How To Protect Your Marriage From His 'Office Wife'

Does your husband have an “office wife” that he’s close to and can’t stop talking about? Here’s how to prevent their relationship from destroying your marriage.

- Sasha Gonzales

When her husband star ted getting work-related phone calls on weekends from a female colleague, Tanya* didn’t know what to think. “He wasn’t cheating on me, but this woman would ask to meet my hubby at cafes in town to discuss work, and usually on Saturday afternoons, which I found odd,” shares the 38-year-old marketing executive and mum of two.

“When I found out that they lunched together on weekdays too, without their other co-workers, I hit the roof. My husband called me paranoid and we didn’t talk for days. Even though he insisted that he and Melissa* were just colleagues, a part of me felt uneasy, and our relationship is suffering now because of her.

“Every time he asks me to do something for him, I’ll say ‘Ask your office wife to do it’. I hate being angry with him, but their closeness makes me feel uncomfortable and insecure,” adds Tanya.

Does Your Hubby Have An “Office Wife”?

Many of us have someone in the office that we’re close to, someone who makes us look forward to being at work all day. We may share office or personal gossip with this person, have lunch with her, and even consider her a good friend to the point where we socialize or travel with her. Now, imagine if that colleague was of the opposite sex.

Ad agency creative director Mark* has an office wife, Donna*. The two are inseparable but Mark says that his “real” wife understands their relationship.

“She trusts me and knows that Donna and I are just colleagues,” says the 40-year-old. “In our industry, it’s not uncommon to work late into the night with your team, and to attend events, take overseas trips, or go for drinks with them.