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July 25, 2005, 6:17 pm PDT
kelly
Quote From: kellypHi everyone, I am new to the board and I just wanted to vent a little to someone who would understand, and this looks like the best place. Glad to have found it. I have been married to my husband for over ten years, and we have been "together" for over 12. We are in our mid thirties, and I have known him my whole life, actually, but like someone said earlier, you never really know a person until you live with them. I think what is really bothering me the most is the deception. He never actually lied to me about looking at porn, but then again I never had any reason to be suspicious of that. Like I said, I knew him my whole life - at least I thought I knew him.I found it on the computerover a year ago - there were these weird pop-ups that were adult content, and I wasn't really sure where they came from. I asked him, and he said that they could have come from anywhere orfrom someone else sending him an email and thatcame with it unintentionally. I believedhim too. Once I figured out how to look around on the computer I found all kinds of stuffin the history and temporary files. I was sick - I felt betrayed. The idea that he was willfully looking at sexual images of other women to pleasure himself crushed me. I looked at the dates of the temporary internet files and when I checked my calendar I saw that he was doing it whenever I left town on business. I was away working and he, in my opinion, was cheating in his mind with other women. I felt so stupid, inadequate, and unattractive - andI was 6 months pregnant with our secondchild at the time, andI felt like a "house" anyway. I had wondered all along why he had decided tohave a password on our home computer for his profile, but never set one up for me. When I confronted him,he said "it's not abnormal", and "everyone does it" -I knowthose arecommon excuses. Iasked himif I had never found it would he still be looking at it - he said he couldn't say that he wouldn't. I asked him if it was "what Kelly doesn't know won't hurt her?" and he said "yes" - but then he added that "it doesn't change the way I feel about you honey". I think it haschanged the way I feel about him - I haven't had the courage to tell him that. It's been a year - but I'm still suspicious. I still check our home computer - there is no evidence and he has not been deleting the history to cover-up. Every time I'm away overnight anywhere I am suspicious of him on the internet looking at porn. I desperately want to believe that he has stopped. I do know that he goes to the Howard Stern website and has followed links to the homepages (nothing further) of some of the guests from the show - strippers and porn stars. He says when he gets to the homepage he doesn't go any further, and that he just wants to see what they look like since Howard says that they're "hot". I asked him how long he's been looking at porn on the internet.He didn't answer, so I asked"since we gotthe internet?"(1997) and his reply was "yeah, probably." I just feel so conned - or tricked -or like he thinks he's pulled oneover on me. It's that part that hurts the most. Omission of the truth, for me, is the same as lying to my face - because I had a false belief about the way my marriage was and about my husband. He has friends who I know talk to him about websites they view and that these same friends have invited him on more than one occasion to go to strip clubs while they are visiting us in our hometown. I know he didn't go - opted for Hooters instead. (I was in constant contact via cell phone and I saw the receipt). How can I move past this and get over my suspicion?? I think about thisevery day. I am paranoid and I wonder that if he hasn't been forthcoming on this, what else has he failed to tell me so as not to hurt me? The deception hurts the most. (sorry so long!!) Direct your husband to this website, for one thing. Have him read the archives. Perhaps once he sees that you are not the only women who believes porn is cheating, he will begin to think differently about it. In my opinion, if his friends are encouraging him to visit strip clubs and even Hooters, he needs new friends . . . period. And you have every right as his wife and the mother of his children to put your foot down about friendships that are dangerous to your marriage. Honorable married men do not seek out opportunities to gawk at other women. Honorable married men save their lust for their wives. It might also be helpful to you to do some online research about the very real effects of pornography, especially internet porn. I am completing a second MA and just finished writing an academic paper about internet pornography. There is quite a bit of scientific evidence out there proving that pornography has the same type of effect on the brain as heroin or cocaine. Search under "The Science Behind Pornography Addiction" and you should be directed to a government study discussing the issue. Keep in mind, alcoholics do not hang out at bars or liquor stores. You husband, if indeed he is addicted to pornography, has no business eating at Hooters. Most importantly, the two of you need to establish some boundaries concerning porn, strip clubs, etc. Decide for yourself exactly what you can deal with and what you can't and be upfront with him. If he truly loves you and is an honorable man, he should have no problem eliminating all pornography and temptations to view pornography from his life. This may include giving up certain friendships. As I said, he should be willing to do this for you. You are his wife and you are supposed to be his number 1 priority. Good luck.
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