My Husband Flirts and Thinks It’s No Big Deal
Catching your husband ogling other women feels bad.
It can shake your confidence and make you feel less desirable.
But when you hear his voice lilt when he’s speaking to another woman or catch him texting or Facebooking her, that sets your alarms off and makes you feel truly terrible.
Can you really trust him? Is it completely innocent, like he claims? Or is he crossing the line?
Where does it stop?
Sometimes there’s no real way to know, so your mind wanders and strikes fear in your heart.
Fortunately, you can restore your confidence, get the respect you deserve and preserve the passion, all at the same time.
Here are 4 questions to ask when your husband flirts and says it’s nothing:
Contents
1. Ask Yourself “What Am I Afraid Of?”
Here’s an insight that changed my whole life: Whenever I’m tempted to control the way my husband interacts with other people, it’s because I’m afraid.
I’m afraid he’ll make the wrong impression and I’ll feel embarrassed, or that he won’t get a good deal and I’ll have to go without.
If I’m not afraid, I don’t have to try to control.
When you find yourself trying to get your husband to stop flirting with other women, it’s because you’re afraid of something.
Knowing the answer to the question “What are you afraid of?” is a good start to tapping into your power to inspire his undying loyalty to you and only you.
When I learned that my husband had looked up three ex-girlfriends on Facebook, it gave me pause.
I remember wondering why he would do that. I realized I was afraid he was still thinking about them, which I didn’t like.
I was afraid he might reconnect with one of them and renew their relationship.
If I kept going, I could worry that would lead to him cheating or abandoning me for someone else.
Maybe that’s what you’re afraid of too.
Or your fear might be something else entirely. Once you unearth your fear, let’s move on to the next question.
2. Ask Yourself “Is My Fear Realistic?”
I knew it was realistic that my husband still thought of his ex-girlfriends occasionally. After all, he had looked them up after decades of being out of touch, so clearly they had crossed his mind.
But when I ask myself whether it’s realistic that he would ever rekindle a relationship with any of them in person, much less cheat and leave me, I have to admit that seems unlikely.
First of all, I heard about this offense from him sharing it with me. There was no sense of secrecy about it.
But even if he did reconnect with those women in some way, I know that my husband is committed to me.
Maybe you too feel confident that while your husband can be a flirt at times, he’s also completely devoted to you.
Deep down, you know he’s not going anywhere with anybody else.
In that case, it’s kind of fun to pull out your fear and acknowledge that it’s unfounded–like looking under the bed for the monster and finding it’s just a boot and a pair of socks. Phew!
Asking yourself whether your fear is realistic is a great way to stop feeling bad when your husband compliments another woman or uses a sweeter-than-usual voice to greet a female coworker.
This is also a good time to remind yourself that despite the jolt of adrenaline that comes up when you hear him sounding flirtatious, you are safe. He’s just being friendly or playful–not trying to form another relationship.
You can choose your faith over your fear by deciding not to give him the stink eye, for example. Instead, you could show him that you expect the best outcome, not the worst.
Like responding to him looking up an ex on FB by playfully saying, “I bet you’re glad you married me instead of her, huh?”
I’ve found that’s very powerful for getting the outcome I want.
But what if you don’t feel safe?
Maybe you’ve been cheated on before or have been left for another woman.
Maybe your husband himself was unfaithful in the past and you’re terrified it will happen again.
That’s completely understandable. Of course you would want to do everything in your power to avoid that painful experience.
So maybe your answer to this question is a resounding “Yes! My fears are completely realistic.”
In that case, let’s proceed to the next question.
3. Ask Yourself “Can I Control His Flirting?”
What you want is for him to stop paying attention to other women–to stop looking into their eyes, making them giggle or rubbernecking at their bikinis.
The more you focus on trying to get him to stop flirting with other women, the more your husband will feel constricted, controlled and criticized.
The more he feels that way, the greater his urge to be the master of his own destiny. In other words, he’s going to have an inner compulsion to do the very thing you’re trying to get him to stop doing just to show that you’re not the boss of him.
Humans are contrary like that. Fruit seems sweeter when it’s forbidden.
This is true of all control, not just control around flirting. Whatever I’ve tried to get my husband to do or not do using control has backfired on me.
Every. Single. Time.
When I tried to control him by making endless spreadsheets showing who was responsible for what housekeeping (so he could see all the duties he was shirking), all I got was wall-to-wall hostility–not the gleaming bathroom and dust-free shelves I wanted.
The truth is I was afraid that if I didn’t tell him which chores were his, I would turn into a kitchen elf who had to do everything herself.
So guess what happened because I tried to control him?
I became an exhausted kitchen elf who had to do everything myself.
Mission unwittingly accomplished.
In other words, my control had the opposite effect of the one I wanted.
Granted, dodging the dusting is different than winking at women. The point is that trying to control my husband into doing things differently made things worse. Much worse.
So it’s valid to ask yourself: Is getting upset or telling him not to flirt actually getting you the outcome you’re looking for?
When Janice insisted that her husband stop working out with his female coworker, not only did he not stop, he also let her know she wasn’t the boss of him.
He seemed more intent to meet up with his workout buddy than ever.
Telling your man to stop flirting is very likely to have the same contrary outcome.
4. Would It Be Worth the Intimacy It Costs to Try to Control Him?
When he flirts, it hurts.
As his wife, you may feel it’s within your rights to ask him to stop Facebooking a coworker or working out with her at the gym. Plenty of people would tell you that it’s your prerogative to draw the line.
I’ve certainly done things like that in my efforts to get my husband to do what I wanted (or not do what I didn’t want him to).
Not only did it not work, it cost me intimacy. Big time.
I felt the need to draw the line recently when he wanted to save a limp houseplant that I wanted to throw out.
“I’ll put it in the backyard,” he announced.
Instead of expressing a desire, I decided to supervise this plant placement so that the backyard would not look messy.
In other words, I chose my fear and my need to control in that moment.
He set it down next to the bench, and I “helpfully” suggested a different spot. He moved it to my spot but didn’t like it there so he picked it up again, and I asked where he was going to put it as he walked across the yard with it.
At which point he dramatically dropped the plant and said, “Just forget it!”
Clearly he felt controlled. That’s because I was being controlling.
Oops.
It took half an hour before things were back to feeling connected and easy between us again, and that’s a long time for us these days.
Over a plant!
Trying to control costs me the intimacy and connection I’m used to having now. And it doesn’t make my husband do what I think he should do. That’s true whether it’s telling him where to put a plant, who to talk to or how to talk to them.
In my better moments, I choose my faith instead because I want to keep holding hands and laughing together. And because I want to be my best self.
Here are three ways I help myself do that:
First, I remind myself that I’m the Girl of Fun and Light (GOFL). Since I want him to flirt with me, I make sure I’m in good flirting form with my smile and laughter at the ready.
The GOFL is always up for a good time, and I signal that by doing my happy dance around the house or saying how ridiculously happy I am.
Second, I check to make sure I’ve been respectful. Respect is like oxygen to men, and I want to make sure there’s plenty of that when he’s around me so he’s not gasping for it.
Next, I make myself drop and do ten. Gratitudes, that is, about the many ways I feel loved and chosen by my husband–the many ways he’s loyal to me.
He chose to marry me above everyone else, sleeps with me every night, makes love to me and only me, spends money on me, kisses me, sends flirty texts to me, has made himself beloved in my family, makes up silly songs every day about how cute I am, makes me laugh and makes me tea every morning.
I could go on, but ten are usually enough to calm me down so I can choose my faith by trusting him.
Ten gratitudes are enough to make me stop fretting and realize I’m lucky I have a man who’s as faithful as the U.S. election cycle is long.
My husband is a mere mortal man meant to be attracted to the female form, but I don’t see him making anybody else’s tea every morning.
I see him being true to me. I focus on that because that’s what I want to continue to manifest.
When my husband looks into my eyes and sees that faith I have in him, he responds to me with pride in how loyal he is to me.
That leaves me feeling special and gives me the inner strength that makes it easy to trust my husband.
88 replies on “My Husband Flirts and Thinks It’s No Big Deal”
I have been reading your book and listening to podcasts and dong what I can to help fix my husbands eyes to just me. I feel hopeless. It has been 3 years since we’ve had intercourse. We’ve had only a handful of times where we would make out. He will occasionally flirt with me as long as no one else is around. He has stayed friends with his ex (who cheated on him and every other man she’s been with) and once (behind my back) told her he still “cares about her” when consoling her about something she is going through. He reached out to her, after seeing a post on facebook, to comfort her. When I saw a missed message on his phone, I noticed that conversation. I talked to him about how it hurt and how it hurts that he is still close with her. Instead of comforting me, he got mad that I read that and made me feel bad about seeing it. Didn’t say sorry that it hurt me or anything. And now he hides that relationship from me.
Now we are living in a neighborhood where he has become extremely close with our one neighbor’s wife. She is my dear friend but the world revolves around her. He has to do everything with her and talks and texts her on his own. After being yelled at for a previous conversation that made me uneasy I have stopped looking at his phone, even if he gets messages. Between no sex life (he blames it on being over weight and uncomfortable for him) and his constant attention to other women (two in specific) I get afraid that he may not physically be doing anything but emotionally he thinks about other woman. Maybe even fantasizing about them. He has always been like this with woman. I feel disrespected and it’s inappropriate for him to behave like that when I am the one he should be fantasizing over. I have tried giving him the benefit of the doubt but the longer we go with out being physically intimate, and the more attention he gives the other women. The more uncomfortable and insecure I get. I have not talked about it for a long time because of the argument we had. But I don’t think it’s right that he behaves like that. He would be mad if I did anything like that. But I can’t get mad at him. Its unfair and not right. I don’t know what to do.
Dalli, I can see why you’re feeling disrespected, insecure and uncomfortable. It’s disturbing to see other women getting the attention that should be going to you and, on top of that, him hiding things from you. That’s not right. It sounds really lonely to go without intimacy.
Feeling hopeless is so painful. I remember not knowing what to do when I felt stuck but was too embarrassed to divorce. I was amazed to see what happened when I got the community and coaching to have mutual respect in my home and intimacy too.
You deserve to be respected and fantasized over! I can send you some info on how to turn this around. If you would like that, just let us know at laura@lauradoyle.org.
My husband has Aspergers or Autism and is often blind to proper social rules. He is learning not to follow, block, tease, flirt and annoy underage girls and their parents. He has been arrested by the police for street harrassment. He does make me coffee in the morning and serves me a nice dinner on occasion. But, his behavior has made me unable to go out in public with him for fear of him causing more trouble. There is no intimacy or communication because of his mind blindness so its not something I could lose. Do you have any suggestions for me and how this marriage can get better? Thanks much
Toni, this sounds scary. And lonely too going without intimacy and communication. You shouldn’t have to be stuck not going out for fear of him causing trouble. That’s not right.
I remember when things seemed hopeless in my marriage, in part because of my husband’s diagnosis. That’s why my coaches and I have helped so many women, including when there’s a diagnosis.
We can help you too! Here’s a free Roadmap of 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women turn things around so you can fix your relationship too: http://lauradoyle.org/rm1o
My husband gave gifts to my girlfriend that were my items without asking me. I told him to stop but he didn’t. He gave them nick names. The girls would give my husband ** eyes and I said I wanted to leave and he would say after this smoke letting the girl know he likes her flirting with him and didn’t care how I felt after we talked about it
Jennifer, that is so hurtful. You don’t deserve to be treated that way.
I remember when I couldn’t get my husband to stop his behavior no matter what I said, and it was rough. That’s why I’m so committed to empowering women.
Here’s a free Roadmap of 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women turn things around so you can fix your relationship too!
https://lauradoyle.org/rm1o/
I am a 43 yr old married woman whose husband insecurities constantly think I am flirting with neighbors, male family members, etc. I have never cheated nor do I think I have flirted. My husband constantly tells me I am in the closet about just the type of person I am . I was raised to be respectful and thought I would never divorce . Also I would never disrespect my husband this way . Telling me im playing games with him. I have given up everything for this man . My career my friends even my relationship with my family .
How do you make your husband understand and trust you ? I am wits end I am constantly waking on eggshells . I have zero friends I don’t even tell my parents how he is . As the years gone by it has only gotten worse . Saying how I am secretive and never open . He says I like to play victim to get attention when what he thinks he sees he doesn’t . I wish he could see through my eyes as I’m daydreaming and not staring at people on purpose . I feel like he will never understand me and constantly tells me I’m a liar . I just want to be happy with him .
Kim, I can only imagine the disappointment and grief of having given everything up for him, only to be so distrusted. You shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells around your own husband. I’m sad to hear it’s gotten to the point that you have no friends and can’t talk to loved ones about this. That sounds so lonely.
I remember just wanting to be happy and being so frustrated when nothing I tried was working. Turns out, I just hadn’t learned the right skills. That and a community of likeminded women have made all the difference. If we can do it, I know there is hope for you too.
Here’s a free Roadmap of 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women turn things around so you can fix your marriage too:
https://lauradoyle.org/rm1o/
Hi Laura
It’s a very deep and moving read here on your blog. The hurt seen here is horrible. I’m experiencing the worsening of my husband flirt, and it feels like another potential cheating horizon. I already talked to him he’s not ready to rescind his behavior. Maybe I should give up.
Susan, his flirting sounds hurtful, and it’s scary to see such behavior worsening. And even more hurtful that he’s refusing to change.
I remember how frustrating it was when I would speak with my husband yet he refused to change, how painful it was when I was ready to give up. That’s why my heart goes out to you. And why I would love to offer you some support so you can fix your relationship.
Here’s a free Roadmap of 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women turn things around so you too can be desired, cherished and adored!
https://lauradoyle.org/rm1o/
What do I do when my husband has attempted to change my very nature, as if giving me an ultimatum? I am a quiet, bookworm, that loves solitude…though I do really love people and enjoy occasional social outings/gatherings. However, he has recently become friends with a couple and since then, he has pressured me to be more outgoing and loud when we’re out with them (or others). He wants me to draw attention to myself, which has never been my nature. He has insisted I change my wardrobe to be more revealing (I am modest). He wants me to post videos of myself being silly on social media. Again, I am a modest, private, introvert. I have always been this way. Now, I am afraid he is trying to change me to be more like his friends gf. I am afraid this means that he is having feelings for her and is trying to get me to be more like this person, hoping it will change his feelings for her.
Kay, that is so painful and scary. You should be accepted exactly as you are! Especially by the man who chose you. I remember how hurtful and lonely it was when my husband no longer seemed to love me the way I was. That’s why my coaches and I have helped so many women fix their relationships, even when he has feelings for someone else. I invite you to join us in the Ridiculously Happy Wife group coaching when you’re ready to get the support to turn this around.
Hi Laura
I am from India and Am facing relationship crisis. Can you help me out
Divya, I’m sorry to hear that your relationship is in crisis. We would love to help you. Please reach out to my support team at laura@lauradoyle.org to let us know what type of support you’re seeking. We can’t wait to empower you to turn this around.
HI ! My name is Catherine, i have been with my husband since we were teens. We have a beautiful family, we work hard. He is a great father and is my best friend, we take vacations, life is seemingly perfect. Then one day I went to use his phone, and he couldnt get it from me fast enough. ive caught him conversating and flirting with women b4. He would say Im just insecure and bored and its entertainment. I asked him if he had been talking to any women online and he told me no absolutely not. He is smart. So since he wasnt being honest. I did something horrible but efficient. I created this beautiful active dream girl and friended my husband. I liked a picture and with in 3 min. he was sending me pics and his number saying he wanted to get to know her. was she naughty or nice. he wanted to go take her for a ride. it broke my heart
Oh Suko, that is heartbreaking. You shouldn’t have to go through this with your own husband. That’s not right. I still remember thinking my marriage was hopeless and being scared to try, which is why my coaches and I have helped so many women fix their relationships, even after he was pursuing other women.
We can help you too! I would love to get you some support so you too can start feeling desired, taken care of and special! Join the waitlist for The Ridiculously Happy Wife coaching program here: https://lauradoyle.org/rhw-waitlist/
Dear Laura,
I appreciate your compassion for all women who are experiencing this issue in their lives. I look forward to learning more about how to manage my emotions and have a happier marriage. I’m so glad I found someone who has been through the same hurt and can give us your honest advice and strategies.
Liz, I’m so glad you found us! I love your gratitude and your commitment to managing emotions and having a happier marriage.
Laura, I was thinking about the four questions we must ask ourselves before controlling. Somehow in the moment they slip my mind. How about we create a small handy card or in 2021 a meme type of quick go to list of the four questions and then at the bottom maybe your suggestions of ten gratitudes etc ..kind of a quick self help save me from a big oops….
Great idea, Malky! You’re not the only one who struggles to create the new habits you want to have. It’s so painful to know what to do and then….not do it! That’s why my coaches and I have helped so many women fix their relationships and gain the habits that give them superpowers to have an amazing relationship. To cultivate those skills, it’s not too late to join my 5-Day Challenge happening this week! Register for free at https://lauradoyle.org/adored-wife-2021-challenge
Well here’s the scoop… My issue is that I’m afraid to lose the only thing I have in my life… My father has our kids three… Only because we didn’t have stability because Alex and I couldn’t get a steady job.. Well he has one now doing construction. Anyway he go’s on Facebook and flirts with other women, he doesn’t want to put our relationship status with our profiles names just “In A Relationship”. He doesn’t want me going to work with him to make our pay alittle bigger Yet he’ll have OTHER women work with him… Witch I know is really wrong knowing that I’m his and I love him.. I don’t have no one in my life at all.. he’s all I have SERIOUSLY! … If I lose him I we’ll have nothing.. I love him and I told him how I feel but he acts like I don’t know what I’m talking about and plays like he’s not doing anything! I’m sot stupid I know what I see and what I find on his phone. Oh not to mention some of the women go on Facebook messenger and send my conversation that he had asking for sex or nude pictures..
I think this post is by far the best article I’ve read so far . It’s something not only women but men should learn too . Very interesting topic which happens in day to day life . I feel so much better and relaxed after reading this . Thank you for this amazing article.
I think I’m going to just say “Ouch” anytime I feel he’s being disrespectful to me by flirting with, texting, or being “just friends” with other women. I know he would feel disrespected of me doing this or having these same relationships with other men. So a simple “ouch” should let him know that it’s hurtful and crossing a marriage boundary. I might say “Ouch” and then follow up with “I know you have eyes for beautiful women, that’s why you picked me”.
My husband talk to three of his ex girlfriends daily using an exclusive whatsapp group. They even go for trips together. They have a video call every week. I feel so terrible and want to stop this somehow. But it does not seem to end well as the confrontation ends up in an ugly spat every time. And those women seem to enjoy the show and do not seem to back off despite knowing how uncomfortable I am.
Will this trauma ever end?
Hilarious…not at all.
Once more, women are to take the grown-up responsibility of asking ourselves ridiculous questions, in lieu of expecting adult men to take responsibility for less than chivalrous, unappealing, adolescent behavior.
Laura, it’s really difficult for me. We’ve been married for just under 3 years, and he’s already cheated on me. We promised to try and make things work, and we’ve made a lot of progress, but there are times where I feel incredibly insecure of his faithfulness.
My birthday was last month and my husband bought me a gift from his work: a thermos bottle with my name engraved on it, along with a book. Today I found a similar bottle hidden in our car with a nickname engraved on it, and it turns out it’s a goodbye present for a female ex-colleague who moved to another city. So basically he has to mail this present to her now. Finding this bottle has made me insanely jealous, because I feel like her and I are at the same level. How can he buy me, his wife, a present with my full name on it, when he buys the exact same thing for his colleague but writes her nickname on it and also has to mail to her? I thought gifts were meant to be intimate and personal, and her present is just so much more intimate, with it having her nickname and having to mail it to her now. I just feel like I’m at the same level as this other woman… Or this woman means something to him.
I’m trying really hard but suppressing these feelings of insecurity and jealousy make it hard for me to not wonder if there’s something I don’t know.
I read all the blog and feel hurts..,, lately I struggling for my husband who flirt and smile for other woman at even in church …so I instead of arguing I feel quite and I Don’t feel voice come out in my mouth … it’s so Depressing when you wetness your husband in bad behavior … brings me down I feel empty::::
It is more fearful in my eyes to stay with a husband because you don’t think your heart deserves better, than it is to let him keep flirting and crossing your emotional boundaries and hurting you by flirting. I don’t have time for that. That does not sound like self-love at all. There’s a difference between being controlling and setting healthy boundaries. After all, isn’t marriage a sacred boundary? Flirting is emotional cheating in my opinion, and if they are looking elsewhere, let them go. What is there to fear? Someone better and more fulfilling who doesn’t hurt you will take there place. Good-bye flirting husband, hello man that only has eyes for me. 🙂
My husband of 31 years is a flirt. 12 years ago he flirted and she quickly reciprocated. She took his flirtatious texts and emails and responded with serious propositions . It became an affair. When I found out and told him her or me, he broke off the affair in order to save our family, and to keep from having a scandal in town because the other woman was the mother of our daughter’s best friend. Our family was nearly destroyed because of his behavior. (Kids ages at the time: daughter-17, son-13, son-9) Our family survived, and we were doing very well for several years. About 8 years ago I developed a very painful chronic illness that has caused me to be home bound, and about 70% bedridden. My husband will no longer have sex with me. He says it’s because he doesn’t want to cause me any more physical pain. What he does not realize is that by rejecting me he is causing so much more emotional pain. In the past he’s flirted with others even in my presence. Now he’s out in public without me on his arm, so I fear that he’s flirting much more than he ever did when I was healthy. How can I be sure I’m still his one and only? I almost lost him when I was pretty and healthy and 12 years younger. Now that I’m suffering from a very painful chronic illness which has wrecked havoc on my skin, hair and weight how can I feel secure in his love and commitment? I can’t compete with other women that he sees at work and out in public! I’m seriously afraid for my marriage!
I am married to a flirt. For twenty-five years and twenty seven together. Lately I feel lots has changed. I never tried to stop him from flirting even though his actions have hurt my feelings. I am honest, happy, I don’t do what he’s been doing all these years. It is not fair to me in the way he behaves but I am not a quitter. I know he loves me, and respects me. I have learned how to deal with this issue on my own. I am not doing what he’s doing I chose to be happy and focus on my life. He is part of my life but in a bit of a changed way. You can’t just stop loving someone you spent your whole life with. It is never easy to forget how he made me feel on certain days but I know I am not the one who made him feel that way. And anyone who responds to his flirts belongs in the trash. That is how I see it!
Thank you for your comments ladys. Your right. Karly thank you.
To be honest i dont like flirting. While i like people to think im pretty i dont like men to be all pervy over me. Its horrible.
So i got more than i bargained for.
But truth is if a man flirts he cant really love you .
Banter and having a laugh is one thing but when you are flirting and being seductive with someone its another.
So i guess im not really loved.
Lena, I hear how painful and lonely it is for your man to flirt with other women, making you feel you’re not loved. And that flirting with others yourself isn’t serving you either. I love your vulnerability and your awareness!
I too felt unloved, and I felt hopeless because everything I had tried ended up making me feel even less loved. Then I found the 6 Intimacy Skills, which finally gave me the tools to attract my husband and be loved the way I had always wanted.
If I can do it, you can become cherished, desired and adored too. I invite you to apply for a complimentary discovery call to see how working with a coach would fit for you. The call alone will bring you clarity. You can apply here: https://lauradoyle.org/marriage-relationship-coaching.
Lena to tell you honestly I did the same. I felt really unfair because my thinking was exactly the same like yours. So I did flirt back with other men and it hits him then he came back when he won me back he again flirted with the same girl and I did this time with much remorse and intentionally with a different man. That was the end of everything and honestly I was not happy at all. I didn’t proved him wrong nor solve the issue in our marriage.Nobody wins and I felt sorry for myself thinking why did I let myself down instead be the bigger person or give time for myself and my feelings if I felt disrespected.
I did try because I was so hurt and all my thoughts of revenge, I put into action. I felt so bad and negative with our situation. To conclude, my action was just creating a bigger mess because I was stubborn, I was not forgiving and pride, ego gets over me. So I tell you the result was just intensifying your anger and destroying yourself badly. So I totally understood where your going and I hear you. The people who are here in this program have been married for a long time and it just made me realise that no matter what happens relationship teaches us to be humble, to be part of the team not to be the one who destroys.
I myself have been to your situation and it hurts like hell but to love and control yourself is the only remedy we need. I’m pretty sure that your partner also doesn’t feel good with what he is doing, he might look like his enjoying and happy now but remember that what is outside can be deceiving.
So your saying there is nothing in flirting and he needs to be trusted.
My husband flirts and he endorse what you say .
trust me there is nothing in it.
my in laws say the same ” trust him there is nothing in it, ”
So i embrace your argument and realise he needs attention and not bust his balls for it.
But one thing,, If it’s good for him, Its damn well good for us to.
While two wrongs dont make a right, You my husband and his inlaws are telling me its not wrong.
So i have started flirting as well.
I thought i was in a christian marriage where as Sue rightfully said that attention belonged to me.
He has broke the boundaries him. Ive been told its ok , i ve been told its just fun , harmless bla bla bla.
So i thought fine.
i need attention as well,
And let me tell you something he does not like it.. But every time he complains i throw his argument back in his face.
Whats good for a man is good for me honey.
Girls if he flirts,…. flirt back..
Oh and by the way i am a young woman I am 33 and i am pretty not beautiful but pretty and i know how to get attention.
I could give lectures on how to harness male energy. So he picked on the wrong girl.
Ive got them panting like dogs.
Im actually better than him at it..
If your husband flirts with other women
Flirt back with other men
Lena, you are the expert on your own life, so if this approach is working for you, more power to you! I love that you’re getting in touch with your feminine gifts, which sound very powerful indeed. I’m also hearing that there is some arguing and that something may be getting in the way of the intimacy you want with your husband. Is that right? If so, I’d love to empower you with some other tools for dealing with his flirting. It sounds painful that he continues to flirt at the same time he complains about you doing it! I’ll show you other ways to get his attention in my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
My H had an affair many years ago and got too friendly with a coworker recently and was not being honest about time spent with her. He swore it was innocent. I had to decide – stay or go. I stayed due to an ill child, and began practicing the skills.
In your book, you say some guys who are serial cheaters are not good guys and the skills won’t work with them. How long do you give the skills time to work? I feel I’ve become a goddess and I see many good changes in the marriage, and yet, he’s still hanging out with the coworker and that part of our problem isn’t changing much. Do you believe some men are so broken and have a need for affirmation that no matter what skills you use, they will seek respect elsewhere no matter how good it is at home?
I struggle very much with pushing down my hurt, pretending I don’t see what I see, and trying to be the happy one. Can you be specific in which skills you recommend for dealing with distrust? When do you determine if you have a good guy or a bad guy? Thanks.
Shelly, I’m sorry to hear that your husband, who has cheated in the past, had an inappropriate relationship and lied to you. It would be hard for me to get past that hurt too and trust him again. I admire your commitment to your marriage and your openness to trying a new approach, even managing to become a goddess after all you’ve been through!
Now that I’ve seen so many women who suffered infidelity more than once transform their marriages anyway, my thinking has changed on the “bad guy” issue, as you’ll see in my post How to Know if You Should Get a Divorce.
Pretending, ignoring my feelings and forcing myself to be happy when I wasn’t did not work for me either. Fortunately, there are Skills that empower me to express my feelings and be my authentic self. It sounds like you could use some support to get the change you crave and restore trust. I invite you to my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
With all these comments going around it sounded that we are the one who can turn the events around. We may not fully understand the behaviour of our partner but we can only continue to have faith in them, believe until they change themselves in their own way.Is that right Laura? But to go through the process is heartbreaking. I doubt myself if he ever respond positively with these skills but I want to have a go and let go for my own sanity I guess.
Karyl, I hear that it’s scary to take a risk and experiment with the 6 Intimacy Skills because you’re not sure they’ll work for you. It is scary! You are not alone. Most of us think they won’t work for us–until they do.
I love how courageous you are. Pushing past those fears takes courage but is what has made my marriage playful and passionate.
I hope you enjoy the webinar and can’t wait to hear how it goes for you.
Women. Do not listen to Susan. You are not responsible for every bad behavior your husband displays. Trust me. Some men are just selfish jerks that care more about stroking their ego than they do about you or your feelings. And there maybe nothing you can do to change his bad behaviors. You could be the perfect wife and he will still flirt. Because it has nothing to do with you. It has to do with a personality fault in himself. Some people actually have very low empathy for others and or other psychological issues that prevent them from having healthy relationships. some men need constant praise and approval from women to feed an insatiable ego that will never be satisfied. It can be a result of neglect or mistreatment as a child and it is something they need to seek help for. You can’t fix it.
Heather, I love your awareness that you can’t fix a man. I agree. It was only when I finally gained the insight that I couldn’t control or do anything to change my man that I was finally empowered to focus on my own happiness. I wasn’t responsible for his mistakes but did have the power to inspire him to become his best self too. And it turns out I had chosen a good guy, not a dud. That’s what I find for the courageous women who practice the Intimacy Skills. They are the experts on their own lives and chose their men for a reason. The 6 Intimacy Skills empower them to find him again.
Really? This article is terrible advice. What about your self respect? Relationships are built on mutual respect. Not ignoring your partners disrespectful behavior because demanding respect might push him away. People accept or ignore disrespectful behavior because they lack self confidence and fear confrontation that will result in divorce. They don’t believe they can do any better and will be alone. They are letting fear and and a lack of sense of self ruin their lives. And trust me, they are not happier being treated this way and ignoring it. You only have this one life to live. Don’t waste it on a-hole. And what if you have children that are watching this behavior and learning that it is normal? Yes, you are normalizing disrespectful behavior and teaching it to your children who will in turn accept mistreatment from their partners.
Heather, I appreciate your commitment to self-respect. I hear you. I demanded respect from my husband in every way I knew how. The problem is he refused to comply with my demands. And I lost my self-respect in the process of nagging, demanding and raging at him. The 6 Intimacy Skills empowered me to create a culture of mutual respect in my marriage and my home. The jerk I thought I was stuck with became the thoughtful, attentive, capable man I had married–and the respectful one too.
My husband does the same. I know this that he was close to women even before we got married. I accepted that. But, I felt the insecurity rising when he continuously talked to me about that friend concerns about her life and showing interest more about her that’s when I started to fume and begin to question his faithfulness and friendship with another woman whom he called his best friend now. I felt betrayed with their ongoing messages, that woman giving him plenty of gifts and he is wearing it everyday and he started smoking as well and I concluded myself since he was around with her all the time he even copied her habits since the woman is a smoker.
I was not just dreaming and I saw the changes from him and in turned I became a horrible wife because I always see and focus with his friends.
I went to Phils for my maternity leave 5 months and I trusted him well enough though I was scared to leave him alone but I was disappointed that he started smoking and now a chain smoker. It’s been a year already that we got separated due to endless fights and I began to drift away as well and felt alone ended up being a single mom.
Karyl, I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s relationship with another woman and about your separation, leaving you as a single mom. That is devastating. I admire your vulnerability and your awareness.
You are not alone. So many women reach out for support after their husband has left. Again and again, they find out it’s not too late, as the 6 Intimacy Skills empower them to heal their marriages and their families. When there’s another woman, she disappears as the husband is inspired to make his wife happy.
I know you can have that too, if that’s what you want. I’ll give you the tools to get back your husband and reconcile your family in my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at lauradoyle.org/swewtraining
I am just kind of wondering I keep seeing my husband cheated because I was disrespectful. It doesn’t matter there is never a good excuse for cheating never. And it is not your fault it is his. My husband cheated and you know what it had nothing to do with me. There is never a good excuse never.
I hear you, Margaret! Thank you for weighing in. We are of the same mind that no woman deserves infidelity, for which there is no excuse. My intention is not to point the finger or find fault. Rather, in my experience working with thousands of women, wives who want to heal their marriages after suffering infidelity have found that showing respect is an empowering way to get back the intimacy they want. My book The Empowered Wife goes into more detail, if you want to read a free chapter: http://getcherished.com
Thank you Laura, my husband cheated on me once and lately things have been great ive been more respectful and feminine but today i saw he had saved lots of womens number on his simcard, he had put his sim in my phone when his was broken and the numbers are still there. I dont know what to do and i have already confronted him and that went terribly, like you say now the intimacy we were experiencing. I dont know what to do now amd i feel so sad about the numbers, there just no need to take them, ive never seen him talking to one of them so its either in secret or completely pointless. Feeling lost and alone
Mel, I can see why you’re feeling lost and alone. I admire your commitment to being respectful and feminine, and to healing your marriage. I relate having a marital conflict that’s not even grounded in reality but feeling sad nonetheless. The 6 Intimacy Skills have empowered me to share my feelings vulnerably and respectfully so my husband wants to support me and make me feel better. I would love to empower you to feel cherished, desired and adored as his one and only too. I invite you to my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
Hello. Your article makes very good sense but my problem is, my husband has always been a flirt and I trusted him even though it was offensive to me and I kept it to myself. Well as of this past November 2016, his flirting with a coworker led into an affair and I found out mid February 2017. I would very much not to have fear any longer of his flirting. I am sacrificing, in my opinion, to go along with working thru the healing process of being betrayed by myself while he is saying he has put it behind him and is wanting to keep our marriage going and doesn’t want to hear anymore about it. He only stopped the affair because I found out with me saying, “her or me”. He still feels there is nothing wrong to continue being “just friends” with this coworker. He regrets what he did in his words. Unfortunately now I have a great fear of his flirting
Faye, that sounds devastating. I so admire your commitment to healing yourself and your marriage. It’s hurtful that he continues to be friends with her and doesn’t want to hear anything about it. I used to feel so alone when my husband wouldn’t even talk to me about issues that were important to me in our marriage. Now that I have the 6 Intimacy Skills, he wants to talk with me and support me and do whatever he can to make me happy. There are several Intimacy Skills beyond the one I share in this article that would advance your healing process and deepen the intimacy with your husband in a way that honors yourself. I’ll tell you about them in my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
I stated from the beginning that if he has an affair I would be gone – and I prepared for this. If he truly values the marriage he will ckeck and work on his boundaries.
Ida, I hear your concern about a potential affair. I love that you are committed to a faithful, lasting marriage. I thought that getting what I wanted was a matter of boundaries. But when they failed to create the intimate marriage I wanted, I needed more tools. The 6 Intimacy Skills gave me the peaceful, passionate marriage I’d always wanted. If you’re interested in gaining more tools, I invite you to my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
Dear Laura, my husband cheated on me while I was pregnant. With the help of the six intimacy skills we are getting closer again, which is great. But the hurt and the dissapointment is so deep and I have no ideal how to deal with it… Can you help?
KO, that must have been incredibly painful. I really admire your commitment to healing your hurt and your marriage. My marriage had become so ugly as we hurled hurt at each other that I didn’t know if it could be healed and thought divorce was the only way out. However, several of the 6 Intimacy Skills dealt specifically with coping with pain. They transformed how I saw my husband and myself, until our marriage became playful and passionate again. You can get back to where you were before too. I would love to empower you with those tools, which I introduce in my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
Thank you for your writings Laura. I have learned a lot!!!. I understand what Sue is saying but I think the approach is to don’t start a fight every time. I am trying to practice to not react at my husband behavior without thinking first. When you respect your husband he is going to want to respect you back. The point is not to be passive, but assertive without judging your husband. Faith in your husband is easier when you believe in God!
My fear when he acts inappropriate (is caught by another woman ogling her, or is too attentive), is that SHE is laughing at me and thinks she could get my husband, and as a result would act more disrespectful and condescending toward me because we both know my husband finds her attractive. It’s embarrassing :-/
Forget worries about him leaving (I don’t think he’s going anywhere). I’m mortified about how it makes me appear to the rest of the world when he freezes to stare at a hottie (and she stands taller because she saw it too). Makes me want to slap him when other women get ego boosts at my expense, or people look at me in pity.
Ouch! Jennifer, that sounds humiliating. I know how committed you are to restoring the intimacy in your marriage and admire your dedication. I used to feel so embarrassed by my husband’s behavior. With the 6 Intimacy Skills, he doesn’t embarrass me in public anymore (and I have tools for the rare occasion that I do feel embarrassed). I know that you can get the respect you deserve and feel cherished, desired and adored too. I invite you to apply for a complimentary discovery call to see how working with a coach would fit for you so you can be treated like a queen! You can apply here: https://lauradoyle.org/marriage-relationship-coaching.
I rush home from work everyday to read your book before my husband gets home.
My husband wants a divorce because he says I am disrespectful and controlling.
I am really trying to work on myself before it’s too late.
He stays out late just so he doesn’t have to be around me. He may even be talking to another woman. Hope not. Thank you for all your help
Carolyn, I hear how painful it is that your husband wants a divorce. Your awareness and commitment to working on yourself and saving your marriage are remarkable. I remember how lonely I felt when my husband used to avoid me. With the 6 Intimacy Skills, now he wants to spend time with me and finds every chance to do so, even snuggling up to me when I’m working. If I can turn my marriage around, I know you can too! I invite you to my free upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for it at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
Great article! Thanks for your positive and purposeful look on how to address a flirting husband. This is exactly what I teach the young women in my circle of influence. To be honest, I have a very sanguine husband who never meets a stranger and there are many times my jealousy is arroused when he is just talking to women. He is very engaging and I see how women respond to him. But the truth is that my being jealous is not the way to get him to change and since I know he doesn’t want to leave me, I love that you point out how to change MY attitude, not his. Love this article even if it is hard to do sometimes!
Wow, Laura!
THANKS a million for responding to my suggestion for writing this blog!!!!
I’m sure it will be helpful for so many women.
This blog is Godsend to me, thank you for explaining things I actually already knew and was doing from your wise perspective.
I know I will be re reading this one often.
Also, wanted to thank you for making your TV show available in English here in Germany on Amazon.
I will definitely write a review.
Love you Laura and everything you do for us women!!!
Thanks for another great blog. My husband is a notorious flirt and DID cheat on me, but we have rebuilt the trust. I see that he has toned down the flirting in respect for my feeling, yet he does like a look now and again.
I needed to hear what you had to say about controlling him. Ouch! True words and great examples, Laura!
I find your article quite disturbing. Let me start by saying I’ve been happily married for 17 years and my husband has never flirted with another woman, my comment is not coming from a place of woundedness fortunately. Flirting is disrespectful, dishonoring and actually a form betrayal. When a marry man gives another woman attention that belongs to his wife or receives the attention from another woman other than his wife, that is simply betrayal. One of my callings in life is to help women find their voice so they can be empowered to have good communication with their husbands. You gave no information on how to have healthy communication instead of what I read was to be silent. Women do not have to be doormats nor controlling. Giving a woman advice to ignore her husband’s flirting because he still going to make her tea in the morning is absurd and oppressive. Everywoman deserves to be honored, respected and adored and serves her husband freely & joyfully because she knows he respects and honors her. Although it’s true that many men have a roaming eye, their lack of self-control is very unattractive. Your advice is hurtful, not helpful. I adore the hearts of both man and woman and giving a man passive permission to be inappropriate makes your marriage weaker not stronger!
Sue, I agree with how hurtful a husband’s flirting and how unattractive his lack of self-control can be. I do not condone such behavior. I love that we share the calling of empowering wives to have healthy communication. In my work with thousands of women who have transformed their relationships, as well as in my own marriage, I have found that respectful communication on the wife’s part is powerful in getting her the respect and honor she deserves. Recognizing all that my husband does for me helps me get in touch with the grateful, respectful kind of interaction I want to have with him. Here’s to stronger marriages!
Once again you are spot on Laura! I understand what Sue is saying, but I would describe the differences of your two approaches as the differences between a child and their parent, one where respect is demanded – leading to fear, begrudging compliance and unhappiness and one where respect is mutual and healthy – leading to mutual enjoyment and love!!
I agree with you so much!!!!!! How do we stay quiet and be disrespected??????
Great question, Emani! It sounds like you would like to practice showing respect even though you’ve been feeling disrespected. Ouch! I really admire your commitment to your relationship! I remember when biting my tongue or responding respectfully seemed impossible when my husband and I were arguing. Thankfully, the 6 Intimacy Skills provide many tools to be respectful and, ultimately, respected. I want to empower you to get the respect you deserve too! I’ll give you more tools in my upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for free at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
Hi Laura,
I think you just saved not only my marriage but my life. I think of my husband as my life, my air to breathe…. my reason for being alive… my true soul mate. But I’m constantly saying the most hurtful things to him in our arguments. Until reading this blog…. I couldn’t understand why. My husband and I are always talking about evolution and nature. If you look at the animals behavior, you will see the male is dominant, not the female. I’m sure not in all species… But the ones most common in our knowledge, my experience is medicine, not animals. So, its the human males nature to want to be dominant. But we have evolved into “intelligent” animals. Even the psychologists have said most of our mental issues derive from childhood… So what’s man but an evolved child! In meeting man’s most inner child…animal nature… we will fullfill his inner soul. If we nurture each other’s hearts, we nurture each other’s souls! And you know a man couldn’t make that happen, it takes a woman to do that! Amen!
Leslie, I’m delighted to hear that you have been empowered to end the fighting! I love your commitment to restoring the respect in your marriage. You are clearly a very intelligent animal!
If this blog made such an impact, I can’t wait to see what happens when you get all the Intimacy Skills! I invite you to my upcoming free Introductory Course on the 6 Intimacy Skills at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist.
Amen!!
Amen!!! It’s disrespectful, period. I agree with every word you said.
This came up in a Google search for my as I am fed up with my husband flirting on Facebook with work colleagues. I was dismayed to read by this author that I should just suck it up and be grateful he married me!!!!!. What a load of rubbish. I’m not a doormat and I won’t be acting like one any time soon.
Hi Sue,
I totally agree with everything you have said. My partner is treating me like a doormat at the moment and it’s so hurtful to be told we are the ones that have to change the mood.
They are being disrespectful by flirting and then telling you about it (he was boasting) and yet we are being told to smile and accept it. Yes the confrontation is not good but for him to say that I need to get over it or I don’t have anything to worry about is simply not good enough.
I think they need to be held accountable as it’s not acceptable to flirt with your Boss and especially when she’s a married woman as well.
I was married for 22 years and I was never a person to be insecure and now I am the most insecure person I know. It’s a horrible feeling but I think that this is where they need to be held accountable for their actions.
I may be wrong but I feel that if a man loves and respects you he shouldn’t need to have his ego boosted by multiple women.
Hi to both of you! I think you are both misunderstanding. Its not that you’re responsible to make the change and be the one to be respectful as a punishment. It’s that you are the one that holds the key, the only one that can bring about that change. He is the head, but you are the neck, and you have the power to turn the head to where and how you want it by learning and practicing those skills
I completely agree with you. This article feel like an ableist column. I in the middle of experiencing once again a situation have to figure out if it is Time to break up or deal with what I dealt with in the pass. These days flirting is no longer just a harmless act. In this age it is encouraged to be a deviant!!
I know this blog is 5 years old but I just found it. I agree with you that it is disrespectful, dishonorable and crosses emotional boundaries.
I have researched and done all I know how to perceive things differently so as not to be hurt so much. I have come to the conclusion that my spouse of 45 years and I have different emotional boundaries and when we try to discuss this difference he doesn’t see a problem. He once said “ I promised you my heart but not my eyes.” My response was “ that really hurts my heart!” He said nothing.
He will compliment other women in front of me, saying they are “ stunning, or two pretty to be a grandmother..” whatever that means. 🤷♀️AND tell me how others find me attractive but he does NOT compliment me.
I am wondering IF this a control factor. I’m really confused. But again, I have tried all of these things Laura mentioned in this article but I’m still hurting and he is still feeding his ego. 😔
Patrica, that is hurtful. You shouldn’t have to hear such words from your husband after 45 years of marriage! I can see why you’re confused. It sounds so discouraging to have tried these things and still be hurting. I remember feeling like nothing was working for me when I was hurting in my marriage. That’s why I created a roadmap of 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women turn things around, even when he has different boundaries and doesn’t see a problem. Here’s your free roadmap to fix your relationship.
Patricia, I’m so sorry. I know firsthand how hurtful that is! Why do we even care after being treated like this repeatedly?? We rarely go out together but every single time we do, he ignores me and talks to everyone else but me plus flirts. But it means nothing and I’m supposed to get over it??
Linda, I wouldn’t be able to just get over it. No one deserves to be ignored while he flirts with other women. Ouch! That sounds terribly hurtful.
It sounds like you do care, deeply. I admire your vulnerability and your commitment. I’m standing for this hurtful behavior to end so you can get the attention and respect you deserve.
If you’re interested in picking up some new tools toward that end, I’d love to share 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women turn things around: https://lauradoyle.org/rm1o/
I wish I could trust my husband. I did twice and he kept saying it was nothing. Found out it wasn’t nothing. Oh yes he told me about her and I thought to myself he loves me it’s nothing. It wasn’t nothing. I do not know how to get that trust back.
Margaret, I hear how painful it must be to be at a loss of how to restore trust. I respect you for having such a strong commitment to your marriage and the vulnerability to come here for support. I used to be convinced that my husband was untrustworthy. 6 Intimacy Skills later, he is a different man, and I feel cherished, desired and adored. If I can restore the trust, I know you can too! I’d love to give you more tools to empower you to do that. I’ll share them with you in my free webinar coming up: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for it at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
I agree. My husband cheated on me 10 yrs ago, very hard to have trust when they flirt or say inappropriate things.
Kathy, it does sound so hard to trust him after the pain and heartbreak you’ve already been through. Especially after that, he shouldn’t be flirting or inappropriate!
I remember how hard and scary it was when I couldn’t trust my husband. That’s why my coaches and I have helped thousands of women fix their relationships. Here’s a free Roadmap of 6 simple steps so you can turn this around too! https://lauradoyle.org/rm1o/
Hi I have the same priblem with my hubby but he meet the women and writes he knows i know but i am afraid we might splitt up
Rajwant, I hear you’re afraid of splitting up. That sounds painful. I admire you for having the vulnerability to reach out for support. I remember being afraid of the same thing when I just couldn’t see any other way to fix our marriage. The 6 Intimacy Skills gave me back his attention and affection so now our marriage is more playful and passionate than ever. If I can turn things around, you can too! I’ll show you how in my free upcoming webinar: How to Get Respect, Reconnect and Rev Up Your Love Life. You can register for it at https://connect.lauradoyle.org/six-intimacy-skills-waitlist
I’m white & husband is to. We work same work place ,same shift. My husband flirts and makes continua prolonged eye contact with black women in front of me and they both don’t care in front of me or behind my back. My husband denies than admits saying it’s their hair or clothes the bright colors and they have control of him when they walk in front of him and control when they wear low cut tops showing chest and cleavage or they wear stretchy pants etc. my husband says he loves me and said he stopped today. I don’t believe him as he says so many times before . What do I do? Feeling disrespected & the betrayal. Don’t believe him when he says he loves me because he lies so much about this flirting issues. It’s non stop through out day. Not sure what I feel about him. Not sure I even love him anymore. What should I do? I tried talking to him & asked him to stop a million times. He won’t stop. Lies about this lies about that. What can I do at this point if anything?
Boswell, you should not have to see your man flirting with other women right in front of you or be lied to on top of it. I can see why you’re on the fence. Not being able to get him to stop sounds so frustrating!
I remember when I couldn’t get my husband to hear me and how hopeless I felt. I would love to get you some tools so you can put an end to this behavior once and for all and have the respect and trustworthiness you deserve.
Here’s a free Roadmap of 6 simple steps that have helped thousands of women fix their relationships so you can turn this around too!
https://lauradoyle.org/rm1o/