Quote:
Originally Posted by Emary Preston
Maybe "affair" is not the appropriate phrase/term. They don't tell each other they love one another, they do not make promises and there is no deceit. The thing that was conflicting for her was "being the other woman". Sex and time are not required for them to have be a relationship. He supports her decision, wether or not they are being intimate or not.
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pls tell me if this is the correct interpretation of what you've written.
Wife and Husband are married. The Husband and Wife are more like roommates.
for some reason, Husband is not getting what he wants [sexually] from the marriage and decides to get that from someone else.
The wife knows and encouraged him to see providers.
The wife didn't expect him to develop feelings for any provider he might meet or for any provider to develop feelings for him.
Husband meets OtherWoman, who used to be a provider but now isnt [what she a provider when she met Husband?]
Husband and OtherWoman get along great, have fun, and good sex.
Husband tells OtherWoman that he will not separate or divorce his wife [for whatever reason].
OtherWoman "never had one [an affair] or ever wanted to" and now "is very conflicted because of the circumstances."
OtherWoman "continues to love the single life but she herself knows that she is not ready for anything further anyways."
OtherWoman's problem is "not having enough of his attention and affection as she would like. It's not like a traditional affair, per se."
"They don't tell each other they love one another, they do not make promises and there is no deceit."
OtherWoman wants to know what to do.
One of your concerns is what OtherWoman will do if a "good man comes into her life." Will she "dismiss a real relationship because of her inability to give up what she has with this man."
If that is correct, then here's my take on it.
1. whether or not this is a provider/client relationship, a fling, or a full blow affair, the main thing that matters is he is married and says he wont leave his wife. as long as that stays the same, OtherWoman will
never get the attention and affection "as she would like." She will
always be the other woman. There are many many examples of this in the world and we all know how the large majority of them turn out - not too well for anyone involved.
2. Even if Husband decides to leave his wife, there is no guarantee that he wont find AnotherWoman when he determines that there is something missing in his relationship w/ OtherWoman. Then OtherWoman will kinda know how Wife felt.
3. OtherWoman needs to decide what she wants and if Husband can help her get it. If he cant, she should end their relationship and move on.
4. what FeistyKat wrote in post #32 and the article she linked to at halloftheblackdragon.com are both right on!!
now back to your original questions "Have you ever had one? How did it work out?"
years ago, my s.o. and i had an open relationship. she had occasional dates w/ a few very intimate male friends and i had dates w/ a few very intimate female friends. sometimes, she, her friend, and i would go out to dinner, a movie, festival, etc. sometimes she, my friend and i would do the same. a few time, we had threesomes w/ her friend or w/ mine. she and i agreed up front that we would
NOT unilaterally decide to leave our committed "primary" relationship.
our "secondary" relationships were fun, friendly, intimate, and involved sexual trysts [sometimes, a bunch of us would get together and have group parties, almost like swingers but we werent swingers].
most of those friends either moved away or died. currently, i have a few female friends i would like to have a "secondary" relationship with these days, but we are not as sexually interested in our current acquaintances/friends as we were back then. thus, we wont do a one-side open relationship. so, i just lust after these women and hope :^)
btw, i am still w/ my s.o. after 20+ yrs. i hobby for one special kind of activity but do partake in others.
for us, we had "affairs" with others. we both understood and stuck to the ground rules. it worked out well.
it is not very common in non-swinger, non-polyamory, non-communal relationships.