Healing After Multiple Affairs: How to Get Unstuck and Move Forward (Episode #140)

“My partner had multiple affairs, and I’m having a hard time healing. What can I do to make progress?”

In this episode of the Human Intimacy Podcast, Dr. Kevin Skinner and MaryAnn Michaelis, LCSW, respond to a listener’s question with compassion and practical guidance. They explore why repeated betrayals and new discoveries can reopen earlier wounds, disrupt self-trust, and leave you questioning your worth.

The conversation begins with safety and stabilization, including boundaries, physical health, and meaningful support. Dr. Skinner and MaryAnn then discuss calming your nervous system, recognizing beliefs you may have internalized, and identifying what you need for your own healing—whether you stay in the relationship or leave.

Healing takes time, but there are steps you can take. Your partner’s choices do not define your worth, and you deserve support as you find your way forward.

• Why repeated discoveries can make healing feel harder.

• Addressing immediate safety, health, and practical needs.

• Finding trustworthy support and reducing isolation.

• Understanding how betrayal can affect sleep, appetite, and emotional regulation.

• Rebuilding self-trust and responding to yourself with compassion.

• Recognizing progress without comparing your journey to someone else’s.

Once you feel settled enough to reflect, consider writing about these questions:

1. What did I come to believe about myself as a result of the betrayal?

2. What is missing in my healing—information, support, boundaries, or a conversation?

3. What would feeling better look like for me?

Dr. Skinner suggests beginning with approximately 10 minutes of handwritten reflection and returning to the questions over several days.

• Making Sense of Sexual Betrayal — Free Course
  A short course with an assessment, personalized feedback, reflection questions, and research-based insights into healing and relationship patterns.

• RISE: Hope and Healing After Sexual Betrayal Podcast
  Additional conversations about betrayal, grief, boundaries, and healing.

• Divorce After Sexual Betrayal: How to Know If Leaving Is the Right Decision
  A RISE conversation with Dr. Skinner about staying, leaving, and rebuilding your identity.

• Grief After Betrayal Impact Scale (GABIS) Survey
  Research exploring the emotional, physical, and social impacts of grief after partner betrayal.

• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
  Mentioned in the episode during the discussion of deception and self-blame.

Questions or interest in support for betrayed men? Email info@humanintimacy.com.

If this conversation helps you, please share it with someone who could use support.