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Lover Won't Leave His Wife
Q:
My first husband died 11 years ago, and my first love is back. He has been married a long time, and he's unhappy. I see how she treats him - never lets him do anything or go anywhere or have friends. He is afraid to leave her as he has a lot of stock in the big company he works for. He has three grown kids and grandchildren. I have been seeing him for some time, and he is happy when he is with me. I just don't know what to do. -- Angie, 65
A:
Do you enjoy being with him enough to continue seeing him on the sly this way? Because that's really the only option open to you. He has made it clear that he doesn't want to share his company stocks with his wife. In other words, the comfortable, most financially secure status quo is what he's choosing. I wonder if his wife doesn't "let" him have friends because he's betrayed her in the past and she doesn't trust him. Face facts: men may be unhappy, but they often aren't unhappy enough to leave their wives. Bottom line: accept that you're his mistress, or end the relationship.
Susan K. Perry, Ph.D.,
is a social psychologist and relationship expert. She is a bestselling and award-winning author whose latest book is "Loving in Flow: How the Happiest Couples Get and Stay That Way." She has written for and been quoted in Cosmopolitan, Psychology Today, Family Circle, Women's Health & Fitness, YM, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, Child, and many others. She also consults and teaches writing online. Read her complete bio!
NOTE: The information contained herein is provided for information purposes, and not intended as a substitute for advice or treatment that may or should be prescribed by your physician or recommended by your therapist.
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