Do you feel that your husband has started behaving oddly? You suspect there’s another woman in his life, but you want to be sure. How to know exactly if he likes another woman?
Your husband likes another woman if he takes a keen interest in her personal life. He would be on his phone often and initiate conversations. If he’s extra friendly and charming around her, buying her gifts, doing favors, he’s trying to impress her and win her attention.
Physical proximity during conversations would be quite visible. To help you gain more clarity, we dug deep into the signs and some possible exceptions. You need to be able to identify the boundary between harmless fun and flirting.
Signs Your Husband Likes Another Woman
Here are some signs to look for in your husband’s actions to find out if he actually likes the woman you suspect.
1. Always Excited To Meet Her
A different kind of energy and excitement fills your husband when he is going out to meet this woman he is flirting with these days.
He is always rushing to finish things off at home and practically ignores whatever you say when a meeting is due soon.
It could be an office colleague, a neighbor, or a friend from his past. But you can see that this particular woman excites him like no other.
You can see the disappointment on his face when she is not available due to any reason.
2. Gives Her Full Attention
Every time he is around her, he pays full attention to this woman. He takes a lot of interest in her personal and social life.
You’ll find that he often tries to stretch the conversations by telling his opinions and sharing his own experiences, even if he has to lie about them so that he can spend more time with her.
She becomes his center of interest at gatherings and parties. He even forgets about you when she is by his side.
You feel neglected as she becomes more important to your husband.
Our article on When A Woman Feel Neglected In A Relationship can mutually benefit you and your husband to make your marriage stronger.
3. Over Friendly Around Her
Your husband switches his character when he is with her. He becomes all jolly and cracks stupid jokes in order to look humorous in front of her.
He would make it a point to be on her side during debates and disagreements with someone else and back her up to form a good impression.
Your husband is always looking for opportunities to stand out from the crowd to get noticed by her. His remarks are pointed towards her.
You see a stark difference between what he is at home or with everyone else and what he converts into when he sees her.
4. Visible Admiration
It’s visible that your husband has developed a sudden interest in this woman. He compliments her and praises her, even behind her back.
You can see the desire in his eyes when he looks at her. Whenever her name comes up in a conversation, you see him smiling or blushing.
He might try to control his facial expressions or vocal tone from giving away his admiration, but he just can’t hide his infatuation.
He might even ask you to learn a few things from her or suggested you wear certain clothes or put on makeup a certain way.
5. Change In Body Language
When she enters the room, he gets conscious of his appearance. He maintains eye contact while talking to her.
His tone changes while talking, and he gets more careful about what he says. You have seen him checking her out from a distance and passing on smiles to her.
He gets a lot more touchy while talking to her, which is an obvious sign of flirting, unless it’s a habit and does it subconsciously.
6. Doesn’t Leave His Phone Alone
Your husband is hiding someone or something from you if he never leaves his phone alone.
You see him constantly using the phone and checking for her messages or calls.
Or doing the opposite, if he knows that you possibly can check his phone, he leaves it in another room while with you.
He keeps his phone locked and doesn’t like it if you pick up his phone without asking him. He uses his phone discreetly around you.
Your husband has started keeping his phone on silent or airplane mode to avoid drawing your attention.
7. Unsaved Phone Number
Your husband has not saved her phone number by name unless she is someone familiar to both of you.
You are suspicious of this particular number that he doesn’t pick calls from if it rings in front of you.
But you have been noticing many notifications from the same number for quite some time.
He particularly deletes chat history with her, and when you check the call and text logs, you won’t find this number.
8. Frequently Up Till Late At Night
Your husband is definitely flirting with another woman if you have caught him on the phone multiple times after you’ve been asleep.
He waits for you to sleep so that he can talk to her without being noticed by you.
You have heard him going out to take calls at midnight and whispering on calls.
Sometimes he pretends to be asleep and moves out of the bedroom after he is sure that you are no longer awake.
9. Spends Time On Personal Grooming
You see him spending an enormous amount of time getting ready for events where she will also be present.
You usually don’t see him bothered this much over his looks. Now he asks you for suggestions over what to wear or what shoes to pick.
If he usually doesn’t take much interest in smelling good but wears cologne on certain days, he may get close to that special someone on that particular day.
He is making all these efforts to impress her and appear attractive.
10. Concerned About Fitness
Your husband has suddenly become a fitness enthusiast. He has started working out and eating healthy to lose some pounds.
This could be because he is trying to improve his overall personality to appease this woman.
Maybe she criticized him for not taking care of himself, which motivated your husband to take up those gym sessions.
Or maybe it is because she likes toned men rather than those with dad bods.
11. Avoids Wearing The Wedding Ring
When your husband finds excuses not to wear your wedding ring around people, it’s a sign that he is trying to portray himself as a bachelor.
Or he wants others to believe that he is in an unhappy marriage and is available to date.
He pretends that he forgot to wear the ring or says it’s too loose or hurts because it’s tight.
Generally, he is always coming up with excuses to avoid wearing the wedding ring as much as possible.
12. He Called You By Her Name
Is there a particular woman whose name comes up most of the time in your husband’s conversations?
If yes, and he has even mistakenly called you by her name more than a couple of times, especially in the bedroom, then that’s a red flag right there.
This is because he has been thinking about her, and she is always on his mind.
He has been in constant touch with her and addresses her by name, and therefore blurts out her name subconsciously.
13. Expensive Gifts And Favours
Your husband likes this woman if he buys her expensive gifts, as he wants her to feel special. He wants his intentions to be known.
When you catch him making these purchases, he comes up with excuses to cover up his gesture.
He could cook up stories like it’s a secret Santa thing, or maybe it’s an initiative to make women in the office feel special.
He would also do her favors to come across as reliable and add himself in her good books.
14. He Is Eating Out More Often
A not-so-visible sign that your husband likes another woman is that he is spending most of the time away from home.
You could think it is because he has a lot of work or feels bored at home, whereas he might be taking her out for meals.
When he comes back home, either he is not eating at all or eating only a little.
You may assume that the food is not to his liking or he is losing his appetite, but the truth is something else.
It becomes more obvious if these outings have nothing to do with work, but his personal interest is keeping him outside home longer than necessary.
15. Increased Intimacy
It’s a sign of a newfound interest if your husband’s appetite for making love has grown suddenly.
Earlier, he did not show this much passion or consistency in getting intimate with you. The truth is that he fantasizes about this woman he likes.
If he is only flirting with her and hasn’t acted upon his desires, then he is left with unsatisfied urges.
He still wishes to fulfill them and hence, chooses to come home and make love to you while having her image in mind.
16. Developed New Vocabulary And Habits
Your husband has developed some new habits and likings. It could be that he is wearing certain kinds of shirts or brands that he has never worn before.
Or these could be adopting new hobbies because the woman he likes does something related.
A change in vocabulary is also a dead giveaway that he is impressed by this woman.
If you find new words or phrases become a part of his vocabulary, it might be because he is spending a lot of time with her.
And it is human nature to emulate what we are impressed with. But he’ll have no solid reasons when asked why and brush off your concerns.
17. Unknown Expenses
Your husband has started hiding his expenses and finances from you. Considering how transparent things transparent before, this is a significant change.
He has increased and unknown expenses.
You know for sure that this money is not being spent responsibly for your family but being splurged somewhere else.
Maybe he is taking this woman out for shopping and on dates. He must be going out of his way to woo this woman he fancies.
Hence, he can’t account for such rash spending without offending you.
18. Drawing Comparisons Between You And Her
Your husband might have never compared you to someone else, but now he has started doing so because he has a smart woman in his life to compare you with.
He criticizes you and points out your flaws regularly. He has started disliking you and complaining about most of the things you do.
Perhaps he expects you to treat him the way this new woman in his life treats him.
19. Disappears Without Informing
Your husband might be out with this new woman if he frequently stays away without informing you.
You find him avoiding your texts and calls while he is away, as he doesn’t want you to know his whereabouts.
He ignores you so that the other woman won’t know about you as he might not have told her about him being married.
Or she may be under the impression that you don’t care about your husband and let him do whatever he feels like because the two of you are in a bad marriage.
20. He Often Acts Defensive
Simple questions like where he is or why he got late make him uncomfortable.
He gets hyped up when you ask to use his phone, even when you have no intention of going through his call logs or chats.
He acts defensively even when you just joke about the woman and how you think he might have a thing or two for her.
Your husband overreacts and accuses you of interfering too much in his personal space.
He blames you for doubting his intentions, whereas you are just showing concern as a wife.
He’ll interrupt you and won’t hear whatever you have to say, often running from his responsibilities as a husband.
21. Engages With Her Frequently On Social Media
Your husband, who didn’t care much about social media, has suddenly developed an interest in being up to date about how to use certain platforms.
He’ll follow her on social media and engage with her posts by commenting or liking them.
He’ll be uploading solo pictures on his profile and sharing weird stories that you don’t understand.
Not only that, but he may even go to the extent where he will delete pictures of the two of you if he had posted any earlier.
When asked about the reasons, they would, of course, be stupid.
Essentially, he’ll just be creating a more attractive solo persona and have an active social media presence.
What Do You Do When Your Husband Likes Another Woman?
If your husband likes another woman, affirm whether it’s mild infatuation or a full-blown affair that might result in cheating. Finding someone else attractive other than your spouse is human. Both of you will encounter a few such people during your married life. Cheating, however, is not justified.
Here are a few more ways to better help you out and maybe save your marriage:
1. Evaluate The Situation And Your Actions
Before you take any step, you need to evaluate the justification of your reaction to your husband’s actions.
It’s possible that whatever you see or feel stems from your insecurities or jealousy issues.
Maybe your husband isn’t doing anything wrong, but you are overly possessive and controlling in nature about every scenario.
You need to make sure that the feeling you have about your husband liking another woman is not a false perception.
Also, at the same time, you need to be sure that you are not underplaying or brushing off the situation if it is indeed grave.
Giving your husband the ‘benefit of doubt’ when he is doing something wrong will be disastrous for your marriage.
2. Confirm Whether He Is Cheating Or Not
There is a line between healthy flirting and cheating.
You can not blame your husband for cheating on you when he was just being his usual self around people, especially if he has a charming persona.
You need to know the intensity of his actions and how far he is from crossing the boundaries of infidelity, both emotionally and physically.
Because there is no explanation for cheating, whereas you can work your way around flirting and set limits.
3. Come Clean And Confront Your Husband
When you’re sure that your husband likes another woman and is acting towards it, you must confront him and let him know that you know what he has been up to lately.
Let him know how you feel without accusing him of cheating. Tell him that this behavior of his is causing problems in your marriage.
Make him realize his mistakes that affect your relationship as husband and wife.
4. Find Out The Reason Behind His Actions
Ask your husband questions on why he started liking this other woman and felt the need to go out and flirt with her.
Try to reason with him without having an argument.
Find out what’s missing in your relationship that’s making your husband fancy another woman outside your marriage.
Hold a healthy conversation with him and if the issues can be resolved, then jointly work upon them as partners.
5. Give Him Space
Sometimes relationships get worse when you are over-possessive and overprotective about your partner, ultimately pushing them away.
Stop hogging their personal space and let them be. Create some distance for a while to see if he misses you and realizes your value in his life.
You should invest some time in yourself rather than constantly worrying about your husband.
6. Set Standards For What’s Acceptable
A perfect relationship is built on trust, which is only possible if there is transparency in the relationship.
To maintain a healthy marriage, you must set standards and be clear about them with your husband.
He should know his boundaries and what is acceptable, and what will be a dealbreaker for you.
Developing a fancy for someone else while being married is quite probable, but going out and cheating on your spouse isn’t justified in any way.
Even if it is a bad marriage, end it and then do whatever you want.
7. Invest In Your Marriage
Do you feel that the spark you once had in your marriage is missing? If yes, then this could be the reason that’s driving your husband away from you.
We are not blaming you for his actions, but you should take responsibility for your lack of efforts as well.
Maybe you both got too comfortable and started taking each other for granted. Together, both of you will have to invest in your marriage to make it work.
8. Be Prepared To Walk Out
Don’t come across as a vulnerable and helpless wife. One can misuse your vulnerability to their own benefit.
You should learn to value yourself. You are worth more than what your husband thinks or says you are. Be firm in your approach and call out his mistakes.
Even if, after all your efforts, your husband is not willing to change things that hurt you and the dynamics of your relationship, then you must have the courage to walk out of the marriage.
Conclusion
Developing a liking for someone else is very common after a few years of marriage.
You or your spouse may find someone to be a fresh breath of life in the mundane married life.
Whether the marriage works from that point onward depends on the people’s intentions to keep the bond alive.
If you believe that your husband liking another woman is equal to cheating, you’re being a bit harsh.
But if his intentions and actions show the desire to pursue the path leading to infidelity, then it becomes a problem.
Have standards and set clear boundaries to be on the same page.