How to Encourage a Friend to Leave a Cheating Husband

This is a plan for encouraging a friend to leave a cheating husband. It isn't for the faint of heart. Be sure to read the tips and warning before you try this out.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• determination to be a good friend
• time with your friend

1. Set up a time to talk with your friend alone. You may wish to take her out to lunch or dessert. Being in a public place may help reduce the chances she will make a scene.
2. Be prepared to explain your reasons that you believe she should leave her husband. You should refrain from calling the husband bad names, because you may steal her thunder. She is the one entitled to anger, not you. For instance, if you believe he will never be faithful, be prepared to list why you believe this.
3. It may be helpful to write down the reasons you believe your friend should leave her cheating husband before you meet with her. Whatever you do, don't pull out the list in front of your friend. You want to seem sincere and as if you have given this a lot of thought, but you don't want your friend to think you spend all your time trying to solve her problems.
4. Meet with your friend. Be on time! Let your friend talk first. Ask her how things are going with her husband and really listen to the answers before you tell her you think she should leave him.
5. If your friend does not want to consider leaving her husband, leave the subject alone and wait for another day to discuss it again.
6. If your friend does want to consider leaving her husband, allow her to do most of the talking. She won't follow through if she feels like it was all your idea. Help her form a plan for the next steps in leaving her husband. Be sure to offer her any help she requires.

Tips & Warnings

• Be tactful when you approach this idea with your friend. You don't want to make her feel like you are telling her what to do.
• Be sure you have clearly thought out reasons for wanting your friend to leave her husband. You want to be supportive, not angry. Present her with the facts and your opinions about those facts.
• Be prepared to go out of your way to support your friend if she does decide to leave her husband. Ending a marriage is hard. She'll need your support.
• Danger: this must be handled with extreme tact. If you are not a very tactful person, you should not attempt to encourage a friend to leave her husband. Here's why--she might not leave him. And if you don't have the skill of tact you will only end up encouraging her to stop being friends with you if she doesn't decide to leave him.
• Your friend may wish to continue working on her relationship with her husband. She may feel that the marriage is still worth saving. Many marriages do recover from affairs and go on to be much stronger.