Tag: Divorce

Affairs and Relationship Recovery

Published on by gailbartlettharrisLeave a comment

Don’t believe all the hype. No really! Don’t.

It never fails to amaze me how many ‘relationship’ and modern day ‘moral’ experts there are out there. Especially on social media. As a generality, if you have a spouse who has strayed, our society does not support staying in that relationship. Facebook warriors and well meaning Aunts proclaim that you are – quote : Worth more. You would think that the transgression had been yours (not your spouse’s) because the peer and societal weight of shame leveled at you if you stay, can be immense.

Affairs can have a devastating effect on relationships. They can also provide a platform for communication that is more transparent and honest than many relationships can only dream of.

I believe that leaving a relationship after an affair is brave. I believe that staying is braver. It could be that recovery is not possible. It could also be that the relationship is born anew; stronger, closer, more real, more committed and with higher levels of intimacy.

There are stages to it’s recovery, and getting through the crisis stage is not for the faint-hearted. But the rewards can be worth the journey.

As Esther Perel says in her book ‘The State of Affairs’, we expect so very much of our relationships now. Just listen to some modern vows and the promises we make! We promise to satisfy our spouses every need. And we expect the same in return. We expect our partner to be stable but to offer excitement, be practical but connect with us spiritually. They should be our best friend, our confidante, our financial security, our mind reader. They should be emotionally intelligent and know how to respond to us emotionally at any moment of the day. They should feel comfortable and un-demanding but be able to stimulate us intellectually. They should accept us in our fluffy pajamas but still want to approach us with ‘rip your clothes off passion’! It’s little wonder that relationships can feel under par or lifeless and we, or our partners can feel not good enough.

Relationships benefit from a dose of reality. If we work hard and keep communication strong, we can work our way through the toughest differences and disappointments. Once the initial shock and flight or fight responses subside, an affair can help bring us back to ground zero, where we can work out what it is we both want and …how possible that is……and what we are both prepared to do to get the relationship there. It affords opportunity for thoughts that were previously in the shadows to come out in the light, where they can be considered and heard.

Don’t listen to the hype. Staying might not always be the right choice – but when it is – its brave and can reap big rewards.

Goodbye Dad

Published on by gailbartlettharris1 Comment

On a morning walk during the last school holidays, I had the opportunity to see suburbia in its early buzz. And most of what I saw was good. Some pretty gardens with happy flowers, teddy bears still peeking out of a few windows, people coming out to check the mailbox and waving hello. But I also saw something but made me feel sad. Three SUVs pulling up at separate curbs – their engines humming outside nicely groomed houses. None of the driver’s turned their engines off. Only one of the drivers got out of this car. No-one was waiting on the curb or came out to greet them. And overflowing out of the passenger doors …children, all of them around school age carrying little cases or backpacks shouting… “Goodbye Dad”… several of them running back to try to give a final hug.

These were not children being dropped off for a weekend sleepover with a friend. These children were most likely being dropped off between a separated Mum and Dad. How did I know? A number of things were obvious like the cases on their back (and several other items dragged from the car) but also the tone of the goodbye to Dad was not the kind that says I will see you later in the day.

We are bringing up generations of children who’s normal is being split between homes with different rules and different atmospheres. Not for them any cozy Friday night movie nights with Mum and Dad together making the world secure.

I felt sad. Mainly I felt sad because I knew how torn most of these children would be feeling and that it was most likely that at times they were forced to choose out loud or in their own head which of their parents was the most reliable or lovable; children growing up too soon.

I believe relationships can thrive. I believe in the power of commitment hard work and at times professional intervention to facilitate a way through. And I believe that even if couples choose not to stay together there is still the ability to role model what respectful and caring relationships look like in the face of separation. And that would include – Dads getting out of their cars and Mums coming out on the curb to greet the arrival. When children step out of that car they step onto the wobbly bridge that spans no mans land. The least parents can do is swallow their own hurts/pride/anger/indifference and hold their children’s hand until they get to the other side.