Victoria, just to answer a couple of your questions. I stay home with our 4 month old and 2 year old and he works full time. He works about 11 hours a day and is usually physically and emotionally spent when he gets home. I grew up in a very conservative Christian home and have been a Christian most of my life. His family is catholic and he occasionally went to church when growing up but he didn't become a Christian until a few years after he met me. He use to have a problem with alcohol, but after we got married we moved away from his friends and where he grew up and now live near my family who doesn't drink and he has that issue pretty well under control. I've thought maybe he's traded one addiction for another? We live in a small town and had been very involved in the church that I grew up in since we got married 6 years ago. About 4 months ago it came out that our pastor who is also related to us was having an affair. With a man. Needless to say the church is having a difficult time. It was the first pastor that my husband had ever really had. He was close to him and he really looked up to him and respected him so I'm sure that whole situation hasn't helped. Because of that and the recent birth of our daughter we aren't attending church at the moment but are planning to try and find a church soon. So right now I don't have a pastor's wife I can even go to. And we live in a small town, I don't even think there is an Christian counselors. There is one other thing I can think of that maybe be part of the issue, he actually says it is but I thought maybe it was just an excuse and he wants to put the blame on me, I don't want to go into detail on this thread. It mainly has to do with me not being able to be pleased by him but regretfully I've had other partners in my past and wasn't able to with them either so it's not his fault. He says that that's really hard on him and so that's part of why he started doing it. He use to really try to please me but gave up and hasn't tried in years. I hope that's not tmi but I feel like that may be part of the issue although it's nothing I can change so it puts guilt on me also. We just started reading the 5 love languages and I'm hoping that will help our relationship. Anyways that's just a little more detail, hopefully not too much but maybe you can understand him and our situation better now.
Please, please, PLEASE... do NOT hate me for what I am about to say.
When a husband has a wife and he gets hooked into porn, there are things that caused him to go there in the first place. Everyone has "needs", and in the porn-world, those "needs" can at times be much more wide range than you may wish to know. There is an acceptance that we ALL crave, having someone who connects with us or understands us, and a marriage is a truly beautiful thing to grow that kind of relationship. But there are times when our needs are not being met, or we have tried to push our needs aside, in favor of trying to fit the mold of "normal" society.
Again, please forgive me... but he may have needs that aren't what he wants to share. It is possible that he is not viewing other women, but other things instead. You did mention that the pastor had an affair with another man, which I am NOT suggesting is happening with him, but there may be other needs he has that he feels lead to seek in porn.
I am truly sorry for the tactless way I have phrased this, I really am. The thing is that men are visual creatures, we enjoy the things we see. I can't speak for women, because I am not one, but as for guys... by and large... it's visual. If, and I stress IF he has other tastes, no matter what they may be, he may be embarrassed to let you in on it, which would explain his constant need to take care of things on his own.
Let me put it this way... again forgive my lack of tact. If my wife did something that got my attention and said, let's steal a moment while the children are asleep... I would break down the wall to get to the stairs on my way to the bedroom. Then again, I think she's the hottest thing on the planet... because she is!
As I said, I really hope you can ignore my lack of being delicate. It screams of Christian Counselor needing to be involved. Men in general have a higher drive than women, but taking care of yourself instead of being with your spouse, something else is going on. I truly hope I am wrong, and there is NO delicate way of asking him. Let me repeat that... there is NO delicate way of asking him. Just please understand, this is an addiction like any other addiction. The one who is addicted WILL NOT see it as a problem, UNTIL they recognize it as a problem.
Have a blessed day,
-emptymailbag