knowing this information prior to marriage have impacted your decision to marry her?

She’s clearly ashamed about her ill-advised decision to partner up with this man and didn’t want it to reflect poorly on your view of her. Even though her sleeping with him prior to meeting you isn’t a betrayal against you, you would certainly feel betrayed if she lied about this prior relationship when you were asking about her history. It makes sense to wonder if there is more information you don’t have about her history.

She’s doing the right thing by not having contact with him and expressing sincere remorse for hurting you. Her accountability to you isn’t the fact that she shacked up with this man but that she was untruthful about it.

But the fact remains that her lying leaves you with additional questions. This is a great opportunity for you to understand her better. It’s also an opportunity for her to understand herself better. She’s not on trial and doesn’t need to be interrogated about her past.

Instead, see if you can have conversations with her about what was going on for her during that time. Seek to understand her heart, her vulnerability, her pain and her thought process. Invite a safe discussion in a spirit of genuine curiosity.

The more you understand about your wife and her journey, the less you’ll care about this other man and his involvement in her life. You’ll have a deeper connection to her, feel more trust that she’s fully one with you, and you’ll have the security of knowing that she only wants to be with you. You’ll also learn a lot about yourself during this process of discovery, which will help her feel closer to you.

Don’t be afraid of these conversations, as they have the potential to bring you both closer.

Geoff Steurer is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice in St. George, Utah. He specializes in working with couples in all stages of their relationships. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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