The first six months after learning about the cheating were really difficult. He decided we were going to be good friends and continued to inject himself into my life. I was too shocked by what had happened to ask myself what was right for me and like most people, I also thought he would come to his senses and change his mind.
At the six month mark I reached my breaking point. I could no longer handle spending time in his company and had a meltdown in a public parking lot when parting ways with him. When I got home from that conversation I found the golf bag he had shipped me for my birthday so that I would still go golfing with him.
When I look back now I see how afraid I was to leave a relationship that was making me unhappy. I also see the conflict in his actions toward me about causing it to end. People who cheat often aren’t prepared to take responsibility for their actions. It’s also quite normal for them to blame their partner for their cheating. All I knew then was I could no longer function with his being part way in my life and part way out.