Yes, a marriage can survive infidelity. It’s not going to be easy, as you probably already have guessed. There are many things to work through. When infidelity happens, the hurt partner can get PTSD due to the magnitude of the betrayal. Infidelity is not just one big lie. It’s also many little lies too. The hurt partner questions everything about their marriage. Common questions are: Was anything I experienced real? Did my spouse ever love me? Am I loveable? Am I attractive?
Having someone cheat on you is literally traumatizing.
Yet, another interesting thing to note is that if a partner cheats on their spouse, they don’t usually leave them for the person they cheated with. And if they do leave, a lot of times this newly formed couple ends up breaking up because of a lack of trust. This is validated by the renowned couples’ therapist and researcher John Gottman.
For the hurt partner, it is a difficult decision whether to stay or leave the marriage. If the person decides to stay, the partner who cheated needs to show true atonement. One thing that helps the healing process is the betrayer showing genuine pain because they caused their partner pain. Stay tuned for more on this topic.