SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

Curious how you would handle a situation where your in laws told you to come to a resolution one year after finding out about your spouse’s affair so things can go back to normal for them. We have never been super close, and obviously the affair recovery caused more strain, but my spouse and I are trying to work through it and have still included them in activities with our children through the past year.

I had a sweet elderly lady neighbor tell me, after about a year post-D-Day, that I needed to "put it behind me..." She was such a sweet and sincere woman, that at first I thought she was just more of a saint in her temperament than I ever claimed to be. Later on, I heard some stories about her late husband and now I think perhaps she was just trying to share with me what had worked for her. Perhaps it is the same with your In-Laws?

[This message edited by Superesse at 7:04 PM, Wednesday, November 5th]

I should add it was not said kindly…at all. It was very harsh.

Spit on them.

Well, you could try to explain to them how hard it is to survive infidelity, recover and heal. If they don't listen, or don't care, the next logical, rational, mature, adult thing to do would be to tell them, as politely as possible, to fuck off.

It's not their marriage and if they can't be supportive perhaps time near them should be severely limited.

I would think your WS should take the lead in communicating and defending you and the marriage, as they failed to do in the A. Time to step up and be accountable.

You could just be entirely honest with them.

Id go with a text, somewhere along the lines of:

I am trying to find a resolution to this but at this time am unsure what the resolution is. I'm working on moving forward with them but ultimately this may be too much for me to overcome. This may end our marriage but in the meantime, I want to work towards that not being the case. I can't put a timeline on it, I'm not sure how things are going to go

ChasingSunSets,

Great name. Sorry you are facing this with your in-laws. It is possible they are trying to protect their daughter or in some twisted way blaming you for her affair. No way to know but a strong possibility. If they are attempting to blame you or protect their daughter then that just makes what Trdd said spot on.

I would think your WS should take the lead in communicating and defending you and the marriage, as they failed to do in the A. Time to step up and be accountable.

I think nearly everyone here would agree that there is no, on demand, "getting over it! Without processing it correctly it will not end well if it ends at all. And that typically takes far more than a year. In fact the 1st year mark often is a backwards movement from where one is at year 1. There is no "time stamp" but you are on the right path reaching out to those of us who have been where you are at and understand how dismissive it is to be told: it has been long enough and you need to get over it!

If you wife, or you, have a come-to-jesus moment with them and they keep up the pressure then I suggest you consider following Unhinge’s advice:

the next logical, rational, mature, adult thing to do would be to tell them, as politely as possible, to fuck off.

His way is straight forward and to the point. Might even be a little satisfying. ;)

Of course, you probably would be better served by taking DRSOOLERS’ approach:

I am trying to find a resolution to this but at this time am unsure what the resolution is. I'm working on moving forward with them but ultimately this may be too much for me to overcome. This may end our marriage but in the meantime, I want to work towards that not being the case. I can't put a timeline on it, I'm not sure how things are going to go

Asterisk

Ask them if they would say the same thing if she shot you in the back because this is the emotional equivalent of that and pain does not disappear on demand.

Tell them that if they were better parents then there would be no resolution to come to.

Thank you everyone. Luckily WS has been great about setting boundaries with the in laws. It’s just frustrating that no matter how many times we have tried to explain that this is a long, difficult and very painful process, they just don’t seem to get it.

It's impossible to understand the magnitude of infidelity unless you've been there and done that. So, they'll never get it.

I can very much relate to your situation. My in-laws are completely delusional and blamed me for why their son had an A — it’s mind-numbing, honestly. They never once acknowledged what he did to me, or had the basic human decency to send a simple "thinking of you" message to me or my kids when everything fell apart. That level of indifference and blame during the worst tragedy of my life was enough for me — like you, my relationship with my in-laws wasn’t a close one and after the A explosion I was officially just done with them.

My H has always had my back and told them, that what they did was wrong and even laid out how they could start to make amends if they truly cared about repairing the relationship. But instead of taking accountability, they doubled down, played the victim, and continued to blame-shift. At that point, he (we) realized boundaries were absolutely necessary. He (we) made it clear that access to us (and especially the kids) would depend on mutual respect, not denial or manipulation — let’s just say we’re still waiting.

If I were you and my in-laws had come to me a year later asking for a "resolution" just so things could go back to normal for them, I honestly would’ve struggled not to laugh at the audacity. Healing from betrayal isn’t about making anyone else comfortable. If they genuinely wanted peace or reconnection, that would need to start with empathy and ownership, not pressure to "move on" because it’s convenient for them.

You’re already showing more grace than most by continuing to include them in your children’s lives despite all the hurt. That’s incredibly strong of you. Just remember that boundaries aren’t punishment — they’re protection, and you have every right to enforce them until you see genuine change.

My ex had two mothers, his stepmother and his bio. He was raised by his stepmother, who I loved. His bio, well she was just special. She occasionally opened mouth and inserted foot. Usually, when she gave unsolicited advice, i would just laugh in a patronizing way and then ignore what she said. Once, I think I said something like, "Well that was fucking rude, huh!" Then, I just walked away. I have little energy for stupid shit. And dontbeven get me started on the one SIL that thought she could out petty me!