@The1stWife, what you're saying makes complete sense, about him feeling "needed". One of the women was married and in an abusive relationship. He told me about it one evening, when I asked how he knew, he said that he had heard from a mutual friend (which I now know was a lie). When I confronted her, she stated that my H was easy to vent to and a good listener. I scoffed at the idea of my H being a good listener, as he doesn't listen to my venting very well, nor is he very empathetic. I stopped venting to him or going to him when I was in distress, as he caused more angst than good. I believe that is part of the hurt as well, he barely listens to me, yet he is swooping in to save someone else. Up until this year, he didn't even know what my favorite meal was. The only reason he does now is because I had a meltdown that he was spending so much time with other women, and he couldn't care less about his wife. The other night, he bought a lasagna and stated proudly, "See, I do care, I do listen".
@leafields I intend to discuss my anxiety with my doctor today. It's amazing the ups and downs that come with the betrayal. I will try a guided meditation tonight, perhaps that will help me. A big part of it all is that he would tell me here and there that the women were around. "So and so is at _______'s house". He would tell me about conversations that they had. Now, knowing what I know, I feel like it was a tactic. If I heard from someone they were spotted together, then he could say, "I told you she was there". I am playing tug o' war with myself, one day I am catastrophizing and the next I am minimizing. As for D, it's not completely out of the question. I am still undecided about what I want to do. Honestly, I'm just waiting for him to go back to his old ways. He is supposed to get a referral today for a psychiatrist... so we shall see. It wouldn't shock me if he doesn't follow through. He has still not ordered the books that we discussed he read.
@Cooley2here, I agree with you. I do believe he has addiction problems. In every aspect. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He has a gambling addiction. He is not an alcoholic, but he is addicted to the feeling he gets when he is drinking in social situations. He has a charismatic personality and is very funny. He is addicted to attention and being in the spotlight. HA in December I had an annual girls Christmas party. He hade a big stink about how I am a tiny woman and he didn't feel comfortable with my going out. When I told him it was not up for debate, he insisted he pick me up. Well, when it came down to the hour before, when he was to pick me up, I sent him a message, which is when I found out he had 2 single guys and two single girls at our house and was partying. He was too inebriated to get me. But wanted me to come home and party with them, I was absolutely LIVID, I told him everyone had better be out of my house by the time I was home. I ended up having to wait for an hour and a half for an Uber.
I feel like I want so badly for things to go back to the way they were before I found out that I fall victim to him. I want our normality back, and I push aside the thoughts and feelings of the betrayals, and it's like we are back to our happy family. This is how I felt over the weekend, after his timeline disclosure, blissfully ignorant. Today is a different story... today, images of the text messages are flooding back into my mind. Him asking the others to make the first move. I do believe that if the EA's were not PA it was only because the women had not acted. One woman did kiss him, and he text her later that evening saying, "I can still taste the mint." That is the only reason that I knew about the kiss. He also told her that if she wanted more that he was not talking to anyone else. When I confronted this woman, she told me that he spoke of me often, about how much he loved me and how amazing I was, and that I was okay with what he does... (this was the same woman that his friend and he spoke so eloquently about).
Today, I feel like it is all a manipulation tactic. That he is trying to "show" me that he is changing, that he makes small changes, then asks for praise. Like on Saturday, it was one of the friends' birthdays, 30 of them went golfing (30! Who even has 30 friends at 40- Jeez!). He was home by 10:00 pm and was so proud of himself, expecting praise from me. I told him "You want praise for being a decent human being?! For being a husband and a father? Yes, you came home at a decent time, but you're still wasted." I'm having a hard time being nice to him these days. He says I have a constant look of disgust on my face when I look at him. I don't disagree. I am disgusted. I am disgusted with him, and I am disgusted with myself.