Again, great advice and information from everyone. All of your input is greatly appreciated.
The whole situation is surreal. The things discussed on this thread have gone through my head atleast once throughout processing all of this. Who is this person really? Did I ever really know her? What does she actually think about me and our family? Because obviously respect or empathy are non-existent.
The criminal charges against her AP are serious and do involve minors. My wife claims to have not known, but there's no exuse. I'm not downplaying this at all, I'm just not going to go into detail because I'm well aware of how serious this situation is and actions are being taken. Honestly, its by far the worst part of my story and the deepest rabbit hole.
As hard as it is to admit, I'm in love with the fantasy of who I thought this woman was and what I thought our life was. I'm realizing that I was one of those people who was waiting for some radical change and the person I built my life around, really didn't exist all along. It was all based on potential and fantasy. That was all shattered when I found out what was going on. I've been dying with each cut, each lie that gets exposed. As I have to press, dig, and do my own investigations to get any answers, she belittles me for doing so.
My wife doesn't want to fix any of this. I don't even think she truly feels bad about it either. Sure, she is emotional. But is it because of remorse? or because I'm seeing her for who she truly is for the first time? Either way she's still stuck in the justification phase. She recently told me that "she didn't feel emotionally connected to me anymore. I was there physically, but not mentally". She even went as far as to tell me that I've been emotionally neglectful and controlling for our entire relationship, and that I left her long before she did this. It's absolute insanity. When I asked why she never told me she felt like this, she said because I'm impossible to talk to and that she didn't feel like she could. How convenient, right?
Like I've mentioned, I'm not perfect. I can be standoffish, impatient, and moody. Dealing with financial stress definitely made these things worse, but isn't that life? Don't all long marriages go through tough times? Marriage, parenting, and just life in general is hard, but its reality. Then again, reality is what she's really trying to escape. The sad part is, I had no idea I was living this lie. I was honestly happy with my life and damn proud to call her my wife. She was my absolute best friend in this world and the truth is, she abandoned me. She sought out and chose another man over me, over our children, over everything.
And now I'm the villain?