Last Sunday, January 19,2014, the New York Times ran an interesting article in its Sunday Style section on Page 15. The article is titled: “In a Confrontation, a Secret is Revealed.”
It’s about a couple whose marriage fell apart after the husband told his wife that he was gay and had been having affairs with other men on a regular basis and for an extended period of time.
The article quotes both parties extensively on their actions and reactions to this revelation. There was a difficult divorce and the wife’s standard of living suffered. The husband’s standard remained the same.
The case raises a question for me. The husband was engaged in affairs with other men for some time and not just on an occasional basis. In the divorce of a heterosexual couple, a husband who frequently and over an extensive period of time cheated on his wife would possibly face a disapproving judge who would consider giving more child custody, child support, spousal support and property to the aggrieved wife than a case where the split was by mutual consent.
Would that judge rule the same way when the cheating was by a gay husband who was “discovering” his authentic sexual identity? Is adultery – adultery regardless of the sex of the cheating parties?
What do you think?