Would you consider this to be "having an affair"?

WatchinCaptKangaroo said:
Flirting is not cheating. Flirting is flirting and it's harmless.

I completely disagree. Aside from the fact that it is unprofessional in the workdplace, it is VERY easy to misread! What is playful to someone, may mean a lot more to another person. In this day and age you have to be especially careful with the threat of sexual harassment.
 
W/o really knowing more than that I can't say for sure. But I would believe that he was only a friend and it wasn't an emotional affair even.

I do feel bad that the woman didn't have enough trust or faith in her husband though. However, I do know that women can be insanely jealous and they can't always control it. I also know I've lost several good friends due to their girlfriends/wives paranoia.

Men and women CAN be friends. One of my best friends right now is a male & married. We talk and share a lot with each other. Nothing more than that. In fact we've helped some good things come to each others marriages (I think) due to insight from the "opposite sex's perspective" as well as suggestions we give to each other on how to deal with our spouses. I do admit, though, that I talk to his wife now and then on the phone and he'll talk with my husband too every once in a while. So we make sure our spouses have nothing to worry about.

So, i can't say it was an affair, I just wish he didn't feel like he had to hide a friendship. And just because someone is a flirt doesn't mean that they are not a faithful and devoted spouse.
 
mommaU4 said:
He told me about it......
Ahhhh I see......

I'm not saying if it was ok or not because I think every couple has different levels of tolerance on these issues, and they are very personal. Only you know what you can and can't accept. But I wouldn't use the word affair. - I'd call it sneaking around, or doing something behind your back etc. but not an affair.
 
Marseeya said:
What does that have to do with it? It wasn't a gay man, it wasn't a lesbian, and it wasn't a straight man. It was a woman who flirts.

Huge difference.

I agree, what's that got to do with anything?
 

halestrm said:
I don't think you need to tell them everytime, but would you ever keep a friend a complete secret?

No, I'm not hiding anything from my fiance, and we have all gone out socially many times. He is completely aware of our friendship.

Not to make light of the situation, but I can't help but think that maybe his guilt came from the fact that he knew his wife didn't like the woman, not that he was actually doing anything wrong. For example, I am not a smoker, but will sometimes light up when I'm drinking. My fiance HATES it. I usually feel guilty when I do it because I know how he feels, not because I am doing something "wrong."
 
Marseeya said:
What does that have to do with it? It wasn't a gay man, it wasn't a lesbian, and it wasn't a straight man. It was a woman who flirts.

Huge difference.

It only makes a difference in relationships with trust issues. I don't dictate my fiance's friends, and he doesn't dictate mine.
 
From the OP, it sounded like the trust issues only began after his secret friendship was revealed! He kept it a secret...she has every right to be distrustful.
 
This story is true and it is about me. I didn't say that earlier because I wanted honest open opinions and was afraid someone might "hold back" for fear of hurting my feelings. :goodvibes

This is practically ancient history now but I heard of it happening to someone else recently so it sparked memories which is why I brought it up. It happened in 2000.

I was pregnant with our twins at the time. It was a hard pregnancy on me and I was in and out of the hospital in the beginning. Add that to taking care of a 3 and 5 yr. old and I guess I wasn't really available the way I normally would be. I think that played a huge part in this developing friendship.

Did I have trust issues? I didn't think so but maybe I did. I never told him who he could and couldn't have lunch with. He had lunch with other women and men and it was a non-issue.

I did tell him that I did not like her because she was a flirt and I'd witnessed her flirting first hand with the DH of a good friend. But I never forbid him to have lunch with her. Probably because it was never an issue, the thought just never occured to me.

When he finally did tell me about their lunches I was mad and hurt. Hurt that he felt he couldn't confide in me. And mad at his hiding it and continuing them even though in his words it felt "wrong". Of course I had to turn the mirror on myself and ask what had I done to give him the impression that he had to hide things from me. He was afraid I'd raise holy hell when I found out and to be honest he was right. Pregnant with twins? All those hormones? Talk about needing to duck! :duck:

After finding out I told him he was not to have anything to do with her anymore. I wouldn't even say her name. I refered to her as "it". As in "Did you talk to it today?" After about 2 days of this and some soul searching, I told him "If you ever lie or keep something from me again it's over. But I do trust you. And it's up to you if you want to be her friend." I even went as far as to talk to her. We had a long conversation and I told her everything. She confided in me that she didn't get why alot of the wives didn't like her, so I told her. She appreciated my honesty and while I can't say we are best friends, we reached an understanding. DH did stop having lunches with her by his own choice.

It's been five years and we are very happy. So to those of you who felt the relationship could be saved...your right. I trust him but will never take our marriage for granted. It takes work, love, trust, fun, etc. I met my DH when we were 13. We started dating at 16. Married 5 years later and are still together today. Sometimes it takes a wake-up call like this one to make you take a good look at yourself and your relationship. We've only grown closer. And I know he never would have done anything physical.

So, was this an "affair"?.... we still debate over that! :rotfl:
 
pmcpmc said:
if the women instead had been a gay man would that also be a problem?
What if she was a lesbian would it be ok then?
What if it was a straight man would that be ok?
Do youpreapprove all your husband's friends?
The problem wasn't the lunches it was that he didn't tell me about them. I agree that you should not dictate who your spouse should be friends with. DH doesn't like all my friends and I don't like all his. Just the way things go sometimes.
 
I'm glad to hear that everything worked out. Hooray for true love (no matter how aggravating it can be sometimes! :rotfl: )!
 
halestrm said:
I don't think you need to tell them everytime, but would you ever keep a friend a complete secret?
Secrets can be very damaging to a relationship. More so than I think most people realize. So be careful and ask yourself why it needs to be a secret.

One safe rule my hubby and I follow now is this:
If you are doing or saying something that you would NOT feel comfortable doing or saying with your spouse right beside you, you probably should not be doing it. Think about it. It makes sense....
 
sbclifton said:
I'm glad to hear that everything worked out. Hooray for true love (no matter how aggravating it can be sometimes! :rotfl: )!
AMEN!!! ;)
 
I'm also happy it worked out for you. I'm with you that it was, at the very least, a betrayal. I would probably also call it an emotional "affair". Heck there was point in our marriage where dh was having what I would call an emotional affair of sorts with his PARENTS. I think anytime you are repeatedly turning to someone besides your spouse for support, totally excluding or keeping it secret from your spouse - you are in a danger zone. I think it can be a problem even when it isn't a sex issue.

I'm all for spouses having friendships - but keeping them hidden is a big problem. If I have a gut feeling about someone and asked dh to not pursue a friendship with her I would expect him to respect my feelings. I would do that for him.

Also, if dh had an intimate, talk about your feelings type, relationship with anyone I would expect to at least know they were friends. I would assume by the point he'd developed that kind of relationship we would have probably socialized with the other person together. I have friends I talk to, but dh certainly knows about them and enjoys meeting them!
 
mommaU4 said:
One safe rule my hubby and I follow now is this:
If you are doing or saying something that you would NOT feel comfortable doing or saying with your spouse right beside you, you probably should not be doing it. Think about it. It makes sense....

DH and I now basically have the same rule - Just that we shouldn't be doing things we're not comfortable discussing with each other.
 
Feralpeg said:
I consider one of the men I worked with for 30 years one of my closest friends. He was married. I wasn't. We had lunch together almost every day. Sometimes another guy from the office would go to lunch with us. Other times it was just the two of us in a restaurant full of people. We told each other a great deal about our lives. Friends do that. I knew he loved his wife. He was just a very good friend. If a couple has so little trust of each other, I think there is already something wrong with the marriage.

I have a friend like this also, we've worked together for 20 years, he has been to my house and done some work there for me, I've been to his daughters Christening and his birthday party and yet we are still just friends, amazing isn't it that 2 grown people of opposite sexes could be just friends? Some people seem to think guys and girls can't just be friends...well it can actually happen....I have NO desire to be anything other than a friend to him and he feels the same...thank goodness his wife is not someone he has to hide it from..he has called her from work and told her "hey I am going out to lunch with April at the Indian place, wanna meet us there?? I go out to lunch with many guys at work with just me and them...never thought twice about it since we are all just friends etc....its a shame that a grown man feels he has to hide something from his wife because she doesn't like something though, I feel sorry for him....I guess there would be some serious trust issues going on in the marraige if she was threatened by a lunch with a co worker!
 
aprilgail2 said:
I have a friend like this also, we've worked together for 20 years, he has been to my house and done some work there for me, I've been to his daughters Christening and his birthday party and yet we are still just friends, amazing isn't it that 2 grown people of opposite sexes could be just friends? Some people seem to think guys and girls can't just be friends...well it can actually happen....I have NO desire to be anything other than a friend to him and he feels the same...thank goodness his wife is not someone he has to hide it from..he has called her from work and told her "hey I am going out to lunch with April at the Indian place, wanna meet us there?? I go out to lunch with many guys at work with just me and them...never thought twice about it since we are all just friends etc....its a shame that a grown man feels he has to hide something from his wife because she doesn't like something though, I feel sorry for him....I guess there would be some serious trust issues going on in the marraige if she was threatened by a lunch with a co worker!

Having a friend who your wife feels is flirting with you is very different than just having a friend of the opposite sex.
 
aprilgail2 said:
I have a friend like this also, we've worked together for 20 years, he has been to my house and done some work there for me, I've been to his daughters Christening and his birthday party and yet we are still just friends, amazing isn't it that 2 grown people of opposite sexes could be just friends? Some people seem to think guys and girls can't just be friends...well it can actually happen....I have NO desire to be anything other than a friend to him and he feels the same...thank goodness his wife is not someone he has to hide it from..he has called her from work and told her "hey I am going out to lunch with April at the Indian place, wanna meet us there?? I go out to lunch with many guys at work with just me and them...never thought twice about it since we are all just friends etc....its a shame that a grown man feels he has to hide something from his wife because she doesn't like something though, I feel sorry for him....I guess there would be some serious trust issues going on in the marraige if she was threatened by a lunch with a co worker!

I have plenty of male friends but none of them flirt with me. Why couldn't that woman be just friends without having to cross that boundary with a married man? Why couldn't the married man tell her to knock it off, knowing it was inappropriate and hurtful to his wife?

That's the issue.
 
aprilgail2 said:
I have a friend like this also, we've worked together for 20 years, he has been to my house and done some work there for me, I've been to his daughters Christening and his birthday party and yet we are still just friends, amazing isn't it that 2 grown people of opposite sexes could be just friends? Some people seem to think guys and girls can't just be friends...well it can actually happen....I have NO desire to be anything other than a friend to him and he feels the same...thank goodness his wife is not someone he has to hide it from..he has called her from work and told her "hey I am going out to lunch with April at the Indian place, wanna meet us there?? I go out to lunch with many guys at work with just me and them...never thought twice about it since we are all just friends etc....its a shame that a grown man feels he has to hide something from his wife because she doesn't like something though, I feel sorry for him....I guess there would be some serious trust issues going on in the marraige if she was threatened by a lunch with a co worker!
Did you read all my posts?
I did/do trust my husband. He felt he had to hide this particular friendship because this co-worker was such a flirt and he knew I didn't like that. He just assumed I would forbid him from having lunch with her, and while I may not have been jumping for joy at the thought, I never would dictate who he can or cannot eat with. He never gave me the chance to decide whether to be threatened or not! Don't feel sorry for him... or me for that matter. We both made mistakes that we both learned from and after 18 years total together as a couple we love each other and trust each other more than ever.
 
Marseeya said:
I have plenty of male friends but none of them flirt with me. Why couldn't that woman be just friends without having to cross that boundary with a married man? Why couldn't the married man tell her to knock it off, knowing it was inappropriate and hurtful to his wife?

That's the issue.
Thank-you. The flirting is the issue for me anyways. My DH never flirted back, although, like most men, I'm sure he enjoyed and or felt flattered by the attention. And to be fair to the "other woman" she didn't strip in front of anyone. She was just a tad too friendly. The thing is though, if you read one of my earlier post where I said I had a conversation with her, she honestly didn't seem to realize how she was coming across to others. Maybe she had some insecurities of her own. Who knows?
 
I would say this is one of the MANY MANY reasons I am not married. I don't see it as an affair, I have ONE female friend, all the rest are male, doesn't mean I am doing ANYTHING with them, just means we are friends. I won't ever get married to a man who has problems with that. Just petty crap!
 

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