Honestly, I have never been able to tell anyone I know about this, and I want to get it off my chest. I'm posting it here because I don't really consider it a "TIFU" content. I'll explain.

Last year when the 2nd wave of COVID was kicking up, my wife (28F) and I (33M) were living in a cozy little 2 bedroom apartment near a large city in the Northeast. We had been married for 2 years and things were going pretty good honestly. One day she tells me that her single mother lost her job due to layoffs and she's really struggling financially. She asked if she could stay with us for a while til she got back on her feet.

Her mom (48F) is a really sweet lady, and they had a decent relationship. I was hesitant, but what would I do if it were my Mom right? So MIL moves in. Honestly, it was great having her around. She cooked a lot and kept the house picked up. She would hang out with us and watch movies but generally gave us our space too. Honestly - I thought it was going fine, but that clearly wasn't the case.

A few weeks turned into 3 months, and this is where things went south. My wife and MIL started bickering with each other a lot. We had stopped having sex because she was on edge all the time and said she didn't feel comfortable having sex with her Mom in the house. About this same time, she started spending a lot more time "out" with friends and working longer hours. Or so I thought.

In reality, no surprise to anyone reading this, she was having an affair. How I found out about it was pretty awesome - a buddy had seen them out at a bar making out. He said they then got into an Uber together and left. And... he sent me a picture of them kissing practically in real time. Honestly, and I just broke down. MIL comes out and tries to ask what's wrong. Is everything ok? OMG, did something happen to "Jenny". I told her Jenny was fine and I just needed some space.

When Jenny finally got home - ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. I hadn't planned on confronting her right then, but she demanded to know what was wrong. She could tell I'd been crying. She... just would not let up. So I said "fuck it" and showed her the picture. She looks like a ghost, starts yelling that it isn't her (hint: it was) and we proceed to just drag this cat through the mud right in front of MIL. She blamed me, blamed her mom, blamed COVID. Gets into an argument with both of us, Mom takes my side, Jenny packs a bag, and tells us both to go to hell.

The next day she tells me she is staying with a "friend" for a while and she needs some space. Yeah, I'm not stupid so I didn't ask which one. And that's what she did. We texted sporadically and she came by to a get a few things after a few days, but it was just me an MIL in the house most of the time.

And one night we are just sitting there watching a movie, I'm having some bourbon, she's drinking wine. I'm telling her how hard this has been, and she goes to pat my leg and then just never moves her hand. At this point, it's been over a month since I've had sex, I'm guessing longer for her, and it just happens. I looked up at her, she leaned in and... that was it. And reddit, let me tell you - experience counts. I .... had never been with a woman who was so sexually confident. She knew exactly what she wanted and it was crazy good chemistry. Despite being a little older and not my typical attraction, it was amazing. Yes, we both talked about how guilty it made us feel, but that didn't stop us from going at it like newlyweds for the next 8 days anytime I wasn't at work. Honestly, as horrible as it sounds, it was exactly the distraction I needed. Something to look forward to. At first we slept in different beds "just in case" but eventually I stayed in the extra bedroom with her twice. In hindsight, that was risky as hell but I was a mess and probably didn't care as much as I should have.

Now - you aren't going to love this part - but 2 weeks in Jenny calls. She wants to talk. Against my better judgement I said ok. She fessed up to everything. I.... did not. She apologized, cried, begged and in the end I agreed to see a marriage counselor. She says she wants to come back home, and that's what she did.

MIL moved out shortly after that and went to go live with a friend of hers in Florida where she had gotten a job offer actually making more than her previous position.

Jenny and I tried to make it work, but in the end I knew that I just couldn't get past it. I STILL love her, but I could never trust her again and that's no way to spend the next 50 years. It was just too much. I filed for divorce at the beginning of 2022- the hardest day of my life- and considering all of the texts and the picture I had, she agreed not to contest it and we are waiting for it to be finalized.

I moved in with a buddy who was glad for the help with rent, and MIL added me on facebook last week. I'm not saying I'm going to the beach anytime soon, but I am saying once all this is over, I'm not NOT going to the beach.