Marriage & Wedding Information

Infidelity: How "My Marriage Made Me Do It" is a Cop-out


Ask someone why they had, or are having an affair and you may hear something like this: "I have a lousy marriage. My marriage is dead. There is no intimacy, no sex, and no excitement. The love is gone. We've grown apart. I can't stand the marriage. There was nothing happening in the marriage and the affair just happened."

These statements are rationalizations and fail to "get at" the underlying issues.

Key points:

1. It's as if a marriage is an animal gone bad. A marriage does not have a life of it's own. In reality, there is no such thing as a "marriage." One is "married" as a result of making some promises and signing a paper at one point. After the paper is signed, two people continue communicating and acting toward one another in particular ways that they hope will help them get what they individually want. Just as there is no "marriage," there is no such thing as a "relationship." There are, however, ways of relating for which each person is responsible. Remember the comedian Flip Wilson (that dates me) and his "The devil made me do it" skit?

2. We idealize "marriage" or "romantic relationships" with the expectation we will get what we want, without much effort to boot. The movies, popular public press and romance novels/stories don't help much here. A "marriage" is behind the eight ball from the word go. "IT" can't win.

3. From day one most of us don't have a clue about how to get, build, nurture and maintain healthy and intimate ways of relating. We need 'love 101' and it's not there. We rely upon experimentation or bad models.

4. If the "marriage" is dead, why in the world would one choose to have an affair? Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It really is stupid. You add a whole layer of deceit and shame that eventually will result in consequences more dire than approaching your spouse and saying, "I'm really unhappy. What I'm doing with you obviously is not working. I want out." Oh well, maybe some people need more problems and suffering.

5. If the "marriage" is bad, obviously, I don't have to look at me. I can blame "it" or the other. Some of us find it difficult to look at me. Some of us don't know how to look at me. Some of us never think of looking at me.

Tip: If your partner/spouse is having and affair and blames it on the "marriage," don't buy into it. The "marriage" is not the problem. You are not the problem. Your spouse/partner chose the affair out of ignorance, fear or inadequacy.

The "My Marriage Made Me Do It" is just one of 7 affairs outlined in my E-book, "Break Free From the Affair." For more information on the issues behind the other kinds of affairs and tips for dealing with them, go to: http://www.break-free-from-the-affair.com

Dr. Robert Huizenga, The Infidelity Coach, has helped hundreds of couples over the past two decades heal from the agony of extramarital affairs and survive infidelity. Visit his website at: http://www.break-free-from-the-affair.com/cmd.php?ad=139627


MORE RESOURCES:

Why Ruin Their Wedding Day?
ireport - 21 hours ago
On December 12, 2008 Florida's Governor, Charlie Crist will marry his fiancee, of nine months, New Yorker, Carole Crist. The ceremony will take place at ...


Speidi’s wedding not legal?
That Happened!, New York - Nov 27, 2008
New York - Shortly after the announcement of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt’s secret wedding in Mexico comes word that their marriage may not be legal, ...


The Associated Press

Is reality TV's most public couple really married?
The Associated Press - Nov 26, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, the reality-TV couple whose on-again, off-again relationship has been chronicled by MTV's "The Hills" and ...


How Getting Married Made Me An Activist
Newsweek - Nov 15, 2008
This NEWSWEEK editor's wedding has put him in the middle of the culture wars. Now, as he and his spouse wait to see if their marriage is valid, ...


Blood gift at wedding
Calcutta Telegraph, India - Nov 24, 2008
Ahmedabad, Nov. 24: Krishna Patel wanted a gift for her wedding that her guests just couldn’t refuse — a few drops of their blood. ...


Wedding season is back with a bang in Capital
Times of India, India - Nov 9, 2008
NEW DELHI: Wintry Delhi days may slow down much of the city, but for the effusive marriage season it is time to stir again. Quite literally, weddings wake ...


The 5 W's of getting your wedding license
New York Daily News, NY - Nov 9, 2008
BY ANNA T. HIRSH White dresses, colorful bridesmaids, fondant-covered cakes and cover bands – these delightful details might be the building blocks of a ...


Prince Charles' wedding might be 'illegal'
Expressindia.com, India - Nov 9, 2008
London, November 10: The legality of Prince Charles' wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles has come into question after constitutional experts revealed that ...


Picture not so perfect
Indian Express, India - Nov 27, 2008
... will have theatre lovers digging deep into several layers while exploring various facets of marriage. Wedding Album, the first-ever contemporary play ...


Weddings and business: A marriage of convenience
BusinessWorld Online, Philippines - Nov 27, 2008
Just as weddings are a beginning of a lifelong marriage, wedding suppliers are hopeful that the current business vigor paves the way for a truly sustainable ...

Marriage-Wedding - Google News

home | site map
© 2006