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 After the Affair
 
	Quote: 
	
		| Originally posted by notcasesensitive
 Here's a question for our crack lawtalkers community:
 
 I was talking with a friend about success rates for relationships that start out as affairs (assuming the person in the marriage/committed relationship ultimately chooses the new relationship, as opposed to the pre-existing one).  I had heard, though I don't know where, that the long-term success rate* for those relationships is lower than the long-term success rate for relationships that start when neither party is in a committed relationship.  My friend disagreed.
 
 The reasons I had heard for the lowered success rate ranged from - (i) baggage brought into the relationship by the time both parties are free to commit to the new relationship, (ii) desire for joys of singlehood once out of long-term committed relationship that was broken up, (iii) people placing too much value on new relationship (and person in it), as opposed to facing the other problems with the existing relationship, and (iv) the excitement of the illicit relationship doesn't translate into daily life once it is no longer illicit.
 
 Anyone know the answer to this or have anecdotal evidence they want to share?
 
 I was going to post this as a RoTAF because my current relationship would qualify as one in which one or both parties were in committed relationships when the relationship started, but then I realized that I don't really care if you people know that.  So there.
 
 And, for the record, I tend to consider my relationship a success.  Hopefully a long-term success.  Whatever that means.
 
 
 
 
 *whatever "long-term success rate" means (I'm really not sure of this, but I guess for my questions, I'll say that means the new relationship lasts 5 years or more)
 
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Anectodal evidence:
 
Of the people I know who got divorced where someone was involved in a "new" relationship at the time of divorce:
 
brother - new relationship lasted 9 years 
friend - her ex-husband married his paramour and are still married 
friend's father - married his paramour - still married 15 years later 
friend -- married his paramour - still married 14 years later 
friend - involved in new relationship (but not married) 4 years now
 
In fact, I can't think of a divorced couple I know where one party was involved in a new relationship where the party invovled with another person didn't end up in the new relationship for quite some time.  I know people who got divorced and there was no "other" relationship at the time of divorce, but for those where there was another person involved, the new person remained in the picture.
 
Of course, one's circle of acquaintance is never a reliable scientific sample, but that's my anectodal experience. |