Dear Annie: Cheating wife wants husband back

Dear Annie: My wife and I have been together for 17 years – married for the past nine. This is a second marriage for both of us. We have no children together.

Things were good for the first several years, but then I became complacent and lost interest. Sex happened only on rare occasion. We started doing things separately. My wife told me she loved me, but she’d met a man who made her feel good and wanted to be with him. Annie, I knew she was unhappy with me, but I didn’t want our marriage to end. So I gave my consent for her to spend more time with this man – and she did. After several months, she said I should go out and meet someone.

Three weeks ago, my wife and her boyfriend went out of town for the weekend, and I decided to go for a few beers. I met “Nancy,” and we really hit it off. Being with her was exciting, and I felt alive for the first time in years.

Here’s the problem: When I told my wife about Nancy, she went ballistic. She broke down and said she is still in love with me, and the thought of my being with another woman is more than she can handle.

I realize it’s unfair that she got to be with her guy for a year and now the rules change. But in the past two weeks, we’ve done a lot of talking and soul-searching. I feel the right thing to do is forget about Nancy. The problem is, I can’t stop thinking of her. I’m afraid if I agree to stay in the marriage, it will never be really good, and that’s not fair to either of us. Any advice? – Emotionally Drained

Dear Drained: Your wife obviously wanted to have it both ways. Still, the solution is not to accept being miserable. It’s to find out why things became so muddled and how you can fix them – or go your separate ways. What you found appealing about Nancy could simply have been the novelty of having someone take an interest in you. Please ask your wife to go with you for counseling and work on these issues with the help of a professional.