Reposting: I found my husband's Craigslist listing.
I, a 35-year-old woman, recently went through my husband's phone. We've been together for eight years and married for four. Initially, we were long distance, and I always believed we had a strong relationship. I viewed him as my soulmate, and he has consistently treated me like royalty. A couple of weeks ago, while playing around with his old phone, my curiosity got the better of me, and I started looking at his emails. I discovered numerous messages from adult sites, which prompted me to check his sent emails. To my shock, I found messages from the first year we were together where he had posted a Craigslist ad seeking a friends-with-benefits arrangement, complete with a nude photo. This was during the time we had officially been together for six months, and he continued to respond to messages for about three months. Although it seems like nothing substantial came of it—he eventually stopped replying—I can’t shake the feeling of betrayal. When I asked him if he had pursued other women during our long-distance phase, he insisted he hadn’t. He used to drink heavily, which might explain why he doesn’t recall everything, but it still hurts. He’s my best friend, and I’m heartbroken. This happened eight years ago, and I haven’t uncovered anything else to cause suspicion. Should I let it go or confront him? If I do bring it up, how should I approach the conversation? I can’t stop crying. Additionally, just to add context, we were long-distance for the first five years of our relationship, and we have always been open about checking each other's phones before. I've discovered he has an email account where he messaged women in 2019, asking them to send nudes and other explicit content. He also had multiple Tinder accounts, with one being very recent. When I confronted him, he claimed that he was drinking heavily at the time and that many of his actions are a blur to him, but that still doesn’t justify his choices. I thought we were doing well together, even through tough times. He assures me his actions weren’t about me and that they were just poor decisions, but it feels like a pattern over the years. A week has passed since I asked to see the Tinder accounts, and with everything going on, I haven’t pushed for them yet. Furthermore, I’ve noticed he has been quite flirtatious with female friends, which bothers me. I can’t stop dwelling on everything, and it has shifted how I view him. I find myself comparing myself to other women and feeling inadequate, like I’m just an option. I’m at a loss for how to move past this, and I’m deeply hurt.