All Comments on 'Degrees of Separation'

...she seems rather manic. She swings hard from one extreme to another. What's next with her? I shudder to think.

LOL

I don’t know a guy who would put up w this except for one and he’s run around on her for years so...hard to imagine a guy not divorcing her immediately. Good story for what it is though. I’m just the sort who never asked a girl out the second time if she said no the first time so maybe it’s just me.

A delusional man.

Err on the side of caution and ditch the bitch.

Big turn about, from thinking about cheating to having a baby. Another good one.

Micro skirts, letting men feel her up , the cousin at the party, and what she wanted her husband to go along with- no, it's already too late. The guy is an obvious idiot because she never went further than he was comfortable with -proud or just a little cucky? He said it - that 10 minutes had already changed their lives. The absolute worst reason for staying together is to have a baby.Yes, you ended it all sunshine and flowers but did he ever do a DNA test? Reality man, even if it is your story.

You should at least let him punch the paratrooper in the mouth; he knew the slut was married to his cousin's friend.

The little colored beauty. I guess that’s how you call them around your mates and think it’s all good and gravy.

Ok. It’s pretty well documented that both men and women, start to feel like life is passing them by, when they get a certain age. Some handle it well, some not so much. But although there is no shortage of divorced, 40-50 year old women, ( or men) they are not really in high demand. The men that do the divorcing are looking for a younger woman. The women who do the divorcing are usually looking for more money or security. Usually neither get exactly what they want. It’s a sad situation.

“ you want the grass to be greener, fertilize and water it”

Now that she has him convinced that it was a baby she needed, she can slip out and try out as many men as she wants. Every woman is a lying, cheating slut when and if she thinks she can get away with it

Moron. Now she can cheat and threaten that he'll never see his kids if he divorces her.

This is an awfully huge leap. She went from I want to be single again (or act like I'm single, so same thing) to "I want your baby." I would be hugely reluctant to give her a baby until we had the "I want to be single again" sorted out.

Breeding with someone you do not trust ? she will be come the beast again / this time blaming motherhood / tied her down . Should have dumped the cunt / what's this crap about her beauty/ it that's a good gene background to handle the beauty issues/ . She has already failed you / bag her and then listen to her bull shit. Now you see why the Muslim bag there wives / it removes a lot of temptation.

Ahhh... Fairy tales. It all works out and they live happily ever after.

Well, that was really good actually. Nice spin. 5*

She's psycho and he's an idiot.

Well done. One of the better we have to talk stories I have read. Keep up your good work.

19 years later, the empty nest syndrome hits and he is back to square one.

You can rationalize all you want but it still all comes down to selfishness. She stopped thinking in terms of her marriage and thought in terms of what only she wanted. Anyone that thinks it's an acceptable end must like having a miserable life.

I wonder who the fathers of those children are...

good writing, plot. very lucky ending. think I would have told her Hell NO to kids after her "dating" idea.

Once again, this story does not pass my reality test. We all know, what wifey was going to get out of her separation. But what was in it for hubby? Nothing. People only do things, when it benefits them. No way the husband wouldn’t have moved out, and started divorce proceedings immediately. And NO WAY he just decides to have kids with a woman, who was going to humiliate him, fuck other guys, and make him get a divorce. So it didn’t happen, because no husband is that stupid. One star.

That went wayyyy into the fairy tale land. A free that first conversation the ground rules are set if they are broken the marriage is broken. Not sure ot was not kraken when she opened her stupid mouth

what are you readers doing analyizing the the characters and their actions. This is a story,written by an author, their actions are as he writes the story. Analyize the author for what he/she is worth as a writer and why a particular scenario he/she chose or the characters he presented as such..The characters are not real or have a mind of their own.

Its all on the author.

I always enjoy your work. And I enjoyed this story. I did find the quickness of the conversion from "I need to feel the thrill of what I missed" to "I want a baby" was in one sense unrealistic. It seems to me that having a baby or two would postpone the need to try to relive a youthful freedom she never had, rather than replace it. Mid to late 30's after several years of being mommy, and the BIG40 approaching, it seems she might feel that same need to experience other men. But thank you for the great story.

When I read the story I found it instructive and thought-provoking, worth the highest rating. It was well-written and somewhat unique in theme, character development and story line. Then I read the critics. The ones that condemn Julie for being tempted, even though she resisted and eventually found a way to solve the problem. She had her own needs but still showed respect to her husband. And they consign Mark to the trash heap of the cuckold, wimp, weakling, loser, even though he stood up for himself throughout. Well, they must be right. So, under the theory that the punishment should fit the crime, Mark should have erected a scaffold and hung her. Or perhaps he should have purchased an electric chair and fried her. That'd teach her. Then he could go to an adult store and buy a rubber doll. He'd have been a lot better off...just ask the whiners that are so tough when they name call and threaten violence against all criminal marriage partners. I have always believed that everyone is a valuable human being. I was wrong. The criticizers are swine.

Not a happy ending. If the woman is too unaware to understand what she’s feeling, and has to have it explained by a quack, then she’s not wife and mother material. She seduces another man, and only stopped at the last minute (if she wasn’t lying). At every major birthday milestone, she’ll be tempted again, and eventually will give in.

Also, does every man in GB have low testosterone?!? Have we ever had an author from the Isle write a hero that is decisive, aggressive, and principled? Did every man with big balls in Europe die in the wars of the 20th century, and all that’s left are the descendants of cowards? Or, is the NHS dosing the boys with estrogen?

I come from English heritage, and no man in my family would put up with this shit. Wife isn’t sure she wants to be faithful anymore? There’s the door, don’t come back, and I’ll be telling everyone that you caused this marriage to fail.

Where are the men that conquered half the world? The Iron Men on Wooden Ships?!? Oh, how the mighty have fallen!!!

ZK

It really is a very well-written story. She does seem rather alien to me. After over 35 years of marriage, I have never once been tempted to cheat and I don't know where the urge comes from. Still, I can believe she got her head on straight in the end.

This story raises a point I've wondered about in a lot of other stories. How big of a house was that neighborhood party at if Mark didn't notice Julie getting groped while dirty dancing and then also didn't notice that she left the house with a guy and was gone for a while. At the same time the wives of the group apparently didn't notice either and just figured Julie was talking shit. It just seems to defy belief that none of the husbands or the wives in attendance at this party saw nothing of what Julie was doing.

As for what Julie was doing. She crossed a lot of lines at that party and even if she did ultimately stop short of having sex that whole episode barely got discussed after she admitted the whole story to Mark. Seems like that would have been a stumbling block for quite a while before they got their happily ever after.

Hope they make it after the youngest goes off to college ...

Weird story. If Julie wanted a separation then get separated. What was the limbo they were in for over a month or so? She is talking about going on a dinner date and when he comes back with the pretty accountant at work, effectively opening the marriage, she flies off the handle. Clearly not rational. Less worried about ehat she did leading the guy on at the party. Yeah she walked the edge and committed several infidelities but stopped it (forcefully) before it went too far. I know some readers will fixate on that. And trust me it isn't goof. But what is worse is her delusional attitude where she doesn't seme to recognize the damage it is doing ot her husband and their marriage. She mentions the discreet affair option. Maybe only one. Well maybe more. She will be discreet. Of course he refuses. She says she didn't think he would. Huh? And then they decide to separate, but he is the one preparing to move out and not come back and she thinks she will play for awhile and they will get back together again and she goes off to the seminar, both knowing full well that she plans to sample the field. Ok they got lucky and she made friends with a psychologist and she comes home early and wants a baby. Huh? She needs a lot more work than just getting a baby. For her it is all suddenly sorted and in the past and full steam ahead. Umm bs? She emotionally put him through the wringer. The party incident is a flashpoint but the constant delusional attitude, hypocrisy over him going out, and her emotional torture of her husband (though admittedly she is torturing herself as well because she has no idea how to stop what she feels), are way worse than that incident (assuming she didn't lie) and would need a lot more work to repair their marriage and regain trust. She wanted on page 2 to drop the whole thing and move on, explaining that she can't cheat on him, offering party incident as an example, but lo and behold, he can't trust her now, hence her ridiculous second option that he rejected right away, and then getting separated, while he is burying his marriage. That is a significant challenge to overcome in counseling. Her "therapy" about needing a baby might fix the future for her but does little to mend their recent past. Trust is broken with her shenanigans. And btw this virgin trope needing to sample strange cock is not factual. Recent large scale psych studies show that fo spouses of either gender, the more sexual experience they had going into thr marriage, the quicker they are dissatisfied or unfulfilled by marital sex with time. Doesn't mean always leads to cheating or divorce when dissatisfied, but it doesn't help thr marriage to have reduced frequency and intimacy. The reported correlations were strong. So in real life it is the reverse of the standard LW trope of a wife who stayed a virgin until she met the husband. If anything she would be more likely to not seek sexual thrills elsewhere.

Well, yes, it was a happy ending. HOWEVER, San the good doctor, she would likely have fucked somebody. It's pure serendipity that psychiatrist dropped into her lap.

In real life though, MOST men would have blown her out of the house for entertaining her intentions to firmly state she was going to do it. If a woman has moved into that space she has emotionally left the marriage.

At that point the BEST thing for the man is see things the way they really are. The woman infront of him is not the woman who loved him 5 years ago. She's a new person walking around in the same body.

At this point ALL of the man's efforts and concerns have to be about him; his needs, feelings, future action, getting the emotional support he'll need, etc. He must now adopt the same mindset that he would have if if the Dr. came out and said,"I'm sorry..." IT IS GOING TO HURT and will take time to recover and there is no escaping that. So, that in mind, ALL his efforts must be directed solely to his needs. He needs to grieve for the death that his wife used to be. He no longer can afford to give her a moment of concern. In fact, let all subsequent communication be through his attorney. I write this from the perspective of having been through it. It helped me come through it with minimal emotional trauma.

To anonymous 8 months ago in GB.

The same problem exists in the USA. However we, men, have taken a tack that hate filled misandrous women never considered. WE checked out on then. 20 years ago 49% [19-30] wanted to get married. Now it is just 18%. Moreover they avoid committed relationships because new Feminsim embraces lying and cheating perfectly acceptable and a man's feelings and needs are irrelevant. They are proud of their body counts [ 30-60 is common and some boast 300].

What are the guys doing? WE use them and dump them because their always another liberated bitch willing to spread her legs to demonstrate dominance in her sexual life. We consider most of them whores and are used as such. Give the Gynecentric courts in the US the man ALWAYS loses everything including his children- how effective can you be as a dad with every other weekend visitation rights? Add in a toxic bitch who works constantly to denigrate him to his kids and pretty soon they don't want see dad anymore. Meanwhile he's paying child support for year and alimony from 1-5 years.

Men are not stupid. We figure why walk into an ambush. The stats tell us that 70% of the women will initiate divorce and or cheat between years 7 and 10 of the marriage.

There is NO payoff, and much personal pain and destruction, in getting married knowing that info. Here's a quote from Shakespeare Juliet""AT LOVERS PRRJURY JOBB LAUGHS".

If men abdicate their self respect and abandoned their will to run their lives then them become simmering slaves; the women beat that into them then despise them because they need a "real man"....which they also hate because of their toxic masculinity" Guy's, WAKE THE FUCK UP! WE ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. There is nothing wrong with most of us.

What we are facing is VICIOUS abuse by the new TOXIC FEMALE.

She was selfish, egotistical, and arrogant ... as many beautiful women can be.

He was too calm and confused.

Having children certainly should have been considered earlier in their marriage.

Maybe having children was the most realistic behavior they exhibited.

5*

Lame story from a lame author

Dumb men who cry over their cheating wives - balless wimps

Definitely a wimpy cuck

Good thing there was a deus ex machina psychologist at her conference. Otherwise thr husband was gone...

And btw hands and feet sizes have no correlation to penis size. That is a fallacy. The only positive correlation with any scientific basis that has benefits proven (note: correlation doesn't mean 100%, there are fale positives and false negatives) is thr ratio of ring finger length to index finger length in men. That correlates to higher testosterone levels during gestation and then (generally) large penis size. Most men have a ring finger that is equal to or short than their ring finger. But if the ring finger is longer those subset of men are usually above average in penis size.

Commenter a couple.momths ago hit the nail.on the head. The LW virgin trope is dead wrong. Large scale studies show the opposite. The more sexual experience a spouse has (man or woman) prior to marriage, the more likely they become dissatisfied with their marital sex life. Doesn't mean they will cheat or seek divorce but it isn't good when a spouse gets dissatisfied sexually with their wife or husband. The reverse is true. Men and women with LESS sexual experiences prior to marriage, have greater continued satisfaction with their married sex life. Look it up.

A happy ending for Femdom agitprop, for sure, but I as a reader I am not happy, not happy that things like this can happen, not happy that they could be so easily cured if only…, not happy that a spouse could and would do that to you, not effing happy at all.

A separation is not for fucking other people, it is so the husband and wife can separate for a while to see if they want to be together or to follow through with the divorce. If you want to fuck other people, then get a divorce. With a separation, you still need to honor your wedding vows.

Highbrow & his Femdom agitprop, lol. Can't think of anything else to write? But I must agree with much of what he wrote. Don't know if something like that's an actual condition, but... if it's so easily controlled, so to speak, why don't more people know about it, especially women? I don't remember the ages of Julie & her husband, but I suppose their both young enough to have children. But what happens in an older couple where the husband doesn't want any more kids?

After what she put him through, like Highbrow said, & then he wants to start immediately to give her the child, I'm a bit troubled by that also. Glad that it all worked out for the best & the marriage lasted, but the beforehand needed something more-- depth? Discussion? Overall, good writing & story telling, as usual. 4 stars Bob

Four stars.

JPB

Separations are simply a precursor to divorce, so just bite the bullet be honest with your partner and divi up the assets, you know it makes sense.

Assume he had a DNA test done. Probably be best if he had all of the kids tested.

Good story. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have to give this one five stars. Good to see a happy ending.

JPB

It'a a good happy ending. I kind of feel sorry for the burn the bitch comments from some very poor losers life.

Nice to see then work it out. Especially for her to get help to diagnose why she was being so crazy. Otherwise their marriage was doomed and she being delusional about getting back together woukd have destroyed her happiness over crossed wires. Her guilt, if she had aex at that conference and the husband departing, and abiut to file, would have psychically crushed her soul. Instead she found the real outlet. Personally doubt IRL that hormones are the cause that early on, but hey it is fiction. Liked the happy ending. She crossed the line at that party but couldn't go through with it. Her guilt was high because in part she was doing the wrong thing, misinterpreting her body and her subconscious knew this. Suspect if she had gone through with sex, she woukd have not enjoyed it nearly as much as she hoped, simply because her psyche was out of whack. Separations end in divorce 85% of the time. The ones that don't either involves adultery and reconciliation, medical / mental health reasons, and at the very least a no cheating clause, else divorce. Most men with means woukd hire PIS during the separation period and dig up what they can. Fortunately they didn't go down thatbtrack because their marriage would have died and they would have been miserable, with her being borderline suicidal, at best.

At least this guy wasn't a wimp like some of the author's other characters.

So, if my wife had not had her tubes tied after two kids, she might have gone for another baby instead of a 2-year affair?

From wanting to cheat to wanting a baby. That’s quite the flip.