r/fraysexual • u/PumpedHuge • 3d ago
Coming Out How being fray almost ruined my marriage, and how I’m coping
This is long, but hoping it can help others.
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After nearly destroying my marriage via my infidelity, I sought professional counseling and learned that my pattern of attraction is the very textbook definition of fraysexuality.
The therapist helped me understand how deeply Fraysexual I am. In every relationship I’ve ever had - the sexual attraction quickly fades as emotional intimacy grows. The more I fall in love, the less sexual I feel toward them.
When I love someone deeply I end up feeling little or no sexual desire toward them. I become protective of them, to provide comfort and well being and stability - foundational comfort… however sexual desire fades.
I’m always more attracted to people I don’t know well, in every relationship, which has made long-term relationships complicated. Once I know someone and become comfortable- the sexual interest dries up.
This doesn’t mean I don’t have a sexual drive. Sexuality and libido are two totally different aspects of who we are and who I am. One is a craving and need, the other is the desire for what that need applies to.
If you’ve never experienced this — You can crave food, and have extreme hunger (as it’s a basic need for life) - but not like the taste of tomato… now imagine if the thought of eating a tomato makes you a bit queasy. Unless you are on deaths door - you won’t eat the damn tomato.
I’m still learning how to navigate this honestly - as logically my brain knows “you love her - what the fuck is wrong with you?”. I’m doing my best now ethically within my marriage. The cure for this was being willing to be open and discuss is.
Also - connecting with people outside my immediate emotional circle has helped me understand this part of myself.
My high sex drive, is coupled with my Fray aspect has revealed some truths about why I am the way I am. It is why I have been an adult entertainer, why I worked in industries of heightened sexual nature, why I felt compelled to being a “disposable surrogate” in the affairs I had (to avoid forming a bond), and why I have usually gravitated towards women who are dominant and treat me objectively vs deeply caring… this preventing any feelings of love and attachment in those relationships… in favor of sex and kink.
**Moving forward - how I’m trying to harness this as a power and not a handicap**
I’ve learned to use my online persona - to feed that need to be idolized and wanted by strangers, in order to stabilize my desire and bring some spark to my home life. While it’s not the same feeling as human contact, it does “quell” that feeling to stray and does leave me charged enough to engage more sexually with my spouse.
This energy from strangers becomes key to generating sexual interest for my spouse. Feeling desired from others allows me to accept the desire from my spouse. Who by the way I would do anything for, I’m just really having a struggle feeling the sexual drive without these points of stimulus.
Learning to not hide these things from my spouse is key. I’m getting better every day. I think she’s starting to see how I feed off this energy and can harness it for her.
I realize how vain this sounds, and it is. It’s vain and prideful. Bur I think that is a part of the Fraysexual personality as well. We get our gratification from seeing the gratification of others and the impact we can have on them. Seeing the desire in their eyes for us.
**I cheated, I suck. I only thought of me**
In terms of my relationship and infidelity - I’m lucky she stayed, and opted to try to understand me… vs abandon me. I feel horrible as I still can’t give her the attention she wants in the bedroom. I feel horrible I damaged her comfort in our home, of trust in me, and then emotional damage to her sense of security and self worth.
Our marriage quickly became a sexless one and it took years - nearly a decade for me to cheat, but it doesn’t matter… I still did it. I compartmentalized it and did it for my emotional well being. I felt like I was drowning. But I didn’t think — why not just ask my spouse for help?
**I didn’t know what Fraysexuality was**
Had I known - maybe I would have acted differently.
It’s still hard to comprehend why I can so easily have sex with someone I don’t know / care about, when I can’t engage with people I care for. It’s opposite of normal, and our world isn’t conditioned to understanding that.
I do wish I’d have known about this before getting married as at least I’d know what to talk about before bringing someone down this path with me.
I’m sharing because others may have experienced the same confusion. If you’re fraysexual—especially in the Pacific Northwest—I’d love to hear how you’ve navigated love, marriage, and intimacy.
Honestly we could use a support group… we can’t change who we are, but we can understand it.