Monday, 12 January 2009
-
My Husband's Deployed and My Ex Is Trying to Get Closer
This is a guest blog submitted by XxFireXboltxX.My senior year of high school I met this guy we'll call C. C was your stereotypical high school jock, but no one cared to get past his sports achievements to see that there was more to him. I saw him in the library one day and the only open seat was at the table where he was. We weren't "friends," per se - we just didn't run in the same circle of people. Somehow we started talking and couldn't stop; we spent the rest of high school almost inseparable, double-dating with our significant others and battling it out on the ACT to see who could get the better score.
We graduated, both almost in the coveted valedictorian/salutatorian position. After graduation, we exchanged contact info and he made me promise to keep in touch.
Here we are seven years later. I'm married, living close to 2,000 miles away from where I graduated, pregnant with my first child and looking into Master's programs at different schools. C is still in the same town, but he's just graduated with his Master's and is getting ready to start his Ph.D. His baseball, football, wrestling and soccer days are long behind him. He's single (which is also a huge change for him) and has had a tough couple of years, after his mother's death and having two broken engagements (his two fiancées both cheated on him).
So what's wrong?
We dated. I was actually the last girl he dated and he was the last guy I dated before I met my husband. (And no...I'm not one of the girls who cheated on him.) He was the first guy I fell in love with, he was the first one I had sex with (which really makes me understand why my parents really harped on no sex before marriage but that's another topic.) He was honestly the first guy to really, truly respect me and take care of me. Our breakup happened for multiple reasons - the biggest two being distance and religion (as in, he's Jewish and I'm Christian, and try as we might, we could not agree on much of anything.) Our dating for a year and a half really changed our entire relationship...and then I met my husband and we got engaged within five months of our first date.
When my husband and I got engaged, I called C (in the presence of my husband to keep things decent) and told him, "Look, we've been great friends but our relationship has got to change. You cannot be the go-to guy for advice anymore; you can't be my best friend." He told me he agreed and said he understood. My husband isn't a control freak telling me to not have contact with him; they actually talk occasionally. But I would never want anything to seem "questionable" in my relationship with a member of the opposite sex, so I prefer to keep guys at a distance. But you want to hear from old friends now and again; my husband has girls he's known since elementary school that he occasionally hears from. We're past that high school drama of not talking to members of the opposite sex, including exes. We're adults and we can all act like adults now, right? Not so much.
Things should have been solved. Nope...he continues to call. And text. And e-mail. And here's what bothers me. At first he kept his distance; it was really just how it should be and what we'd agreed upon. Then my husband was deployed, and it feels like C realized I was alone and thought we could go back to how things were. My husband may be on the other side of the world, but he's still my husband. I'm still pregnant with his child, and when he comes home, he's coming home to me and I will be waiting for him.
I have told C over and over and over again to not call and text and e-mail as much, but he's not listening and it's starting to make me uncomfortable. For Christmas, he sent me a set of pearl earrings. I promptly sent them back. And he sent them back to me so I sent them back to the manufacturer. He sent me a card on Thanksgiving and told me he was thankful for me and our "relationship". He didn't say friendship, he said "relationship". What does he think is going to happen?
I have gone over and over in my head if I have done something to give him false hope. I really can't think of anything. I don't know if maybe he perceived something wrong, but I honestly can say that I haven't done anything I should not have done.
Is it time to break off all contact? What do I need to say to this guy to make him get the picture?
Post a Comment
- Back to datingish's Datingish Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in datingish's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)



True











Comments (52)
Wow.. I'm glad you're super in love with your husband. If C makes you uncomfortable then maybe cutting off all contact will be good, at least for some time. I hope all ends well :)
You have to end the friendship. There is no way around it and if your husband finds out he will think something more. As a true friend he will understand but he isn't considering what it could do to your marriage. End it now or take a chance losing your husband. Sorry if it sounds Harsh but I am in the military and I KNOW what it's like to be in your husbands position. Especially after my EX wife cheated with my best friend,
As the wife of a man who has been deployed 2 times, the best thing to do is cut off all contact. don't try to salvage anything. AT ALL. even if your husband is not the jealous type, if he hears any of what is going on with this guy, he will get ideas in his head. he's on the other side of the world and he will get insecure and trust me you don't want to deal with an insecure husband who has his battle buddies telling him about how much of a good time you are probably having with this other guy. even if you aren't doing anything wrong, you'll still deal with the consequences as if you did.
Agreed, he cannot be trusted, and obviously cannot comprehend the fact that you will always be faithful to your husband no matter what he wants.
I would be "stronger" with him....
Tell him that if he doesn't stop then you will have no choice, but to break communication and if he insists to keep on doing things that aren't of a healthy friendship relationship then I would break off the communication.
Hey it's not like you didn't warn/tell him multiple times. Sometimes you have to do things that are harsh and don't really want to have to do....it's life.
Hope this helps...
Blessed Be
break it off.
yes, you have to tell him that you will have to block his calls and whatever else if he does not back off (and tell your husband about it. he needs to know why you are doing this. it will encourage him to know how you are approaching this). even though you are committed to your husband, this could easily become a situation where your defenses could become weakened with his persistence. back up your words with action and do not allow him to try to weasel his way back into a relationship with you. he is probably assuming that since your husband is overseas that there is a chance he could weaken your resolve, but you must stand firm and not allow him to talk his way into more than what should be appropriate boundaries.
It's lonely being a military wife. try to seek out other wives. there are a lot of military wives here on xanga who might be able to help. i know of one in particular if you are interested.
Tell your husband what's going on, first of all.
Make sure he is fully informed so that there is no mistaking anything that happens while he is away.
And then... I'd cut off contact with C altogether. Tell him how uncomfortable it's making you, that you don't want your relationship with your husband, the father of your baby to be jeopardized and that it's time for him to move on.
Good luck!!
Although losing a friend is tough, perhaps for now the best thing would be to cut off all contact, at least until your husband gets home. The last thing any of our soldiers need while they are deployed is worrying about some jerk hitting on their wife while they are across the globe. Your hubby also does not need to worry about you being stressed over this dude either because you are carrying his child and stress is very bad for you right now (and him being deployed is stressful enough).
good luck.
~Big Sis~
@peanutbuttercup4me@xanga - As heartbreaking as it might be, it IS best to end the friendship, if it goes somewhere it shouldn't.
block him on everything you use/have.
if he keeps going, threaten a restraining order. that gets them.
@socialclash@xanga - do you think I should tell my husband NOW or wait till he gets back?
I don't want to seem "questionable" but, I do know if I tell him...he'll flip and there's nothing he can do about it right now. But, I also feel bad waiting till he comes home.
@sistertalk@xanga -
@peanutbuttercup4me@xanga - I really agree it's time to break the whole "friendship" off. Should I just ignore him from here on out or tell him "This is what's going on and this is why I'm not going to have contact with you anymore" ?
@YouTOme@xanga - Are there many military wife blogrings on xanga? I'd love to get to know more --- you are right...it is very lonely!
@heartbrokenone15@xanga - I am definitely a coward when it comes to being harsh. I usually ignore something and hope it goes away. Unfortunately this time it just became a bigger problem....
i would tell him now and also immediately tell him how you are dealing with it. he may flip, but at least he will know how faithful you are. chances are he's had suspicions about the guy himself too, so it might be reassuring to know you are handling it. also reassuring that you told him about it right away. if he does flip, realize that he would be reacting out of frustration and not to take it personally.
@XxFireXboltxX@xanga - Tell him now, if you can. As soon as possible. He's thousands of miles away and really can't do anything, but tell him exactly what has happened since he left, including your ex sending you the earrings, and any communications that have gone back and forth between you two. Send him copies of the emails (if there were any?) if you feel comfortable doing that. Tell him why you delayed telling him about it--were you just hoping the situation would resolve itself on his own? Even if you were, it's not going to work and you do need to be proactive about it.
Frankly, I think it would be much better for him to find out and not be able to do anything about it but watch you handle the situation, than find out about it third-party or when he gets home. Let him know exactly what's going on, what you plan to do about the situation. We've got your back!!
I know that doing something like this is hard, I'm only 18 but I've had to deal with an ex who just would not let things go before, and it's truly awful. But wouldn't you rather have your husband fully aware of the situation?
I think that telling him now, even though there's nothing he can do, shows how much trust you have in your relationship with your husband, how much you love him and want him to stay involved and informed in your life even though he's on the other side of the world.
What you need to do is actually break it to C the hard way, like a final ultimatum. If you don't get the message really, really clear to him, he's only going to keep doing what he's doing. If he still continues, maybe then it is best to call it quits with that contact.
@XxFireXboltxX@xanga - Yeah I don't think ignoring this problem is going to make it go away. I'm sorry that an old friendship turned sour, but it's the way it goes. I have had to let go of some of my high school friends and ex's go because of decisions they have made in life, growing apart, moving, etc...one I was friends with since 4th grade!
I use to be a coward also, but it's something you have to do and learn from. Once you get that through you head that it's for the best, it will be easy. Trust me...
Good luck and blessed be :)
First off, I know how hard it is to have your husband deployed--especially when your pregnant. My husband is also deployed right now and we have a babygirl who's about to turn 1. So I had our baby before he deployed. Is your husband going to be in states for the delivery? My friend had to deliver without her husband and I know that was tough also. but anyways, I think you should cut off ALL contacts because he's just going to destroy your marriage if this continues to happen.
@saraxqt@xanga - yeah, he'll actually be home in less than two months and I'm not due till June. :) (Short deployment -- yay air force...lol).
@socialclash@xanga - there are a few e-mails, I deleted almost everything he sent me (along with throwing away the card) but...you are right. I definitely don't want to seem like I've done anything I shouldn't do.
@XxFireXboltxX@xanga - that's awesome! June is my birthday :) woooo! haha yeah y'all are lucky for short deployments!!! good luck with y'all first child!
It's obvious that he has something other than just friendship in mind--he has some sort of hope that it can be like 'old times' once again, when you've made it abundantly clear that there can't be. For his sake, you should probably cut all ties--it will hurt, but he's a grown man who can take care of himself, and you don't need the worry/distraction with a baby on the way.
But try to do it gently. Talking face to face, in a public place might be a good idea, just to say goodbye. He will probably plead, and tell you he will back off, but if you decide to go through with this you need to do it fully--giving him 'one more chance' so to speak may give him false hope. Also, ask your husband for his opinion on this--he may have some insight, as he would know you better.
@XxFireXboltxX@xanga - I would wait to tell him until after you've handled the situation. Telling him before you've removed C from the picture will only frustrate him, and the last thing he needs to be is distracted if he is on active duty in a war zone.
Personally, I'd tell C to bugger off. Then, when the next opportunity presented itself for you to either video conference or speak to one another on the phone, then I would just calmly tell him that C was being annoying and you did not want to deal with so you told him to leave you alone. You aren't lying, but you aren't giving him details that are going to freak him out and cause him to lose focus. When he gets home, you can tell him the whole truth. He'll understand that you were looking out for him because he loves you and I'm sure he down plays the things he knows would worry you right now.
~Big Sis~
You really have to ask if it's time to break off contact?
I think you need to end the friendship with C, at least for a few months. He needs to feel like you aren't in his life like old times, like there is no chance, and like you aren't dependent on him. If after a few months or years you see that he is happy in his life with you not there, and he is dating, then you can try and talk again. Right now he still hopes (even if he knows that you're not interested) that something can happen again, and he is using you as a crutch. He is relying on you. He needs to learn to stand on his own two feet. If you care about him, and your husband, you'll break off contact until he becomes a mature, stable person.
You should send him one last email or phone call saying that you feel this friendship is making you uncomfortable and you feel you need some time to reevaluate a lot of things. You would prefer that he not contact you during this time. At all. And if he does you will not respond to, or even read his messages. IF you decide to speak to him again you will contact him, but not to wait, it won't be soon, if at all. Then do as you say and cut off contact.
If you see that he's doing alright in a year or two then you can try and talk to him again, if you feel the need.
Good luck
Honestly, I didn't read anything other than the title, but your husband is your husband for a reason, much like how your ex is an ex for a reason. Nothing is worth fucking up your marriage for, no matter how much chemistry or history you had with your ex. You didn't end up with him, so it's time for you to forget about him. Just because your husband is deployed doesn't mean you should adopt an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.
If you're worried about being lonely while he's gone, take up a new hobby, make new or reconnect with old friends, spend some time with your family, take part in some community volunteer work...the list of things is fairly endless and none of them need, or should, include your ex. Just remember, divorce can be a very long, very messy, very expensive process, but it's on your head to decide whether or not that's worth it for a few more "fun times" with an ex. Not that I'm assuming that you'd do something that you may later regret, but it should be in the back of your mind if you ever do contemplate making a stupid decision.
If I were you, I'd definitely cut it off. All contact. C doesn't seem to really be getting the picture so far, and you've been trying to make him see it for quite some time now. He's going to remain persistent. Plus, as others have said, if your husband hears about it, he'll wonder about it. He's across the world, it's not like he'll be able to find out for sure. Plus, it's natural that he'll be worried about the worst happening, at least a little. :/ Being friends with C isn't worth jeopardizing your relationship and future with your husband, at all.
I love how you're so devoted to your husband, there needs to be more people like that, male and female alike.