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12-04-2012 at 11:19 PM
WaffleyGoo...
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SO doesn't seem to care

So, about a year ago I was playing on my husband's iPod (then my fiancĂ©) and found a large collection of pornographic pictures. This upset me, not because he was looking at porn but because I had talked with him about that in the past and to him saving pornographic pictures onto his computer and similar things upsets me, A LOT.  So, when I saw them I was really upset and I told him if I ever found them again and found out he lied to me that I couldn't tolerate that because due to my past I find it really uncomfortable he'd save that.

So,  tonight I grab his iPhone to look at pictures we took of our cat and find another obviously pornographic picture of a lady. I asked him about it, asking why he'd save it KNOWING it made me uncomfortable. He told me that he was allowed to make a mistake and I should just accept that it was a mistake. And, he would be right had this not been our 3rd serious talk about it. So, I am trying to explain to him again what it is about saving these pictures that make me uncomfortable (mostly a sexual abuse past myself) and he gets defensive about how I am attacking him and I should just let this mistake go because he deleted it. I explained that this would be the third time we talked about it, he knows it is wrong, so how many chances does he deserve?  He starts telling me I shouldn't make him feel like *** and He had a high sex drive and I never sleep with him (another issue) so I feel a little like he is throwing it back on me. He even said something about if he wanted he could make a file on his computer and I'd never know. Because he could make it private and visible only to him. 

In the midst if all thus he starts giving really passive-aggressive answers while I am trying to plea with him to talk to me then to top it off he goes to sleep while I am talking. And he got up late, like 5 hours prior to this, so it wasn't like I cane to him after a long shift at work or something.  I tried to go in the bedroom to take some time away from him but he gets up and follows me.

I am so disgusted with him right now I cannot breathe. I don't want to be in the same house as him, not because he saved this picture, but because if how he avoids admitting responsibly for his actions  (trying to make it seem like an accident) and avoid "punishment" but also for how little regard he has at how HURT I was. 

I have no idea what to do.  


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12-04-2012 at 11:32 PM
TarponMono...
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THere's a LOT going on here.

His big problem? Not so much the porno pix -- his big problem is NOT upholding a promise he made to you.

You specifically said you didn't like the idea of porn saved on his ipod and he went out and did it not once but a few times.

This is a character and lying issue, not a porno issue.

This also is pretty bad, too:

He starts telling me I shouldn't make him feel like *** and He had a high sex drive and I never sleep with him (another issue) so I feel a little like he is throwing it back on me.

How dare he not only blame you for his promise breaking he's also making you feel like garbage. I'm surprised you didn't hit the roof over this one.

And his high sex drive, really? Hah -- how juvenile and what a damn cop out.

He even said something about if he wanted he could make a file on his computer and I'd never know. Because he could make it private and visible only to him. 

True...but is he saying this as fact or is it emotional blackmail so you can sit undder a Sword of Damocles regarding whether or not he's still saving porn...and whether or not he's lying to you about what he is doing?

Unacceptable also:

In the midst if all thus he starts giving really passive-aggressive answers while I am trying to plea with him to talk to me then to top it off he goes to sleep while I am talking. And he got up late, like 5 hours prior to this, so it wasn't like I cane to him after a long shift at work or something.  I tried to go in the bedroom to take some time away from him but he gets up and follows me.

I strongly recomment counseling for him: his problem is lying, immaturity and breaking promises he made to you and he's doing it over and over again. At this point you could have requested that he stop saving photos of hiis Great Aunt Agnes for what it was worth ---- but the thing is this: he keeps doing it and he keeps lying about it and breaking a promise he made to you.

I would, if I were you:

Make counseling for him a must and I'd tell him that if he wishes his marriage to continue he comply.And he will comply with no ifts ands or buts or you will show him the door. BE PREPARED to stand behind what you say.

Why should you be in a marriage where you are walking on eggs around this guy because you don't know if he's being honest or not?

HE's also got a devestating lack of respect for you.

Counseling for him --- and if he does not go, rethink being married to him. You have only been married since August and to have these many problems this early on is mindblowing --- This is NOT new behavior and when he lied to you before you were married about what he did, you shoud have rethought him immediately. Who needs to be married to a liar and somebody you cannot trust??. .Marriages are built on trust and honesty -- where the hell is his??

YOu told him a year ago that if he did it again  you would not tolerate it. He's already called your bluff and when you say something like that, you have to stand behind it.(I am a porude about saved porno on whatever media -- who knows who else might see it or find it?)

 
12-05-2012 at 7:10 AM
artbyallie
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So, hypothetically, you wouldn't care if he did look at porn, as long as he left the pictures on the web instead of saving them? Not entirely sure what the difference is there, but that would seem like a reasonable compromise to me.

But honestly, as long as he's not getting these from sketchy sites that will charge money or give viruses, what do you really care what he does in his own time? People look at porn. It's not cheating; it's (generally) not involving sexual abuse, apart from obviously illegal child pornography. The people in these pictures aren't posing at gunpoint. They're doing it because they want to and they get paid.

I do agree with Tarpon that the way he treats you is the bigger red flag. 

 
12-05-2012 at 7:16 AM
Golden42
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I never feel like I can answer these anti-porn questions, because I have zero problem with porn. I really can't see the difference between looking at a picture on the computer and saving it on the computer to look at again. (Btw, not an excuse, but sometimes these things save automatically. Found that out the hard way when I was trying to cue up a slideshow) I feel like porn is something coupled need to be on the same page about. He obviously doesn't think it's a bad thing, but you are against it. And it's on to have those opinions, but I think you need counseling to discuss them. He was absolutely wrong to lie and break his promise, but clearly the issue isn't resolved with him and you need to resolve it to move forward. In addition, you need to discuss your sex life issues. I know that remark seemed a throwaway in your post, but a satisfying sex life is important for a couple.
 
12-05-2012 at 7:42 AM
EastCoastB...
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On the "i don't mind if he looks at it - I don't want him to save it" issue - yeah, it doesn't make sense and I think the real issue is that you actually don't like porn but you want to come across like you don't mind it.

So, first, I think you need to start being 100% honest w/ yourself. 

Second, telling a guy "I don't like this - don't do it" really isn't going to yield great results.  Whether it's porn, smoking, drinking or.... whatever.  There needed to be a much deeper discussion the first time you found out that he likes looking at porn which involved being honest w/ yourself and also really coming to an "understanding" - beyond "don't do it".  Because you told him not to and he's now gone and done it 2 more times and he doesn't get what the problem is.

I'm not excusing his "going back on his word", but at the same time - that simply is never a good solution to a deeper problem. 

He likes porn, you don't.  He doesn't want to give it up, you want him to. 

This is something that you should have decided a long time ago - but is this a dealbreaker for you?  how serious is this to you, how far are you willing to go?


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12-05-2012 at 9:04 AM
littlemiss...
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There is no trust between the two of you. He gives no thought to your feelings. You do not have (much of) a sex life. He is emotionally blackmailing you.

What to do: move on. There isn't much of a relationship to salvage, imo.


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12-05-2012 at 9:10 AM
doglove
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If you didn't like this behavior before you married him, you shouldn't have married him. You are not his mom. A slap on the hand and telling him what not to do is not really your place. You should have married a man who doesn't care to do these things rather than settle for a man who does them and you tell him not to.
 
12-05-2012 at 10:23 AM
TarponMono...
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littlemisswitness:

There is no trust between the two of you. He gives no thought to your feelings. You do not have (much of) a sex life. He is emotionally blackmailing you.

What to do: move on. There isn't much of a relationship to salvage, imo.



Not even a porn issue at this point -- this is a lying, immaturity, bankrupt trust and no character issue.

You can't build a solid secure marriage based on that.
 
12-05-2012 at 10:23 AM
BulgariHea...
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Yeah, I kind of agree. This should have been resolved before the wedding. Not having dealt with it means that it's now blown out of proportions. Forbidding an adult to do something is no way to fix a problem. Counseling sounds like the only option here. Good luck!

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12-05-2012 at 10:38 AM
vpine
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Golden42:
I never feel like I can answer these anti-porn questions, because I have zero problem with porn. I really can't see the difference between looking at a picture on the computer and saving it on the computer to look at again. (Btw, not an excuse, but sometimes these things save automatically. Found that out the hard way when I was trying to cue up a slideshow) I feel like porn is something couples need to be on the same page about. He obviously doesn't think it's a bad thing, but you are against it. And it's ok to have those opinions, but I think you need counseling to discuss them. He was absolutely wrong to lie and break his promise, but clearly the issue isn't resolved with him and you need to resolve it to move forward. In addition, you need to discuss your sex life issues. I know that remark seemed a throwaway in your post, but a satisfying sex life is important for a couple.

I agree with this 100%


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12-05-2012 at 11:37 AM
kellbell19...
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I'm a little confused on your stance re. porn so he might be as well. Is it no porn ever?  Or he can't save it to his computer but can browse online?  I think you need to be very clear in a non accusatory way:  this type of porn bothers me because ________.  It also sounds like your past is significantly affecting your present.  If you are not already in counseling then you should be.

 

Marriage is often not about being right.  It's about being heard and having a partner who respects your feelings.  My guess is that he doesn't see anything wrong with porn and doesn't like being made to feel bad about it.  He is brushing this off as your issue.  The real question is whether he will actually be ok with, and follow through with, what you're asking of him.  If the answer is no, you need to know and he needs to feel safe saying so, in order for you all to either decide to work through it or decide it is a dealbreaker. You shouldn't be made to feel bad about your history of abuse, but he also shouldn't be made to feel bad or dirty for having sexual needs that aren't being met.


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12-05-2012 at 11:42 AM
ReturnOfKu...
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I think you both need to read The Beauty Myth, and then be honest with yourselves and each other about what you're really trying to say in this fight.

 
12-05-2012 at 2:14 PM
MrsMcC.104...
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Wow. You two need counseling. You are are obviously not on the same page about a lot of things, and this type of discord is serious enough to destroy a marriage. Disagreements about money, religion, parenting and intimacy are the big four. I could address each point of your post, but the overwhelming advice I have for you is that your troubles are far deeper than saved images. I seriously hope you two will go and see a professional. Otherwise, I don't give this marriage another 2 years. Best of luck to you.


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12-05-2012 at 2:24 PM
TarponMono...
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As I said, I am a prude and I think saving porn on an ipod or any computer is horrible. Suppose his boss or somebody else sees what he's got stored on his ipod?
 
12-05-2012 at 2:29 PM
chiualover
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doglove:
If you didn't like this behavior before you married him, you shouldn't have married him. You are not his mom. A slap on the hand and telling him what not to do is not really your place. You should have married a man who doesn't care to do these things rather than settle for a man who does them and you tell him not to.

Yea- I don't understand why you two are married.

 
12-05-2012 at 7:28 PM
NurseRobin...
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artbyallie:

So, hypothetically, you wouldn't care if he did look at porn, as long as he left the pictures on the web instead of saving them? Not entirely sure what the difference is there, but that would seem like a reasonable compromise to me.

I hate porn and DH knows this. I wouldn't forbid him from looking at it, but I don't want to partake in it, so if he wants to look at porn, he should do it when I'm not around. Saving them and I see the porn would disgust me, so maybe that is why OP doesn't mind him looking at it, but doesn't want him to save it.  


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12-06-2012 at 7:10 PM
RamonaFlow...
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TarponMonoxide:
As I said, I am a prude and I think saving porn on an ipod or any computer is horrible. Suppose his boss or somebody else sees what he's got stored on his ipod?

 

Tarpon, I tend to agree with your general advice, but I seriously do have to wonder in what possible scenario would one's boss would be looking at one's personal iPod. Like, seriously. I'm having a "if it wasn't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college" moment trying to fathom how in the hell this is even remotely applicable anywhere, ever.

 

Anyway, OP, do you have a problem with his saving the porn? Or deep down do you actually really have an issue with porn itself and don't want him looking at it at all? He needs to respect your wishes, and after 3 serious discussions, there are no more "mistakes" or "accidents" if something gets saved, and that's the issue. And threatening you with making a "secret file you'll never find" is just immature and mean-spirited, and definitely an indication of abuse going on.

However. If your problem is actually with him viewing porn, you really do have to come to terms with the fact that this guy is not going to give it up for you (The writing's on the wall, he's never going to stop), ever. If you can't live with a relationship where any kind of porn-viewing is not an option, then this is not the relationship for you, and you just need to accept that and move on now, so you're free to find somebody else that actually can respect that.




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12-07-2012 at 4:15 PM
felixfelic...
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If I were you, I would get myself into personal counseling and suggest to him that you two receive some couple's counseling. You two have some serious issues with communicating, which is totally normal for a lot of couples, but when the issues are this deep (especially, it seems, for you) you are just going to keep hurting each other until you learn how to communicate effectively. 

I think that a deep dislike of porn from a history of sexual abuse is MORE than understandable, and maybe it will help you to seek individual counseling to discuss your feelings about porn with someone who is sympathetic to your feelings, because it sounds like your husband (very unfortunately) is not.


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12-10-2012 at 7:20 AM
jhaley3077
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TarponMonoxide:
As I said, I am a prude and I think saving porn on an ipod or any computer is horrible. Suppose his boss or somebody else sees what he's got stored on his ipod?
This is how I feel about porn as well. I did compromise with my H on his porn. I have alot of insecurities and hated it when he would watch porn. I would get upset when I would find out he was watching it and hiding it or lying about it to me. Finally I sucked it up and set down with him and we talked about it. I told him exactly what bothered me about him watching it and why. And then I took a GIANT leap out of my comfort zone and bought some dvd's for us to watch together. I personally can't find anything about them that I like, but the benifits I get from my H after he watches them have been great. It has also opened up our comunication with each other.
 
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