My husband (22M) wants to open our marriage to explore his sexuality, but I (26F) feel that we're not ready for that.

Hi Reddit, **Disclaimer:** I used ChatGPT to assist in organizing and clarifying my thoughts for this post, but everything shared here is true and reflects my genuine experiences and feelings. I'm in a challenging situation and need some advice. My husband (22M) and I (26F) have been together for several years, and we have a 2.5-year-old son. We eloped previously but had plans for a bigger wedding in our backyard once we could afford it. We've faced some difficulties along the way, but we've managed to work through them with couples therapy. I thought we were progressing as a couple. Last week, my husband surprised me by saying he wanted to leave. I was completely taken aback. We had been talking about trying for another child, moving to a new house, and planning our wedding, so hearing this felt like a devastating blow. I've been feeling extremely anxious, crying often, and even experiencing panic attacks. He mentioned that he doesn’t feel like himself around me and experiences anxiety in our time together. Today, we had another therapy session, which seemed productive. My husband revealed that he doesn’t want to leave after all, but instead wants to explore an open marriage. We previously attempted an open relationship out of curiosity, but it was fraught with complications. He experienced jealousy when I went on a few dates with a woman I was interested in, culminating in him blocking her number and deleting our messages after I shared a kiss with her. I initially thought I had been ghosted, but later discovered he had taken action behind my back. The most painful part came during a disagreement when he confessed that he had been involved with several cisgender women, alongside trans women—something we had discussed regarding our open relationship—despite initially telling me I couldn't have relationships with other men. He had set “rules” for our arrangement, and breaking one of the most significant ones felt like a severe betrayal of trust. It highlighted a troubling hypocrisy: he wanted the freedom to explore his sexuality while restricting mine. After that, we decided to put a halt to the open relationship and focused on therapy to improve our communication and address our issues. Fast forward to now, and my husband has shown notable personal growth. He’s dedicated himself to establishing boundaries, understanding his emotions, and enhancing our communication. I’ve genuinely appreciated his progress and thought we were on the right path forward. Now, he wants to consider reopening our relationship again. While I might be open to that possibility eventually, I feel we’re not quite ready yet. I’m supportive of his desire to explore, and I understand my own curiosities, but I don’t think we have enough trust or clear communication established to try again at this moment. I want to ensure we can openly discuss our feelings, set clear boundaries, and handle any jealousy without complications arising. I’m caught between wanting to help him explore his identity and the necessity of building more trust and communication first. If I ask him to wait until we're more stable, I worry he might decide to leave. However, if I agree now, I fear it could jeopardize the progress we've made over the past year. What should I do? Should I consent to reopen the relationship, risking the trust we've worked hard to establish, or should I ask him to hold off until we're in a stronger place, risking his departure?