Check out this letter to the editor of the NYT earlier this year. (July 13, 2012)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/magazine/a-message-from-beyond.html?_r=0
MY WIFES LOVER
My wife is having an affair with a government executive. His role is to manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership. (This might seem hyperbolic, but it is not an exaggeration.) I have met with him on several occasions, and he has been gracious. (I doubt if he is aware of my knowledge.) I have watched the affair intensify over the last year, and I have also benefited from his generosity. He is engaged in work that I am passionate about and is absolutely the right person for the job. I strongly feel that exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort. My issue: Should I acknowledge this affair and finally force closure? Should I suffer in silence for the next year or two for a project I feel must succeed? Should I be true to my heart and walk away from the entire miserable situation and put the episode behind me? NAME WITHHELD
Dont expose the affair in any high-profile way. It would be different if this mans project was promoting some (contextually hypocritical) family-values platform, but that doesnt appear to be the case. The only motive for exposing the relationship would be to humiliate him and your wife, and thats never a good reason for doing anything. This is between you and your spouse. You should tell her you want to separate, just as you would if she were sleeping with the mailman. The idea of suffering in silence for the good of the project is illogical. How would the quiet divorce of this mans mistress hurt an international leadership initiative? Hed probably be relieved.
The fact that youre willing to accept your wifes infidelity for some greater political good is beyond honorable. In fact, its so over-the-top honorable that Im not sure I believe your motives are real. Part of me wonders why youre even posing this question, particularly in a column that is printed in The New York Times.
Your dilemma is intriguing, but I dont see how its ambiguous. Your wife is having an affair with a person you happen to respect. Why would that last detail change the way you respond to her cheating? Do you admire this man so much that you havent asked your wife why she keeps having sex with him? I halfway suspect youre writing this letter because you want specific people to read this column and deduce who is involved and whats really going on behind closed doors (without actually addressing the conflict in person). Thats not ethical, either.
That’s wild.
OMG - so the NYTimes knew.