I felt guilty about my feelings but overwhelmed by them at the same time. I hoped this intense love I felt for him would dissipate, but it never did. He knew I was married, but we didn’t talk about it. We became inseparable, but nothing physical happened at first. He encouraged my photography and I think I did some of my best work during that time. I had never seen him before, but somehow I recognized him…I just knew he was supposed to be in my life. I remember so clearly the day I met him, he walked into the room and I felt this wave of energy. I met him while still in college, we were in a photography class together. So I wouldn’t say I was wildly happy but I wasn’t unhappy – I figured we were just working through some things and I hoped he would come around.Ĭould you tell us about the man you had the affair with? How did you meet him? How was he different from your husband? Did he know you were married? I think he liked our reserved life (which felt very restricted to me) and didn’t want it to change. I wanted to be healthy and able to be myself, and I thought my husband would embrace this.īut he seemed threatened by it and became very judgmental. I didn’t want to curtail my life anymore. How long had you been married when you began to have the affair? Were you actively unhappy in your marriage?Ībout a year into our relationship I started really focusing on getting well. He wanted to be a support to me and I found his presence very comforting. He was older than I and extremely intelligent, responsible, and self-assured. I was having a particularly difficult time in college, and it was about a year in that I met and began my relationship with my husband. I went undiagnosed with Celiac disease from ages 12 – 28 and it was extremely debilitating most of the time. From a young age I wanted to fully experience another person, build something, expand one another’s lives.Īnd I did – with some boyfriends it was sexual growth or emotional growth, or it was intellectual, but I was never able to connect on multiple levels with one person.Ī complicating and important part of this story is my health. My parents divorced when I was 3 and have both been married 3 times to very different people with very different family dynamics resulting each time. We’re going to keep the comments respectful, right?Ĭould you tell us a bit about your romantic/relationship history? Were your parents happily married? I really appreciate Jo’s candor and her willingness to do this non-anonynmous interview. I imagine that many readers have strong feelings about marriage and fidelity.

This is the story of Jo, her marriage, and her affair. This is one of many True Story interviews in which we talk to people who have experienced interesting/amazing/challenging things.

The true story of fman part 10