Linp
Is it really possible with commitment, love, and work to get those feelings back?
I am 6 years out from Dday. I cannot tell you the last time my BS said the words "I love you." He stopped saying it because, to him, my affairs meant that his love didn't matter. That being said, I know he loves me. It won't ever be the SAME again. But love isn't a static state of being. It is always changing, growing, maturing. Think about it. The love you had at 15 is most definitely not the love you had at 20, or 25.
As other's have said though, you cannot force the outcome. An affair tells the betrayed spouse that they are not loved. That they do not deserve to be loved by their wayward. While that isn't necessarily the truth, that's what they feel. that's what we made them feel. By seeking sex, love, attention, (sexting) outside of our marriages we told them their love wasn't enough.
I felt like since I didn’t cross a physical line there is a chance but now I don’t know.
I did cross the physical line, and here we are 6 years later. Not married, but together. But really, it isn't what you feel about your affair that matters. Was this a deal breaker for him? Don't justify or minimize. Take it from me. Those actions make recovery harder and longer. An affair is an affair is an affair.
At what point do I accept that I’ve lost him?
When he tells you it's over, and takes the steps to make it official. It sounds to me as though he is still in the early stages of grief and shock. He says he can't ever love you the same way, that does not equate to not loving you at all. You are not the person he thought you were before Dday. He is having to come to terms with that. You need to come to terms with that.
Is it worth the fight if he will never love me the same way again?
Is it? Only you can answer that. Some of us waywards cannot hack the hard work it takes to come through this process. Some of us cannot bear the fallout. Some of us dig in and work. Some of us stick it out because we were shocked awake.
Look, reconciliation is a process. It takes time and effort. It's hard, and often painful. But some of our members here are clear that the love they share AFTER the hard work of healing themselves and their partners is deeper and more meaningful. For others it just isn't. No one has to settle. Just because you had the EA doesn't mean that you can't ultimately decide that you are done. Maybe this was your way of creating an exit.
Hang in there. It is impossible to predict the outcome. I know that my BS loves me. It's not the same, but I'm not the same either. The difference of 18 years is huge. The difference between 6 years ago and today is huge. My BS is worth it to me.
"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly."