Dear Emily,

I am a happily married man with a daughter and a very understanding and loving wife. Despite this, I hooked up online with a separated woman.

Fortunately or unfortunately, my wife saw the messages. I felt her hurt as she cried asking me what she had done wrong. My heart melted instantly as I felt guilt from my betrayal and the pain I caused her.

I truly regretted what I did.

I love her dearly and hope she forgives me. Even if we have been through lots of challenges, until now, we’ve had a relatively smooth marriage.

This letter is to share my experience so that others do not make the same mistake I did, which is to take for granted the people who love you. Extramarital affairs seem exciting, but they’re not worth the risk of destroying relationships.

Three people got messed up: my wife, the woman online, and me, the perpetrator.

I have learned my lesson and hope to be a faithful and loving husband. My wife deserves nothing less.

And please be gentle when you chastise me for the mistake I did.—MD

If a man who claims to be happily married can do online flirting—albeit harmless—how much more those in loveless, unhappy and doomed to permanent real-life ordeals? There seems to be no justice in the world when you look at these scenarios.

It just clearly proves one thing. No matter how secure a marriage looks, spouses tend to get bored. They’re just like any other human being full of frailties and insecurities.

Life is in constant flux as we know it, and nobody can just stand still and not be affected by the elements around. That’s why passing judgment on such vulnerabilities is truly unconscionable.

Not everyone can be a candidate for canonization. There will always be something one will pine for, get excited about, and dare to do—in this lifetime.

You’ve sated your curiosity, and now have learned your lesson. Touché!

E-mail [email protected] or [email protected]