Why should a married woman give up her male friends?

And you didn't see this in him BEFORE you got married? I mean come on, what was it... did he flip some switch the instant you said I DO and suddenly become jealous?

I am betting if you are honest with yourself you will admit that he gave off signals that should have made you realize his true nature long before you two tied the knot. That being the case why would you expect him to change all that now?

Actually I am betting good money that while you two were dating you just loved his poisessivness and took it as a sign that he really loved you. Am I right?

You need to make your husband your best friend. Its fine for a married woman to have male friends and its fine for them to be many. None of them though should have access to a lot of your time of be asking you out without your husband in toe (nor should you be seeing them without your husband unless its some kind of all girl affair or a very personal matter).

Its not that he wishes to be controlling, its probably he wants to be included.

Now, if I'm wrong here and you offer for him to join you on all occasions and he refuses then the issue is slightly different.

For a marriage to be really successful you both need common friends and or goals. If you have common goals, use those to find common friends (and the same for the opposite).

Neither of you should be repressing the other but both should be wanting to flex to make the other happy.

Make him feel secure in you, include him in everything, make your best friend his best friend.

If he is unwilling to be his best friend, remind him it would make you happy (this might seem low, but its important, he should remind you if your making him unhappy equally).

I will give you my opinion based on the fact that I was fine with any of my girlfriends to have male friends and in fact my girlfriend was chatting to a guy on the phone for 2 hours the other day( check my question ) and now she is propably with him!

There is a term called emotional infidelity .

When you chat to a guy then your husband will think what is it that you get out of talking to someone else ? Why do you devote your time and attention to that person? Why you can not talk to me? Off course there will be times that you will talk with a friend to get his opinion or catch up and that is absolutely fine I think when it is not a daily thing. Because then it can lead you to be with that other man that you are talking to.

Hope that helps. Check teh intrnet for the term to find out more.

Men and women are made for sex. No matter how much you try to be just friends, there will be a weak time in your lives until something happens, unless one of you is gay. I know it sucks, it is good to have friends of the opposite sex, up until you get married.

Here is what you have to do:

Meet your friends with your husband in tow. Be very lovey dovey with him in front of them. Hold hands, massage him, tell them how great he is etc. Generally make sure that he feels that you are conveying to them how much you love him. This should make him feel secure.

As for your friends, they would love to see that you are happy in your marriage. and love your husband. That he is a wonderful guy and loves you very much. Your friends would also feel very happy. Won't they?

you got some real problems girl..
one of the things about realations ships is.. never give up your girlfriends and friends
4 your husband! look at it this way.. if don't have any contact with your gfriends any more.
and you breakup with your husband in a few years.. then you don't have nobody to fall back on ..
and talk to. force him to ease up.. it's your girlsfriends..
from your gfriends point of view.. they are thinking oww she doenst want to hang cause she has a man and we aren't important to you anymore...
when the day comes when you will need the the most ,you will have to search 4 other girlfriends to lean on. exept if they are willing to help.. those girlfriends are hard to find.:)
but my advice is .. always have your girls.
and he his guys..
dominant realitionships never work out,.
succes ,
me

Jealousy indeed. No women should have to give up her friends because of her husband. (I'd feel guilty and uneasy if my wife did it because of something I said)

Seriously? You got married before settling your relationship issues?

Ridding your friends to supplicate to your husband's insecure jealousy issues IS NOT the path to a long happy life.

Instead you should continue to grow and mature, as you would any ways, and let him know that your friends are not within his sphere of control.

Invite him to challenge his insecurities, so that he too can grow up a little bit. Easier said then done I suppose.

Just DONT give into his craziness because all you'll be teaching him is that it's okay to have a baby tantrum to get what he wants.

Be clear, stay strong, and don't give in. Be a woman with boundaries, friends, and her own decision making strengths.

Good luck,
~ Robby

Should have dealt with this before the I do's but you can't undo it now.
He is insecure, as a man older than his wife myself the way I see it is that she can start over with someone new and still be considered in a young relationship with a long road in front of them, I would be the knackered old divorced guy with the choice of divorced women.
I too made my feelings clear that I didn't like guy friends in my wifes life (I cleared this up from day one), however I didn't like it because they was guys with bad reputations and general loud mouths and she was fine with this and glad she did, however a gay guy is no problem to me, they are hardly threatening or likely to sleep with my wife behind my back.
Does it mean he has trust issues, yes, does it mean he is jealous and controlling who you can talk to, yes.
To be honest I don't understand why you got married when this will have been the case before you got married, It will have saved a lot of messing around if things go awry due to this problem, you need to be aware he will probably never change his insecurities and need to control who you talk to but you should discuss it with him, it falls down to trust really, he needs to trust you and that may happen over time but don't be surprised if he is suspicious of you.

Tell him you have no intention of going with anyone else otherwise you wouldn't have got married and would rather split up than cheat if it means that much to you.
Tell him you have friends and that's all they are and you are married to him and happy that way but if he tries to control you that it will just result in you leaving him,
A marriage is based on trust, commitment, honesty and love and although you are with all 4 of them key elements he is not giving you trust which you find an insult to you.

A stern telling off for his behaviour using the above notes and it will take shape how it is destined, if that means he can't trust you but will work on it tell him you will give him the benefit of the doubt but want to see improvements in his attitude, even if that means getting him help for paranoia, work at it, do your best and it should settle down in time once he see's you are here to stay.

Sorry, guys, I'm voting with the girls on this one. A married woman shouldn't have to give up her male friends as long as she and they have enough self-control to avoid having an affair. For gay guys, the affair-thing is obviously not a threat, so what's the problem?

In a perfect world, every girl I dated would have at least one honest, reliable, and sensitive gay male friend. That way if she ever needed to talk to a guy about something personal or secret, she'd know she could confide in him with no chance of making me jealous or suspicious :)

nice answer again mr inquisitive,
guys if you think you can marry, and still retain complete independence on such issues you are wrong, that is not how marriage works in my eyes, it is a codependent system, you give up some freedom for support that you can in turn rely on
also classical problem with big age-gap couples older men will want to settle down i.e. want YOU to settle down, you should talk about your life plans..fast! the things a 20yrs old wants to do are VERY different from what a 30yrs old wants. what you both need to do is bridge the gap, you can't move up 10 years and neither can he go down 10
5 for both of you already is a stretch, but what you have to do is show your lifestyle to him, not exclude but include him, he's not just your means of support and the father of the children he will want very very soon but also your partner for life and that means all parts of it (to some degree)
especially in the first year of marriage it is important to stick together, work out how exactly your future together will be.
more importantly it does not matter that your friend is gay, I guess the thought of having to share you with someone else from now on and in the future might not look so good for him. its up to you to defuse the situation, let them meet a few times so he can make sure your friend is gay and not your f***buddy, and while you take the step you have the initiative, that's when you have to say:
"ok look I am taking a step towards you, now you do the same, everything is mutual in a relationship so, give me your trust and I will not let you down"
a relationship is constant work and that's what you will have to start doing if you want to reap something good
(protip: you are a woman, find out how to talk to him and use it to even the strenght bias due to your age gap)

Although I don't think you should be forced to cut all your male friends out of your life you need to pull back a certain degree. Maintain your friendships but do so in a much more neutral nature, meaning include your husband in your activities. Unless the guy is as gay as purple grass, you should not be spending time alone with them.

With the divorce rate of young couples is it so surprising trust and jealousy is such a big issue? This should probably have been resolved long before marriage was even considered. He must have shown subtle hints as to a controlling nature beforehand.

Speak to him and attempt to find a middle ground. Things cannot remain the same as they were previous to marriage but they should not change so drastically as to cut apart your life one piece at a time. If he refuses to give up any ground, lay your foot down. Continue to be who you want to be and be with who you want to be with. It will put stress on your marriage so be prepared for some heated arguments, but maybe, just maybe, he will give in or at least give you a little leeway.

Cheers.

this is why the divorce rate is so high---people buy into the hollywood glamor of romance and marriage. that's not the reality of it. marriage is a massive change in how you live your life. you give up a LOT of personal freedom and liberty.

look at a 48 year old person who has been married for 15 years. Chances are VERY slim that that person has close opposite-sex friends.

if you want to have a young person's life, then you shouldn't have gotten married. marriage isn't fun.

Yes in a relationship you should give up all friends of opposite sex except mutual friends.. The reason is then there can be no chance of temptation.

i think the issue is at 20 most of your male friends are single and are out on the pull... Most likely he knows that aswell..
Had you been in a closer age group, then your friends would have been attached and not pose a threat...

Either way, it does not justify his behaviour..

If he is ten years older than you, then he is old enough to know better. So he is not likely to out grow this behavior. You will not change him. So give up the guy friends or look for an exit strategy from your marriage.

It sounds like he is projecting how he acts on you, meaning that he does not trust you because he is not trust worthy. So aside from his controlling issues, he is likely to also be a cheater.

Good Luck,
James

Anything that can go wrong goes wrong in isolation. Really bad relationships systematically cut off your outside contacts until there is no one left to tell you what you are experiencing is out of line. This behavior is not a positive indicator of future bliss. If he persists in the behavior, make sure you have a clearly marked exit plan.

Ten years older? Exactly how well did and how long have you known him since you've been married. Naturally these would have been signs you would notice when you've been dating for a few months. He does seem a bit controlling, especially over a gay male friend. Your best bet is to stand your ground and tell him he needs to accept the fact that you have male friends. If he forbids you from hanging with men in general, then it looks like divorce truly is on it's way. No offense, but these are the sort of things you should be looking for BEFORE you marry. Not after.

That is unacceptable, the controlling behavior
Maybe he thinks you'll leave him for someone closer to your age. This common in large age gaps like yours.

I will say that older guys that want girls your age are generally more controlling (which is why they'd want you in the first place--someone they can manipulate easy)

And why are you married at 20?
Why would a 27 year-old want a 17-year old?
Can't he get someone at least 25?

No way you should still be able to hang out with your male friends.

First and foremost, you're 20 years old and shouldn't be married. I am sorry to say. You haven't lived a college lifestyle and really don't even know who you really are yet. I know love is love, yada yada but I started dating a girl at 18 and she broke up with me at 23 because she "wonders what else is out there". We had such a strong and passionate love for eachother. Controlling guys are no good. It's going to start with the guys, then when you have a "girls night", you will be checked up on and accused of lying. He will check for new numbers/texts in your phone, check your emails (or ask at least). Jealousy is a deadly sin and a bad thing. Human beings are flirtatious in nature anyway. He sounds like a pretty immature 30 year old with very little life experience himself. All fingers/signs point to a future divorce, I'm sorry to say.

you need to lay down the law. tell him he does not own you and you are free to have your own friends. if he has an issue with that, you have no choice but to leave him. I have to ask though, how did you NOT know he was like this before getting married?

As a former jealous boyfriend, I can tell you that he probably won't change until something major happens to where he sees what is really important. It took a breakup with a very special woman for me to realize my mistakes.

I used to get upset because my girlfriend had a lot of guy friends. She just naturally got along better with guys than girls. I couldn't grasp why she'd want to spend her time talking to them when we could be talking or doing something together. I didn't realize until after that I could TRUST her and that she wanted to spend time talking to them because they were her FRIENDS.

As much as he probably says he trusts you it really is a trust issue. My line was always that I trusted her, but I didn't trust the guys not to do try anything. While this is completely true, it's kind of bullsh*t. If I trusted her then I would know that she wasn't looking for more than friends and I could trust her to shoot them down if they tried anything.

The best advice I can give is to sit down with him and try to point the things out. I'm sure you've done this, but the other option isn't great. The other option is to straight up tell him you can't continue like this if he is going to try and control you. The second option is risky because he'll more than likely get really upset and hurt.

Your husband is a control freak. Sooner or later he may get worse and even violent.

I currently live temporarily in a women's refuge, this is a classic trait of ALL the abusive husbands I have heard about from several women who have sufferd somestic abuse.

I advise you to do your research on controlling behaviour and get out as soon as you can, or better still, kick him out first, men like this do not change.

Grow in your own confidence and self-esteeem you are worth more than this, NOONE has the right to tell you who your friends are, your husband thinks he owns you now you are married. I don't think you're an object, do you?

Watch out, BEWARE and look after YOUR needs first. A man who loves you for you will accept and like that you have your own friends. He thinks you are his possession.

You sound just like me, I just get married in June/6 and my husbend is crazy when it comes to jealousy he's always qustioning what am doing who am I on the phone with and what happend when I went out today? Its crazy and its really annooyyyiinngg. I don't bleam you. Every time I talk to him about his extra jealousy he start telling me its because of how much he loves me and cares about me, that's why his this jealous, and honstlly I belive him.
dont let him go over something stuppid like that.! he made me stop talking to my guy friends! and I egreed because I love him too, and I would pick him over anyone. because I know he deserve it. and if your husbend deserve it too Then who cares about the guy friends :)

I had a similar situation with my boyfriend. He was extremely jealous of any male contact that I had. But then I sat him down one day and told him that no one could replace him and I love him more than anyone in the entire world. And then I told him that not only my words will prove it, but my actions would too. I told him about conversations with male friends, I invited my male friends over to meet my boyfriend and let my boyfriend meet them. I let the situation be open and not taboo. Just exposure to it made him more comfortable with it. If he sees that you are with him 100% it shouldn't matter who you talk to. But it is a legitimate concern of his so don't treat him like he's stupid or immature. He has a right to his feelings, but so do you. So no arguing, just love and compromise! :)

My husband of 8 years has a female best friend. After spending much time with her, he is now officially emotionally attached to her (see my question). It is okay to have male aquaintences but in my personal opinion, your spouse should really be your best (male) friend. The dynamics between men and women are different than with people of the same sex. You can never be sure 100% that there aren't some deeper feelings and/or attractions involved. It might not be the spouse, it may be the friend. I just prefer to not be in situations that could possibly lead to something more.
I am definitely not judging you, only you know what is right for you in your life! I just know that when you get married, things change. Some are changes that you choose to make and some are just natural changes that just "happen". I hope things work out well for both of you and that you can slip into a groove that is suitable for both of you. Maybe if you both looked at the situation from each others point of view it may help? Maybe if you both bent a little bit and met somewhere in the middle, you could find a common ground that you would both be happy with!
Good luck and best wishes!

That's his problem, you should have any of the friends you want

Gay or not you're husband may just be jealous for your affection. He wants all your attention which may be a lot to ask but sometimes its just what a person needs.

Yes once you get married you sort of have to give yourself completly to the other person. Respect them fully on every level. Just think that he loves you so much he doesn't even want to risk loosing you. Plus having girl friends is a lot more fun!

Also think about it...what if he were out socializing with some women. That wudn't b very pleasant would it? Secure or insecure. Once your married ur devoting yourself completly.

Let him in on u're relations with other men. My best friends are guys and my husband wasn't too comfortable with that, so I made sure he got to know them and now he's ok with it. Make sure you don't have any unecessary "relations" with like guys on internet, because that's just asking for trouble. Let ur husband know that the guys you do talk to and hang out with are good friends of urs and they're important to you and let him get to know them too. Don't think you can do much more, the rest is up to him.

Hope u'll be able to solve ur problems, good luck

To get a divorce without even trying everything you can is silly. Obviously you two love each other, cos love sometimes come with the evil deeds - jealousy and insecurity. Your husband is obviously insecure about you having guys friends. There are many ways to ensure him about your love to him. (but bringing him and you friends to a meetup and show your friends how intimate is just bit too dramatic in my opinion), Earn his trust by other things, show your care with small things, you can do it girl, drown him with your love. (by then he might not be complain about you meeting with your friends, but about how you are too lovey dovey)

just a side: like someone mentioned above, doesn't he have any gal pals too?

I understand what you are saying but you are not no longer an "I" you are married it is now "we". If your Husband hung out with other Women and said "oh these are just my friends, and oh by the way they are lesbians", would you be happy about it?

When you marry you agree to so many things. If he is uncomfortable with your friends, and he ask you to give them up and you say no, what message does he receive? That your friends are more important than he, in your eyes.

His age matters not, he is just asking that you respect his position as your Husband.

The decision is yours, I mean weight the pros and cons and if you find more in common, than not... you will know.

Good Luck and I hope I wasn't too hard on you.

no no no. you shouldn't have to give up your guy friends for him. I mean HELLO...he knew you were friends well before y'all were engaged, let alone married, so he should deal with it.

either that or he should give up all of his female friends.

good luck girl :]

I think no you don't have to give them up. Just draw a line. Like since your married, certain things you can't do with them. Like going places by yourself them. It'll look like a date.

he is being a total control freak. if you give up your guy friends for him, he's gonna think he can get away with other stuff and before you know it, you're gonna be under his watch 24/7. it's NOT ok for him to tell you what to do, ESP if he has girl friends, who he should be willing to give up too. either way, you need to make a choice, controlling husband or your freedom.

in light of my friend's recent trouble, I have considered how her relationship started and 15 years later, he's still acting the same way tho she's never given him any reason to not trust her. I don't want to doom your new marriage but I don't want to doom you to a life of abuse either. if you have concerns youve probably already done some research but here's a link of some warning signs:

link

Does he not have any female friends, and if he doesn't, why not?

He sounds controlling. If your BFF is a gay man he is not going to be making any moves on you. I could see if it was a straight guy. You should have friends outside of marriage, tell him to get over it. He's wrong.

the age difference could cause two problems. one, the insecurity which is apparent. two, the controlling factor. also contributing to the insecurity is the newness of your marriage. the more secure he feels in the relationship, the better it will be. maybe you both can give a little. you can ease his insecurity by including him or something and he can compromise and let you go out/hang out with them. if he can't give some, youve got a real issue.

Divorce is not your only option - try talking things out with him. Seek marriage counseling. Divorce is your last resource in extreme situations (in my opinion). You made your vows for a reason. Remind him about your loyalty to him. Remind him about the vows. Ask him why he is jealous. Are these friends perhaps younger than him - ten years younger? Perhaps he is afraid that you will think him too old if you continue to hang out with your guy friends that are your age.

It may not be a case of jealousy - it could merely be insecurity. Be open and honest and encourage him to do so as well. If a third party intervention needs to happen, have one (preferably an unrelated party - a counselor or something similar).