Advice giver needs advice: infidelity imminent
I pride myself on being a relationship know-it-all so this is a bit ironical. I also have extensive sexual experience although its been a while since I was a deviantly skilled pickup artist. So I've been extremely introspective lately and it took a lot to get here. I also can't really talk to anyone in the real world because of the nature of this issue so here goes ...
I'm 37 with a wife of 8 years and a 6 year old daughter. Im in virtually a sexless marriage, the passion has been long gone and I've been hanging out with some younger guys, filling that void by partying and flirting with younger women. It sounds worse than it is. I was the unattainable married guy and turned down advances, again, just liked the attention. Its been pretty harmless up until recently where I hooked up with someone I had a great connection with (no sex). First time I *cheated* in 12 years. It wasn't just this one girl, its been a long time coming. My wife and I have talked about our unhappiness and went to couples counseling but her intimacy issues aren't going to change. My desire to get that sort of attention isn't going to change so somethings got to give.
I know it sounds like I'm being a selfish asshole here but let me say I've been a good husband, great father, ultimate provider and 100% faithful up until this point. I don't know if being socially castrated and ignored sexually is enough of an excuse to stray but the longer this goes on, the more comfortable I get with it.
I don't know if I'd be happier or miserable without her but I can't imagine life is all about struggling just to be content. I don't want to wake up at 50 and realize I wasted half my life being unhappy. Obviously the financial aspect of this and the damage it will do to our daughter is the real issue. So is my happiness worth the damage it can do to all three of us? or should I just shut up, honor my commitments and be unhappy?