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Reconciliation :
Telling WS's AP's spouse

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 YouCanHaveThePettyLiar (original poster new member #87450) posted at 10:15 AM on Monday, June 8th, 2026

I'm wondering how many have told your WS's AP's spouse and how it went?

Thanks!

posts: 8   ·   registered: Jun. 5th, 2026
id 8897103
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sisoon ( Moderator #31240) posted at 4:34 PM on Monday, June 8th, 2026

I was not told, even though OBS was told about the A (and that it would be ongoing) 10 days before I found out. It's been 15 years, and I'm still pissed at OBS.

fBH (me) - on d-day: 66, Married 43, together 45, same sex ap
d-day - 12/22/2010 Recover'd and R'ed
You don't have to like your boundaries. You just have to set and enforce them.

posts: 31987   ·   registered: Feb. 18th, 2011   ·   location: Illinois
id 8897134
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BearlyBreathing ( member #55075) posted at 5:02 PM on Monday, June 8th, 2026

i didn’t tell b/c I fell for the "don’t get involved" silliness. The AP told her OBS shortly thereafter and they filed for divorce, so then it was too late.. This has been a big regret of mine since DDAY. I wish I had reached out to him and shared what I knew.. He and their kids deserved better.

Me: BS 57 (49 on d-day)Him: *who cares ;-) *. D-Day 8/15/2016 LTA. Kinda liking my new life :-)

**horrible typist, lots of edits to correct. :-/ **

posts: 6902   ·   registered: Sep. 10th, 2016   ·   location: Northern CA
id 8897139
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BackfromtheStorm ( member #86900) posted at 5:04 PM on Monday, June 8th, 2026

If you know who he is you should definitely inform him.

Everyone deserves to know if the person at their side is a PoS.

You are welcome to send me a PM if you think I can help you. I respond when I can.

posts: 766   ·   registered: Jan. 7th, 2026   ·   location: Poland
id 8897141
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Twitchy ( member #25393) posted at 5:57 PM on Monday, June 8th, 2026

I've dredged this up from the bowels of time [my past posts].
It's an illustration that things almost never go as planned...

That could not have gone worse. I'm a little shaky at the moment.

Called OBW this morning, about 20 minutes ago. A male voice picked up the phone. I asked for his OBW and he put her on the phone.

I asked if she knew OM and she said yes, you were just taking with him. I asked if she had a minute to talk and that this might go better if we could talk privately.

I tried to tell her that her husband had had an inappropriate internet relation with my wife some time back. She stated to rely the information to her husband, some what confused.

OM then blew up in the background. Said "Oh my god that was 5 years ago"

She asked him some questions I can't remember and I heard him explain that he knew who I was, that I had been stalking him on Linked-in. I had checked his profile a few times. You can see who looks at your profile and I have to admit I kinda wanted him to know I was looking. Not very flattering on my part I admit. He told her to tell me he was calling the cops.

So he got on the phone and tells me he's going to call the police if me or my slut wife ever call there again. Then hung up.

I was out running an errand at the time so I came home and let my fWW know about the call and told her to immediately tell me if he tries to call and forward any e-mail he might send her. She said she would and I believe her.

I'm not worries about his threats. Let him call. The police will laugh in his face.

I'm sorry I couldn't provide her more information. Maybe she'll reach out to me if she can. I didn't block my number and I used a work phone.

Time to calm down a little. I need a drink or three.

And my follow-up post a few months later when I gave it another try...

A few months ago, I found the other BS's phone number and tried to call her. The OM was there and the call did not go well.

She asked him some questions and he took the phone from her. I was too stunned to speak but he shouted a few vulgar words, threatened to report me for harassment and hung up on me. It was the first time I'd called there but he had seen me look up his profile a few times on Linked-In while I was trying to find their number or her e-mail.

Well, I tried again today. Finally had a chance to speak with her. She was very angry and accused me of trying to ruin her life just because mine had been ruined. I told her that I thought she had every right to know what was going on and that I could provide proof. She said she already knew about it. Guess OM spun her a tale.

So I told her if she didn't want to speak with me I wouldn't call back. She said she didn’t want to see any of the proof so I ended the call.

That was one of the hardest calls I’ve ever had to make. I still feel sick and shaky.

I've gone over the conversation few times and I realize how I played it was the only way to go.

I'd been thinking that I should have tried to convince her to listen to what I had to say. But on the first call a few months ago, OM outed himself to her when he shouted at me over the phone. That meant he had to explain something after he hung up.

Most likely he spun me as a crazy stoker out to ruin their lives. That's what she accused me of doing, trying to ruin their lived because mine was ruined. That statement implies to me that she thinks something significant happened. she just doesn't want it to happen to her.

If I had tried to push the info on her, I'd have come off as the stoker OM made me out to be.

I heard a great expression the other day, "These people really need some common sense shouted at them." Seems to fit this situation is some ways.

Regardless of the outcome, I never regretted making that call. The OBW needed to know who she was married to and the true state of their relationship. I found out a few years later they divorces sometime afterward.

BH(me)-57, FWW-Past,D-Day #1 - Oct 2007 - On-Line EA leading to a failed rendez-vous. D-Day #2 - Nov 2008 - In person EA caught early.

Away you will go, sailing in a race among the ruins.If you plan to face tomorrow, do it soon. Gordon Li

posts: 785   ·   registered: Sep. 2nd, 2009   ·   location: Ontario - Canada
id 8897145
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This0is0Fine ( member #72277) posted at 6:26 PM on Monday, June 8th, 2026

This is an easy one, I told, and it went fine, but OBS never followed up.

I told 3 other BS's about affairs I found out about. "Captain Infidelity".

Love is not a measure of capacity for pain you are willing to endure for your partner.

posts: 3115   ·   registered: Dec. 11th, 2019
id 8897149
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 YouCanHaveThePettyLiar (original poster new member #87450) posted at 10:56 AM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

Did telling WS's AP's spouse have any positive or negative impact on your own reconciliation process?

posts: 8   ·   registered: Jun. 5th, 2026
id 8897178
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WhiteCarrera ( member #29126) posted at 3:20 PM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

This question comes up often, and you may find additional advice in previous threads. In my case, contacting the AP and other betrayed spouse were two of the best things I did.

By contacting the AP, I made sure he realized that I was in the loop -- I knew what had happened, I knew the timeframe, and I had all the phone records. I knew his job would be at risk, and I had no hesitation to do whatever I thought was best for MY situation, not his or hers. Instantly I had an upper hand, making it clear there were no repercussions that I was afraid to face (that was not true for either of them). I've always laughed and described him like a freshman being sent to the principal's office for the first time. He was scared.

By contacting the other spouse, everything came out in the open. I had been led to believe that she was aware of the affair, and that the other couple was already in marriage counseling. They may have been in counseling, but she had no idea about their affair. She and I agreed to have an open line of communication & to share any new information we gained, and our spouses had nowhere to hide.

Married 13 years @ D-Day in 2009. Still hanging in there (maybe by a thread sometimes)

posts: 406   ·   registered: Jul. 23rd, 2010   ·   location: Midwest
id 8897186
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Twitchy ( member #25393) posted at 3:54 PM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

It helped burn away the fog.


My WW had a very hard time realizing Emotional Affairs were actually a thing and that she had one.

Having the OBS directly effected by her actions, and hearing that her former AP called her a slut gave her a new perspective.

And POSOM didn't follow through with his threats. He couldn't without dragging everything further into the light.

[This message edited by Twitchy at 3:57 PM, Tuesday, June 9th]

BH(me)-57, FWW-Past,D-Day #1 - Oct 2007 - On-Line EA leading to a failed rendez-vous. D-Day #2 - Nov 2008 - In person EA caught early.

Away you will go, sailing in a race among the ruins.If you plan to face tomorrow, do it soon. Gordon Li

posts: 785   ·   registered: Sep. 2nd, 2009   ·   location: Ontario - Canada
id 8897187
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Pogre ( member #86173) posted at 5:04 PM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

Did telling WS's AP's spouse have any positive or negative impact on your own reconciliation process?


Positive or negative in what way? Most of the people here who have told the OBS have felt better for having done it so I would call that positive.

Would it be negative if your wayward spouse got upset that you told the OBS? I think if a wayward gets upset over that, you doing the honest and right thing, then they might not be a good candidate for reconciliation.

Where am I going... and why am I in this handbasket?

posts: 704   ·   registered: May. 18th, 2025   ·   location: Arizona
id 8897190
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 YouCanHaveThePettyLiar (original poster new member #87450) posted at 6:02 PM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

Yes the WS got upset with telling the OBS. I think they are too far gone and thinking they are sorry for the AP. But neither of them recognise it's their own actions led to the destroy of two families.

posts: 8   ·   registered: Jun. 5th, 2026
id 8897199
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Unhinged ( member #47977) posted at 6:09 PM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026

I cannot accurately attest to what percentage of BS informed the OBS. My best guess, however, would be a super majority.

One practical reason for informing the OBS is that affairs cannot thrive in the light of day. Once exposed, continued secrecy becomes increasingly difficult.

Another practical reason is that a BS gains another source of information. While not perfectly reliable, because WS will lie, sharing information can, and usually does, expose those lies.

Speaking philosophically, morally, I honestly believe we all have an obligation to look out for one another, even strangers. By informing the OBS, you've done a "good deed." You've helped them by giving them back their agency.

For me, personally, it went a bit further, and this was my deciding factor. By keeping the affair secret, I became an accomplice, which was not something my conscience would allow.

In my situation, the OBS thanked me for informing her. I'd sent her a letter by registered mail detailing everything I knew and how I knew it all. I included our names and address, and my contact information (phone number, email, and even Fakebook info).

Did telling WS's AP's spouse have any positive or negative impact on your own reconciliation process?

That's difficult to assess for the simple reason that I cannot know what might have been different had I made a different choice. What I can say is that once I told my exww about it, after receiving replies from the OBS, she was forced to accept that not only had she hurt me, she'd also hurt a complete stranger (although she knew AP was married).

Also, I think, it forced her to accept the consequences of her actions. The husband she had before was no longer going to protect her at any cost. In that respect, I think informing the OBS was a net positive.

Married 2005
D-Day April, 2015
Divorced May, 2022

"The Universe is not short on wake-up calls. We're just quick to hit the snooze button." -Brene Brown

posts: 7360   ·   registered: May. 21st, 2015   ·   location: Colorado
id 8897200
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 YouCanHaveThePettyLiar (original poster new member #87450) posted at 6:56 AM on Wednesday, June 10th, 2026

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. These are very helpful. I also believed that the OBS has the right to know, because I would want to know and it was the right thing to do.

But the WS had gaslit me into think that these are the reason why our marriage had to end.

It was a hard trap to climb out of. Your help is tremendous!

posts: 8   ·   registered: Jun. 5th, 2026
id 8897239
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