this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2026
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Off My Chest

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Wasn't sure if I wanted to put it out there, but I needed a place to let it out. I suppose my situation was too good to be true. Dated for years, but the marriage itself did not make it to a single year, at least unofficially.

It's been a stressful time. She previously had a government job under an agency that doge culled. She loved her job. I realize that as a society we work too much, but to some degree people do want to feel productive and that many people find their workplaces to be places of belonging. She apologized for taking so long to come to this conclusion, but she mentioned that this time away from work has helped a lot with self-reflection.

I was aware that she considered herself bi previously and that she had relations with women before. I wasn't aware of the extent of it. She told me she felt compulsory heterosexuality for a long time, but wasn't entirely sure of it and I was her last chance in regards to men. She told me she still loved me, just not that way, and that I was the best partner she'd ever had, that she was remorseful about not being compatible in that regard. We discussed a lot of more private feelings, mostly trying to understand and showing concern for each other.

I support her. If that's how she feels then that's how she feels, and she deserves to be happy. I'm not angry with her, and we're not leaving each others lives, just changing roles. It still hurts a lot, but that's life sometimes. It isn't anyone's fault.

That said I'm glad I won't be doing anything tomorrow. I'm just struggling to function right now. And yeah, that's how it's going.

Edit: I slept in today quite a bit. I've read through most of the replies and it really melted my heart. I cried a bit. I didn't expect so many kind words or this much encouragement. I appreciate a lot of the advice too. I don't really know how to express any gratitude beyond this. I will try to reply a bit more later, but I need to take some more time to myself for a while. Thank you.

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[–] letsgo2themall@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

I went through the same thing like 12 years ago. Married 15 years, wife comes out of the closet suddenly (I should mention, I caught her making out with a gal at a party, so she didn't have a choice really). It was hard to wrap my head around for a long time because, as far as I could tell, there was nothing leading up to it. We had a great sex life, mostly great marriage, kids, mortgage, the works. We argued like most couples do over money and things like that but it was never anything we couldn't solve. I found out that this is a lot more common than people think. I ended up in therapy because, like others said, it's like someone dying. The person you knew isn't really there anymore. At least, that's how it feels. My ex and I are friends now, and I'm friends with her wife as well but that took a lot of years. Talking to a counselor really helped me come up with, and stick to a plan. We got married right out of high school so really, we didn't even know who we were or what we wanted. No one should get married before age 30. Struggling to function is your right, so don't beat yourself up. I didn't eat for 4 days and lived mostly on coffee and cigars (she hated my occasional cigar, so when she cheated I went out and bought a box of them. petty but whatever).