i’m not ok, either

 Jess wrote last week (I think it was last week) about NOT being ok.And all I could think of was, I’m not ok, either.

Because I’m not. My feelings about being wary of my husband going through therapy became true; because to talk about himself means to talk about me. I’m so tangled up in his lies and his past that of course I would come up. And then it brought up more things that were lies….and it’s left me feeling broken. Every single thing on every list of emotional manipulation and sexual predator behavior he used on me in the beginning, over and over, and made me feel safe so I would trust him. Finding all of this out 21 years later is a sucker punch to the gut. Sad. Angry. Hurt. Disgusted. Just sick to my stomach over each memory. Realizing just how far he went to get what he wanted…convincing me to not use protection and try for a baby, all while doing the same thing with his wife (who I knew nothing about until I was 4 months pregnant).

Realizing how he failed to protect me then, and how he failed to protect me now. He held on to the secrets and lies and made me go to his ex-wife to find out the truth. It was brutal and painful and horrific in every way to sit across from this person and hear all about my husband who I thought I knew. And then when I didn’t have all the pieces, instead of coming clean he made my brain work like a detective to put everything in order.

And then my brain and body had the realization that he, as a victim of sexual abuse, abused me by abusing my trust, by lying to me about absolutely everything and hiding anything he didn’t want me to see. Hurt people Hurt people, and he hurt me. Parts of me feel beyond repair. Physically my body does not want to be close to his. The few words he says ring hollow. Everything I’ve ever asked of him he hasn’t been able to do. He’s broken too. And he broke me.

What do you do if the foundation of your relationship was based on lies and deceit, and manipulation?? How in the hell do you even begin to fix that? All while knowing leaving isn’t an option. I will not punish my kids because of him. And ironically, he’s a pretty decent dad, albeit not super affectionate as they get older. But man.

I feel stupid. I feel humiliated. I feel used. I feel violated. I feel lost. I feel such a deep sadness it feels like it may swallow me whole.

I don’t know when I’ll be ok again.