Frungy said:
Telling people stuff that just makes them stressed and unhappy isn't honesty, it's selfishness, and unless there's a darned good reason to do so (like you feel you might be unfaithful again and need your fiance to watch/help you) then there's no point in spreading the misery.
It's selfish? Really?
The selfish part was the cheating.
That was selfish.
The fact is, the guy cheated. Does he feel terrible? He says he does. That's good. Can she trust him? He says she can. But guess whose call that is to make?
Not his. It's
her call to make. Right now, she trusts him completely, because she thinks he's never cheated, and never would. But he
did, and that changes things. She has the right to know that he did this, not to ease his guilt ridden mind, but to give her the proper perspective on the guy she's marrying.
And that's the ticket: His confession
has nothing to do with him and his guilt.
It has to do with her knowing what kind of guy he is, and whether or not she can still trust him.
Again: Her decision, not his.
And you may be married, and for longer then myself, but I don't know what kind of marriage that is where you can go
$10,000 in the hole without your wife knowing. That is simply and absolutely crazy, and it baffles me.
We're obviously going to have to agree to disagree here, but you were right on about one thing: I am biased. I've never cheated on my wife, I'll never cheat on my wife. Opportunities came where it could have happened, but I didn't and I would never. I think cheating is objectively wrong, it's never the right solution, and it's never justified. At least, barring some ridiculous hypothetical situation, I cannot fathom it ever being OK or acceptable.
People can make mistakes, but cheating is a mistake that effects
two people, not just one. If I make a mistake shaving, only I live with that mistake. If I cheat on my wife, it involves two people and the other person has the right to know that it happened. They are in the relationship too, and they get to make the choice of whether or not they think the other person is trustworthy enough.