After discovering adultery, some couples choose to stay together and rebuild their relationship. Élodie, a 43-year-old professor in a 15-year relationship, shares the physical and emotional pain felt in November 2023, but also her choice to try saving their union.
In November 2023, Élodie, 43, an agrégée English professor in a 15-year relationship, learned of her husband's infidelity. He had cheated on her for several months with a colleague met at a seminar. Two years later, she vividly recalls the initial shock. “When he confessed to having an affair, I felt like an explosion in my chest, the pain was physical, real, she describes. I had the impression that everything I believed solid cracked at once, our story, our daily life, our complicity… But strangely, as soon as I took the hit, a phrase looped in my head: ‘do I stay tonight or do I leave?’. It seemed to me that my reaction to his confession would condition what follows, the end of our relationship or the attempt to save our couple.”
Infidelity affects millions of couples, according to an Ifop study published in March 2025, which states that more than one... (full details unavailable). Despite the betrayal, Élodie and others chose reconstruction. Beyond the emotional earthquake, they relearn to trust, love, and confide. This process involves healing invisible wounds and forging renewed intimacy, tracing a path to peace together.
These testimonies highlight that, facing adultery, the immediate decision can influence the couple's future, sometimes fostering unexpected resilience.