I swore love and fidelity, not lifelong celibacy!
I swore love and fidelity to her, not celibacy for life.
I don’t even know where to start with this. I’m just going to tell my story and hope someone can give me advice.
I’ve been married for 11 years. At the beginning, everything was fantastic. Our sex life was incredible, very active, and there were no problems at all. We got married very young—she was 18 and I was 19—but that only lasted for about 3 years.
When our son was born, our sex life gradually died. At first, I accepted those changes. I thought we were entering a new stage of marriage and that intimacy would become something secondary. But like I said, it all happened progressively. Nowadays, months can pass without intimacy. Even reaching 10 times a year would be a lot.
I’ve spent years talking to her about it, and although it might seem like infidelity is involved, the reality is worse. Relatively recently, she confessed to me that she simply doesn’t really feel sexual desire.
She would simply prefer for us to live in celibacy. She admitted that while she can reach orgasm and enjoy sex in the moment, she doesn’t feel any need to seek it out.
She also confessed that at the beginning of our relationship, she mainly did it because she liked pleasing me, but the truth is that my “little friend” hurts her. Some positions hurt more than others, and even if she enjoys it in the moment, afterward she feels pain that makes her prefer to avoid it altogether.
Honestly, I believe the problem is on her side. Her intimate area is quite small, and I’m average-sized.
I already talked to her and convinced her to see a specialist so she can get a diagnosis and hopefully solve this problem. She doesn’t believe there’s a solution, and even if there were, she told me she genuinely prefers living in celibacy. However, she says she understands me, and because of that, she could do it once or twice a month at most for my sake.
She’s happy with the life we have, and she’s perfectly fine with me relieving my needs through masturbation and pornography. She has no issue with it.
I got angry with her and mentioned divorce. Honestly, I feel deeply sexually dissatisfied.
She responded by saying she would not accept a divorce. She doesn’t want to separate from me, and I understand that because, truthfully, I don’t want that either. We are deeply emotionally connected. I have no complaints about her in any other aspect of our lives, but I confessed to her that I am not happy living like this.
Then she proposed that if I want to find another woman to fulfill what I’m missing or needing sexually—and only sexually—I should do it. She accepts it and says she would have no problem with it. She even said that if I wanted to have two or more partners, that would be fine, as long as I kept it discreet and she didn’t have to know anything about it.
Honestly, I don’t know what to think. I feel like there simply is no future with her when it comes to having a healthy and active sex life.
On the other hand, her proposal has left me deeply tempted. But the only reason I have not been unfaithful all these years is because of my values and my love for Christ.
I don’t want to fail God because of my desires. In fact, even just watching pornography fills me with deep regret. She doesn’t know it, but I’ve even cried over it.
For now, my plan is to take her to the best gynecologist in the city, have all the necessary tests done, and see if there is any treatment or solution for this problem.
But if nothing changes, I honestly don’t know what I should do…
Do I accept living in near-celibacy within my marriage, even if it means living unhappy and sexually dissatisfied for the rest of my life?
Do I get divorced and look for another woman with whom I can enjoy a fulfilling sex life, even if it means leaving my beloved wife behind?
Do I accept her proposal and seek another woman only for sexual satisfaction? To be honest, I don’t think I could handle that option. I know myself, and I would most likely end up falling in love and eventually developing real feelings. Unless having two wives were acceptable, it would be impossible for me to live that way.
Now I not only feel dissatisfied—I feel lost, confused, and discouraged. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.