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Infidelity in Paradise
#1
It happened to our marriage - wife went off the rails, had some depression, overpowering stress, and got preyed upon by a man with poor morals. I stopped it before it got far, and we are healing but it's hard.

Chances are it's going to happen in your marriage if it hasn't already - statistically infidelity will occur in over 50% of marriages. It doesn't have to happen though if you are willing to put in the work, and abandon some notions that may have made sense 50 years ago but don't apply now.

Abandon your ideas of privacy, I need and grant privacy when I am using the bathroom or she is otherwise our lives need to be open books. Trouble is incremental, generally people get themselves into bad situations step by step and don't just jump into affairs. This is all too tough to do if there is complete open-ness with Facebook, Email, Cell-phones, and finances. If you or your spouse needs excessive privacy and needs to engage in a lot of independent behavior, then be single. Marriage is about a partnership and joint action, privacy is about concealment.

There are a ton of feral people out there, with no larger goal in life than to gratify themselves with whoever comes along wether it be your wife or husband. Don't believe me look on Craigslist, or Fetlife, or Adultfriendfinder, or any of the dating sites if you discover your spouse has been browsing any of those it should be a huge red flag unless you have negotiated an open marriage (if that's you good luck I'm not speaking to you). Most people out there flat out don't care what you've put into your marriage, and what you've sacrificed they just want to gratify themselves with your wife or husband if that's what happens.

In Hawaii County alone there are some 1,000 folks listed on Fetlife, teachers, your neighbors, your friends. Now what consenting adults do between themselves is their business, but the website and atmosphere there promotes gratification above everything else.

What are you going to do to prevent infidelity in your marriage? Communication, transparency, and boundaries. No flirting you or her, share all Facebook, Email, and Phone passwords period. Be very careful with opposite sex friendships, infidelity researchers and writers almost uniformly say that it's never "Just Friends".

Even though we are the "Big Island" it's a small place, and people should be more careful. The other man in my case should be thankful I renewed my relationship with God, I know who he is and I could probably harm him, and his business, and unfortunately probably his family - but I'm working really hard on the forgiveness angle.

Remember stuff can escalate quickly the internet makes everything unreal and very fast. Affairs are almost a form of mental illness and addiction, your spouse engaging in infidelity is definitely in an altered mental state- they aren't the version of the person that you love at that moment.

It's possible to recover from infidelity, but it's much better to prevent it if possible.

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#2
Often Overlooked... Is the stress of one's marriage or relationship on the move here.

There are more questions on what to bring etc...etc... than how will the stress be dealt with on both parties. Since some come here to retire or find that happy paradise they have been dreaming about.

If you look at the top 5 stress causes they are:

Moving House
The very thought of moving house can fill people with dread – and experts say that as the most expensive and life-changing financial transaction most people ever undertake, it’s probably also one of the most stressful.

Next is Money... Yeah it's not cheap to live here.

Than there is Jobs. Most people don't come here with jobs ... So a job change is stressful enough. Some people find it almost impossible to find work here.

Than of course... Moving to an island and trying to fit into a totally diffrent lifestyle is no feat.

Moving 3K miles and giving most of your belongings away and saying goodbye to friends and family is about the worst stress anyone can go through.

Ah well! The rewards are worth it... Even if you have to MOVE ON from your relationship with your lover. I say don't let your dreams get in your way. Hawaii is a place to not only grow but learn about your true self and find out who you really are.

Only come here with someone if your LOVE is VERY strong. If there are problems now they will be 10 fold in 6-8 months after you move here.
Hawaii is the ultimate test on any relationship.

If you already have a ton of problems, it's best to deal with those on the mainland and come here single and find someone that is already been here that likes it here.

Probably top reason why people only last 6-8 months here is because someone in the family doesn't like it here and wants to move back. Love does crazy things to people.
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#3
That's an excellent point Eric. We only moved over from Oahu, but it was a drastic change for the wife.
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#4
I'm sorry for what you're going through. But what concerns me is that you're dealing with it by coming here anonymously to a herd of strangers. It makes me think that you don't have a support system, no one to talk to about this, no one to grieve with. Did you leave that behind on Oahu?

Maybe that lack of support for both of you contributed to the problem. I would suggest that you try to re-connect with people who know you and care about you. And some marriage counselling wouldn't be a bad idea, either, to let you each talk about what's going wrong in the relationship.

><(((*> ~~~~ ><(("> ~~~~ ><'> ~~~~ >(>
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#5
Thanks for the concern. We are actually dealing with it fairly well, as we can. She is in individual therapy, and we are going to utilize a new therapist together.

Unfortunately she didn't simply understand how to communicate honestly, and when she was overwhelmed by her family, and in the middle of severe depression she was vulnerable, and a local man took advantage of it. I had so much inherent trust in her I was not suspicious until it was too later.

We've now made a point of clearly establish appropriate boundaries, and emphasized honesty, trust, and transparency.

My goal is to help people avoid similar situations, and make them aware of the negative influences and exploitative forces that are out in our community.
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#6
Infidelity in Paradise

Two words that don't belong in the same sentence.

Good luck.
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#7
Thanks we've come a long way, I hope that sharing our pain will cause people to wake up and examine the need for boundaries in their own marriages.

Statistically about 6 in 10 marriages, will experience infidelity, which should be a sobering thought.

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#8
There are predatory people everywhere, and have been all through human history. Some people just like the challenge of getting in the middle of a couple, maybe it gives them some sort of sick satisfaction, or a sense of power. Hawaii is no different than anywhere else in that regard, human nature is the same everywhere. Anyone who doesn't know that infidelity happens is hopelessly naive, and won't listen to your tale of woe anyway, and those who aren't naive already know this stuff happens, and don't need to read the intimate details on what happened in your marriage. In my observation of the human condition, people who feel respected, valued, loved, supported, and listened to in their relationship are not tempted when some sweet talker tries to woo them. There has to be some sort of unmet need already there waiting to be exploited, and if there is an unmet need, there are those who will be right there to offer to fill it. The best way to prevent infidelity is to make sure you are treating your partner with the love and respect they need, not spying on their every move, only allowing them privacy in the bathroom, and publicly trumpeting the news of their misdeed on a public forum.

Why would anyone who is trying to survive something as potentially devastating as infidelity post about it on a public forum, especially with so many deeply private and personal details about your wife? Did she have any say on this being divulged to strangers? This post reeks of trying to publicly shame someone while wearing the disguise of a good Samaritan; The Scarlet Letter comes to mind.

Maybe I sound harsh here, but I have trouble believing that someone who sincerely wants to save their relationship would post something like this, instead it is the kind of thing someone would do if they want to publicly humiliate and punish their spouse. This is a small island as you said, and people who know you and your wife will read this, someone will put 2 and 2 together, and then it is just a matter of time until it is all over the coconut wireless. I hope you don't have kids who will have to hear the gossip. Talk about over sharing! I wish I had stopped at "It happened to our marriage-wife went off the rails....

Carol
Carol

Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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#9
That's not the intent at all Carol, to protect my wife from any further embarrassment though I have leave out a lot of detail, and be relatively anonymous.

I appreciate your perspective. The pain was so devastating, if I can save anyone else going through it I will.
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#10
Hmmmmmm, ok, I've used Craigslist, but never heard of the others.
Something just doesn't seem to read right here. Think Carol senses it also.
On a different note related to moving here, some have a problem of too much, sudden togetherness. Often a couple leave a life where they were barely ships passing in the night - 2 jobs, plenty activities individually, most of their together hours spent sleeping etc. Move here and suddenly hours and hours of wake time togetherness.

David

Ninole Resident
Please visit vacation.ninolehawaii.com
Ninole Resident
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