Re: Divorce is in the air (wife caught me looking at porn)
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:23 pm
Abaddon,
First and foremost, you really need to talk to two people - your wife, and a marriage counselor. Other than a couple of people as possible exceptions, your going to get a lot of amateur advise that may help or may make things worse.
Your marriage had issues prior to her finding out about your porn. You're both obviously not on the same page regarding sex, and all the porn has done is make this something that you can't hide from any longer. I hope for your sake that the threat of divorce is just her reacting to the immediate sting.
The only real question is if you should seek a counselor through LDS family services or one with a less religious view. In either case, the person who helps you will vary in how they view the issues, and having both you and your wife in some early agreement that you need to find someone who will help you identify and work on the underlying issues rather than focus on who is at fault is important. Some counselors may focus on you and your porn as the issue (see examples above) while others may sympathize with your lack of sexual satisfaction. Neither is right. You are both adults who have made an agreement to share your lives together and a break-down in communication as significant as the one you seem to be describing is catastrophic. A good counselor will help you both get beyond the issues and to the point that you can communicate. Without communication, you don't have a relationship. You have a sex-for-companionship agreement. And you both feel the contract has been violated.
Build the relationship. Forget the religious aspects for now and focus on your marriage.
First and foremost, you really need to talk to two people - your wife, and a marriage counselor. Other than a couple of people as possible exceptions, your going to get a lot of amateur advise that may help or may make things worse.
Your marriage had issues prior to her finding out about your porn. You're both obviously not on the same page regarding sex, and all the porn has done is make this something that you can't hide from any longer. I hope for your sake that the threat of divorce is just her reacting to the immediate sting.
The only real question is if you should seek a counselor through LDS family services or one with a less religious view. In either case, the person who helps you will vary in how they view the issues, and having both you and your wife in some early agreement that you need to find someone who will help you identify and work on the underlying issues rather than focus on who is at fault is important. Some counselors may focus on you and your porn as the issue (see examples above) while others may sympathize with your lack of sexual satisfaction. Neither is right. You are both adults who have made an agreement to share your lives together and a break-down in communication as significant as the one you seem to be describing is catastrophic. A good counselor will help you both get beyond the issues and to the point that you can communicate. Without communication, you don't have a relationship. You have a sex-for-companionship agreement. And you both feel the contract has been violated.
Build the relationship. Forget the religious aspects for now and focus on your marriage.