Loving a Wife Who Cheated on You

If your wife has been unfaithful to you, it is undoubtedly a deeply painful experience. Relationships and marriages often end as a result of cheating, though many couples do decide to work through the infidelity for the sake of their children or their lives together. If you've decided to stay with your wife after she cheated, you will have to work through your pain together. It will be a gradual process as you learn to fully love, and once again trust, a wife who strayed.

Instructions

1. Examine the feelings you had before the infidelity. If you still love the core things about your wife, it's more likely that the relationship can be saved. If your relationship already had deep issues prior to the cheating, the road to recovery will be harder.

2. Consider the nature of the infidelity. No degree of cheating is acceptable; however, you will likely have an easier time forgiving a one-time slip than an ongoing affair.

3. Talk to your wife about the reason for the cheating. You need to understand her motivation in order to fully forgive her. Often, people cheat to seek out something that is missing in their relationship. To improve the situation, you'll need to establish the areas of the relationship that need work.

4. Ask your wife any questions you may have. Even though she may feel uncomfortable answering them, it's important that you have the opportunity to hear everything you need to hear.

5. Attend marriage counseling together. Infidelity is a hard issue to get over, and marital counseling can be an integral part of the journey to recovery. Find a counselor with whom you both are comfortable. The counselor may wish to see you and your wife individually, in addition to joint sessions.

6. Allow yourself to hurt. Don't try to deny your feelings. Let yourself cry, be hurt and feel upset. The sooner you deal with these emotions, the sooner you can move on from them.

7. Make a list of all the things you love about your wife. After someone cheats, the infidelity can overshadow all the wonderful things you love about that person. By making a list, you'll have a tangible reminder of the reasons you fell in love with her in the first place.

8. Date each other again. Marriages sometimes fall into a comfort zone in which each party no longer tries to impress the other. Rediscover the original romance you shared and get to know each other again. Once you step outside the confines of your traditional relationship, you may be able to love your wife again more freely.

9. Forgive fully. If you wish to truly love and trust your wife again, you must completely forgive her for cheating. It's a large task, but you'll never be able to have a solid relationship if you constantly bring up her prior infidelity. Once you have fully discussed the issue, move on and work on strengthening your marriage.

Tips & Warnings

• Give yourself space to heal. You may need to take some time away from your wife to heal from the pain she caused you.

• Be aware that the path to forgiving your wife for infidelity is not easy. It is filled with pain and heartache, but if you truly love her, the end result can be well worth it.