My wife demanded we open our marriage, but is now demanding we close it.

The Ultimatum and the Shift

My emotionally unstable wife forced me to open our marriage. When I found my own partner, she started demanding we close it and begged me to take her back.

I remember my wife asked me to open our marriage. Though I tried to say no, she gave me an ultimatum: either I agree to this or we are divorcing.

I gave in, and very soon she started going on dates and even got in a relationship with her manager. I remember catching them in our bed.

I exploded at her, telling her she broke the one rule we had. She called me gullible in front of him, then told me rules are meant to be broken before getting dressed and leaving with him that night.

I decided to start seeing other people too, and that’s when I met Charlotte. I fell hard and started dating her.

Seeing this flipped a switch in my wife. She started cooking for me again, initiating in bed, being the perfect wife.

A year ago, this would have meant the world to me, but now I truly didn’t care. My spark for her was dead. All I wanted was Charlotte.

That’s why when she came begging to close the marriage, I refused. She broke down crying and went to bed in tears.

That day, I knew I needed to talk to her. The next day, after we both had finished work, I sat her down.

I wanted to talk to her and I told her to be honest with me and tell me what inspired all this. She had told me it was her work friend group previously, and she remained consistent in that answer.

However, she added some details that I didn’t know. Not only did her work friend group plant the idea of the open marriage because my wife missed out due to us being together since middle school, but they also encouraged my wife to start an emotional affair with the new hot manager who showed up at her workplace.

This was the one I caught her in bed with. Apparently, they encouraged my wife to live free.

Apparently, my wife took a liking to the manager due to his encouragement, and it all developed into an emotional affair. It only got physical once the marriage opened.

She described it as being intoxicated behind the wheel of a speeding car. It was thrilling and intoxicating, but the price of this decision has become too much for her to bear.

She sees now that she never needed a comparison; what we had was truly unique and special. But now she feels like she destroyed our marriage and any chance of a life together.

I told her I might not ever be able to see her as my wife again, and this made her break down in front of me. I simply held her in silence as she cried until she fell asleep in my arms on the couch.

She has since left her job and cut off contact with all her friends and her manager. She even told me she is willing to spend the rest of her life making it up to me and working her fingers to the bone to be seen as a wife by me.

But I haven’t cut contact with my lover. Charlotte quite frankly makes me feel like a man, like I can challenge the world, and my wife hasn’t in a while.

We have our first marriage counseling session in a couple of hours. I am not sure how that will go.