A local radio station dispenses relationship advice, today they had a former someone on the radio seeking advice about breaking off an affair with a married man.
Here’s the audio file (click here).
Situation:
Jennie is a twenty year old who babysat for the kids of his dad’s friend. This started when she was fifteen then the relationship changed when she turned eighteen.
Her father’s friend expressed romantic interest in her and pursued her in that way when his wife was absent. They had sex once. Jennie is planning on breaking it off as she knows it is wrong.
Her dilemma is whether or not to tell his wife about their inappropriate relationship. Most callers (and those who texted in) advocated for her keep it a secret.
Tell the faithful wife!!!
It drives me nuts that people would advocate keeping the affair secret from the primary victim of this scenario, the faithful wife. Grrr!
It further annoys me that people construe her telling the faithful wife about the affair as “causing” the marriage to end. The cheating did that damage!
Telling the faithful wife is giving her a fighting chance to make an informed decision about whether it is wise or not to stay married to this predator like man.
And I do put this affair mostly on the older man. He manipulated Jennie into this relationship as is very clear by her rejecting this relationship as wrong as she has had more distance from him and a little more maturity.
And I would hope she tells her father. He deserves to know of this betrayal by his “friend.”
As this situation illustrates, cheating impacts whole communities. It is not a mess contained to the three people involved.
What Jennie did with this man was wrong, but keeping it a secret is just adding to that wrong. It is helping this manipulator keep power over his wife by keeping her in the dark about his treachery.
The truth needs to be exposed!
(And society needs to stop keeping or encouraging keeping nasty cheater secrets!!! That’s not kindness but rather abuse enabling behavior.)
