The Dynamics of Rebuilding Trust and Trustworthiness in Marital Relationship Post Infidelity Disclosure

Abstract

Infidelity has been one of the biggest cause for divorce for couples in many countries, including Indonesia. For those couples deciding to stay in marriage, the experienced infidelity can affect some aspects of the marital relationship, trust and trustworthiness in particular. Rebuilding trust and trustworthiness after the incident of infidelity can be one of the most important factors in restoring marital relationship. This research used phenomenology qualitative method in order to explore the dynamics of rebuilding trust and trustworthiness in marital relationship post infidelity disclosure. The study found that the victim of infidelity rebuilt their trust toward the perpetrator of infidelity in five aspects, three of which are personal aspects (risk identification and prevention), predictability, and trust) and two of which are relational aspects (intimacy and reciprocity). On the other hand, the perpetrators of infidelity rebuilt the trust toward themselves by manifesting four aspects: commitment, benevolence, openness, and honesty, as well as religiosity.

Keywords

• infidelity disclosure
• marital relationship
• trust
• trustworthiness