A marriage counselor whose husband allegedly cheated on her with another woman says staying with her straying spouse has been the best decision of her life.
Charity Craig, 46, is now on a mission to tell other wives that they’re not weak if they choose to stand by their man and their marriage.
“When you choose to stay and heal your marriage after his affair and it turns out to be the best decision,” the mom-of-four wrote over a viral TikTok video back in March.
The clip featured footage of Craig and her hubby, Matt, cuddling, kissing and laughing with their children, making memories in the aftermath of the affair.
Craig captioned the post: “I know everyone tells you to divorce that SOB because you’re weak and lack self-worth to stay after his affair. But I call BS.”
She continued: “After we walked through hell to heal, love and trust again. I discovered just how strong and worthy I am. I wouldn’t trade this second life we’ve built for anything.”
Craig — who has been married for 19 years — did not disclose when her husband’s apparent affair took place.
Her video quickly garnered more than 1.4 million views, but not everyone was in agreement about the mom’s sentiments.
“There’s not a man walking this earth that deserves to be forgiven for such a deeply heinous and appalling betrayal,” one wrote. “I’m truly sorry for you.”
“Once that betrayal happens, it would never be the same,” another concurred. “You would always be left to wonder. Emotional hell.”
Many others claimed that Craig’s husband would almost certainly be unfaithful again.
Meanwhile, some expressed surprise that the wife would go public with the cheating story and share photos of her philandering husband — as well as their children — online.
“Some stuff just needs to be revealed only in a personal journal — not to the public,” one judgmental viewer charged.
However, Craig says she has gone public with her personal story to prove it is possible for a marriage to survive a cheating scandal.
The blond promotes “affair recovery” and even offers a free workshop for those who have found out about their partner’s betrayal.
In addition to giving tips to the spurned party, Craig has also shared advice for the cheater in the relationship.
In a video posted last week titled “How to help your spouse heal after your affair,” she revealed several of the most important things a sorry spouse could do.
First, she advised the cheater to cut off all contact with the person with whom they were unfaithful.
She also said the philanderer should “show remorse” and “empathy” to their hurt partner before embarking on some serious self-reflection to work out why they strayed in the first place.
However, Craig may be speaking to a small number of people, given that a recent study found many cheaters have no remorse over their actions because the flings feel sexually and emotionally satisfying.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences surveyed nearly 2,000 users of Ashley Madison, a popular website for people seeking extramarital affairs.
“We don’t see solid evidence here that people’s affairs are associated with lower relationship quality or lower life satisfaction,” lead author Dylan Selterman said in a news release. “Sometimes they’ll cheat even if their relationships are pretty good.”
About 20 to 25 percent of married people — and 33 to 50 percent of young adults in dating relationships — have had sex outside their relationships, according to the study.
However, a 2019 Gallup poll revealed other sentiments at work.
A huge majority of people do not believe extramarital affairs are acceptable. with 89 percent describing an extramarital affair as “morally wrong.”
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