Comments

1
Filed under "no brainer".
2
Great answer! The only element missing is the already-observed reaction of the loving sister, who is trying to make scarce with the LW. Clearly she is also perching on that big ol' limb along with Dan.
3
One evening my wife's sister and I went out together. We got drunk and kissed. It was not an ordinary kiss. It had all the passion and frustration of years of emotional but not physical reach. It was in that very moment that I realized she is as much in love with me as I am with her.
So you believe your wife's sister is madly in love with you, and you believe that because of how you felt when kissing her. Because at the moment you got to do something you wanted to do for years, you were a keen, dispassionate observer of someone else's mental state.

Uh-huh.

As @2 observed, it's much more likely that the sister deeply regrets one drunken kiss and is trying to pretend that nothing ever happened, than that she's crazy in love with her brother-in-law and would totally be into a triad if only her sister would agree to it. Save that kiss for the wank bank and never, ever mention it again.
4
As much as Leviticus morality is frequently disliked around here, and as much of it is irrelevant in these Temple-less ages, I'm going to say that Scripture has it right on the nose in this case. DO NOT SLEEP WITH A WOMAN AND HER SISTER BECAUSE YOU WILL INEVITABLY SOW ENMITY BETWEEN THEM. The Pentateuch even goes so far as to prohibit marrying your wife's sister even if you divorce her first, so long as she remains living. (Oddly enough, the situation of one man married to two sisters concurrently is actually seen in the case of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. Rabbis have historically considered that a negative example, a "do not do".)

So yeah, go with the Good Book on this one and keep your dick away from your sister-in-law, you dummy!
5
this guy needs a hobby and some other best friends. he should not be bestie best-ever bestest friends with his wife's sister. it's weird and littered with landmines. even the use of the word 'intimacy' is creepy. his letter reads like the ramblings of an overly-sensitive teenage boy journaling about his first crush.
6
"I deeply love my wife, the sex is great and we've never lost our connection. The thing is: I have the same feelings for her sister."

Well this guy's going to torpedo his marriage one way or another.
8
LW, the intimacy between the sisters is none of your business. Fuck off out of it.
It's good the sister has pushed you away, though that kiss can never be undone, it was the grog talking. Heavens I've kissed so many frogs when drunk I'm surely ashamed.
9
I don't know how perceptive this guy is, he sincerely may not know whether his situation falls into 1.) or 2.) of Dan's Scenarios. However, he may know the answer but just wish for another. Then again, maybe that is something she is wanting to explore. I think if the three of them are as close as he says, she would be aware of the situation on some degree.
10
I know Dan doesn't care if a letter is fake, but this has got to be.
11
@7 I am always glad to see your avatar
12
sounds like someone's watched the movie "Beloved Sisters" (Die geliebten Schwestern) a few too many times...but maybe didn't watch all the way to the end?

13
If I didn't have a couple idiot friends who would be right at home in this scenario, I would say that no man over the age of fifteen and still in posession of a working third of his brain would think, "Hey, I bet my wife would be totally cool with me fucking her sister, and oh, while we're at it, I bet she'd like to get a little taste of that sibling pussy herself!" But I do know those guys, and clueless morons that they are, they have shown me that you will never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the average Trump-voting, football obsessing, gun-toting American male. Sigh.

AMILE, I say this with no malice towards you...my friend, you are a fucking dolt. Plots of porn movies, as stimulating to the dick as they may be, will pretty much never fly in real life.

Controlling your "feelings" toward your sister-in-law is not a "half-fake life," it is what normal, intelligent people (you can recognize them because they are the ones not sitting in a tree playing a banjo) do when faced with irrational, self-destructive obsessions.
14
Wasn't this part of the plot of Election?
15
@11

Oh, a Hulk fan, I see.
16
@15 LOL!
17
Dear Penthouse,
18
"It is like a dream."
"It was not an ordinary kiss. It had all the passion and frustration of years of emotional but not physical reach."
"But the demon torments me."
"Should I just give up and live a half-fake life next to the two persons that are dearest to me until the end of my days, repressing what I feel...?"

You know, this letter wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the style and the content.

Just as no amount of Febreze will hide the smell if you pee your pants, no amount of florid prose can make this letter not sound like it was written by a wet-behind-the-ears numbskull who is mainly concerned with his own feelings (and who has trouble separating his feelings from reality).

@13 DonnyK "Controlling your "feelings" toward your sister-in-law is not a "half-fake life," it is what normal, intelligent people (you can recognize them because they are the ones not sitting in a tree playing a banjo) do when faced with irrational, self-destructive obsessions."

BINGO.
19
BTW, If you're reading this, AMILE, and you're not too put off by my insults...This is exactly the sort of thing counsellors can help with. A counsellor might help you look at this situation in a way that isn't so distorted by the lens of your emotions. You might want to think about doing that before you drop a 50 megaton emotional bomb on your wife and her sister.
20
Dan what happened to WTS/Wishful Thinking Syndrom? I think that would apply to a LOT of letters.

LW you seem to be assuming a lot. I mean unless your wife has been telling you for that a three way with her sister is deepest, darkest fantasy then you shouldn't assume that's the way she feels.

That you SIL ran away screaming after your kiss is a good indication that an incestuous three way is not her deepest, darkest desire.

And I have to ask is that about living a 'fulfilling life' or is it about your fantasy of having two hot women lusting over your cock? And is this fantasy worth ruining your marriage over?
21
DUDE!! Repeat after me: NO siblings, NO best friends, NO relatives, NO roommates!!! There are hundreds of MILLIONS of people in the world to choose from, STAY.AWAY.FROM.YOUR.WIFE'S SISTER!!! And get some serious counseling about proper BOUNDARIES!!

Sigh, anyone else got a bad feeling LW won't listen to Dan, and he'll end up divorced after a fight to the death on Jerry Springer's?
22
This. Is the Dear Penthousiest of all Dear Penthouses that ever Dear Penthoused.

Dan gets to have fun answering this kind of thing, that's cool, but jeez Dan, you might even just write the letter yourself instead of waiting for the material like this to come in the mail.
23
@9 makes an excellent point. If the triad are so very close, wouldn't the wife pick up on the romantic tension between her husband and her sister? Usually when you are with two people who are eye fucking constantly, It's obvious and awkward. I think this is a one-sided thing, and the husband kissed the sister and she freaked. He's built this whole fantasy in his head about how it's a big mutual, tortured, unrequited love affair. He would probably do his wife a huge favor by blowing up this marriage.
24
As someone who is open-minded, poly and has two sisters, all I can say is: NO.
25
Spoiler alert: The wife doesn't actually want him to fuck her sister. The sister doesn't want to fuck either of them.

I'm kind of with 23 in a way: The stupid asshole's going to blow up his marriage one way or another. May as well get it over with...
26
In addition to all the other can't say NO loud enough or underlined enough or in a dark enough bold face comments, in addition to being glad to learn "wishful thinking syndrome" since that's something I remember feeling so strongly at age 9-12 but never had a word for, in addition to thinking that Dan's 2 scenarios explain it quite well, I have some specific advice for AMILE.

Just sublimating urges is hard. Redirecting them has a better chance of success. So ask your wife why she thinks her sister doesn't have a significant other in her life, ask her if she thinks Sister would like to meet someone, then if the answer is yes and with Sister's approval, do reasonable things to fix Sister up. That is, include nice available single men in your social circle when meeting Sister and invite her along when there will be nice available single men. Don't just repress your urges towards her sexually, cut off the whole threesome idea from the root which apparently in your case means stop socializing just the 3 of you where this "emotional connection" thing is growing from
27
..."Should I give up and live a half-fake life..."
Oh, can the drama, dude. By your own say-so, you have a good marriage. Give up the idea of the sister, enjoy your wife, and stop acting like it's the end of the world.
28
@27: Yeah, it's either a cheesy movie script or the guy has some sort of fantastical personality disorder. Either way this is not going to work out well for the people around him.
29
And @26: " Redirecting them has a better chance of success. So ask your wife why she thinks her sister doesn't have a significant other in her life, ask her if she thinks Sister would like to meet someone, then if the answer is yes and with Sister's approval, do reasonable things to fix Sister up"

I doubt this guy has the maturity to do what you suggest without bungling and further investing in his fantasy.
30
@29 via @26 Agreed. This guy is salivating like Pavlov's dog thinking about his sister-in-law. I too doubt if he has the emotional maturity necessary to set her up with someone else.
31
@4 Is on the right track, this scenario is totally Biblical, which should give LW a good sense about how reality based this romantic triangle would be. And marrying sisters wasn't Jacob's plan, but his father-in-law's trickery, and that end up with so much family drama. Lot's daughters on the other hand, are really the kind of Biblical women LW is looking for: freaky Sodomites.
32
@31

To be fair, which of us here isn't looking for freaky Sodomites!
33
@30: I mean, he's been a dirtbag so far, the most anyone could hope for is that he stays out of everyone's affairs. Asking an avowed manipulator to... try doing nice things for a change? Yeah, he'll set up things that don't work, create "double dates" where the wife and other partner conveniently aren't invited or are encouraged to stay home, he doesn't want the sister happy and independent, he wants to milk the fantasy as far as he can get away with. His continued presence would probably put off any stable persons if his words are to be believed.

Again, if this isn't fake, which probably speaks more to the weirdo who would write this grandiose drek to begin with.
34
In your situation AMILE, you need to take your sister-in-law's withdrawal post passionate kiss as a sign that even if there are feelings, SHE DOES NOT WANT TO ACT ON THEM WITH YOU!! Why not? Even if your wife would enjoy threesomes with you and her sister (and do "if" statements get any bigger than that?) that is the only upside. The bare minimum of downsides are having to keep this relationship 100% secret from EVERYONE you know, and most especially their family. It would also have to be completely temporary unless your sister-in-law wants to maintain the relationship as an affair during her own relationships.
In a more reality based view of things, this will torpedo virtually EVERY relationship all of you have. Your relationship would be torpedoed, your sister-in-law's relationship with her sister will be torpedoed, that damage will spread throughout their family (seriously, how fucked up would it be to know that family reunions are impossible because of a fight over the same man by two sisters?) and you will be left divorced and your ex-wife and her sister will have a permanently damaged relationship.
35
@20: "what happened to WTS/Wishful Thinking Syndrome?"

It got retitled to the more accurate, "Dickful Thinking Syndrome".
36
Guys,
Why can't we see this for what it is: Just a regular guy susceptible to - and targeted by - a bombardment of media images around him that portray all women as cock-loving bisxuals? It might not cost him his marriage but it will give him the feeling that he's inadequate.
37
Hahahahahaha. LW - dude - get a grip.
38
@36: Because he doesn't deserve being coddled when he's planning on wrecking several lives in the process.

People are suggesting this is fake not just because it is cliche fantasy, but because if real, this guy does not live in the same reality that his wife and in-laws do. He does not have a grasp on their feelings, nor does he care. If real, he may avoid this one particular entanglement but will probably end up cheating on his wife anyway with the next woman he decides to be "close friends" with.

I have more sympathy for the people in his path than I do him. Same if the genders were swapped...
39
" It might not cost him his marriage but it will give him the feeling that he's inadequate."

He'll most likely learn this lesson in how to not be a manchild through the hardest possible means. And with everyone warning against. If he's shitty enough to judge his "manhood" through demanding a sister threesome, he can only blame himself and he's hardly a sympathetic example for relying on the most high-fiving fratbro of fake Penthouse Forum stories for his feelings of entitlement.
40
@38: "People are suggesting this is fake not just because it is cliche fantasy, but because if real, this guy does not live in the same reality that his wife and in-laws do."

People whose romantic fantasies cause them to lose touch with reality are a dime a dozen. There's nothing unrealistic about someone being that delusional.

"The chick who got a restraining order against me is just playing hard to get, when we finally get married we'll laugh about it."

"I'll get pregnant and then he'll have to marry me, and we'll live happily ever after."

"Why can't people see that me and my 15 year old student are soul mates?"

"I will heal this troubled, violent, alcoholic, chronically unemployed man with the power of my love!"

"This man who is cheating on his wife with me would be the best husband, if only I could get him to leave his wife!"

How is any of that crap less delusional than, "My wife's sister is deeply in love with me, which I know from a drunken kiss, and the solution is a triad!"?
41
@40: Wishful thinking, really. Incest is a step beyond the rest, but I agree that it's t least plausible and that ungrounded asshats are a dime a dozen.
42
Dan, I just fucking love that you managed to throw "Occam's Razor" in to this answer.
You are my hero.
43
@18 - Gawd, I know, right? Anyone who writes in those kind of purple romantic cliches should be thrown off the nearest cliff - sorry, the nearest desolate, windswept cliff, plummeting headlong to their death. Oh, the agony.
44
I'm surprised we made it this many comments without someone mentioning Debra, which serenades a gal while simultaneously expressing a desire to bang her sister.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL_9zWmD…

LW, what makes the song popular is that it is completely ridiculous. Everyone knows that actually telling someone "I wanna get with you... and your sister" will never, ever work. Everyone except you, apparently. Think on that.
45
@41 I'm bemused by the recent appearance of the word "asshat," which seems to spring from censors deeming it less offensive than "asshole." Don't see much difference, although the Urban Dictionary definition, "One whose head is so far up their rear end it could pass for a hat" does seem particularly appropriate here.
46
@18. No, BANJO.

But yes, right on @13.
47
Haha oh Dan, you are so very funny.
48
This could work, but only in a porn movie.
49
Dude, she kissed you when she was drunk and probably regrets it deeply because she doesn't want to do anything that hurts her sister, and that includes a relationship with you that isn't strictly platonic. People do stupid shit when they're drunk that they regret when they're sober. This is one such case. If you want to be poly, and your wife agrees, make sure your third isn't someone who's related to either of you.
50
By way of some practical advice to LW, he might benefit from seeing a therapist for a few sessions. I think he needs to unburden himself about his "love"/sexual attraction to his sister-in-law to someone who can be honest with him, while being a sympathetic ear.
51
Well, there is an example of a MFF marriage between a man and two sisters to be found in the (usually rather conservative) world of East Indian classical dance.

http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/just-peo…
52
LW thinks he is Alexander Hamilton.
Love fast die young. Imploding marriage optional.
53
I think people are off base to assume the sister wasn't actually crushed hard on this guy, she just had more caution in dealing with the situation. Every guy (and probably many women) who is married have a mental harem of partners who would be theirs if circumstances were just so. Sure, some are not actually interested, but some of them may well be. But ya gotta weigh the risk/reward and here the risk is through the roof.

Also, not sure the Leviticus argument is real strong, at the time the taboo was important to keep one social climber from marrying all the daughters of the same rich guy to try to corner their wealth. A monopoly from the time when women were treated as chattel that promoted inbreeding and consolodation of power. The 'people don't like it when you cheat on them with their siblings' argument is much stronger.
54
@40: Yup. People will lie to get laid, even--hell, especially--to themselves.

And they'll do the same just to make themselves think it'll get them laid, whether it actually will or not.
55
@53: "I think people are off base to assume the sister wasn't actually crushed hard on this guy, she just had more caution in dealing with the situation. Every guy (and probably many women) who is married have a mental harem of partners who would be theirs if circumstances were just so"

For every potential crush, there are 1000 ones that only exist in ones head to flatter oneself. It's more likely that he's as full of shit about his chances as he is that everybody's "cool with it".

Besides, it's tangential to reality because even if she was it'd still be a bad idea that neither would be up for. The "mindharem" that exists only under the perfect circumstances is much easier to entertain when there's zero possibility of it happening IRL. He's either safe nor trustworthy.
56
@54: " And they'll do the same just to make themselves think it'll get them laid, whether it actually will or not."

The PUA cargo cult is a pretty goo example of this.
57
Good, even!
58
Lol, goo example works pretty well in context, tho
59
I wonder if the acronym was coined by the writer, and if so, the phrase "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile" is a subtle wink that it is a fake letter?
60
This is the plot of Hamilton.
61
I have to briefly play devil's advocate here, and point out that polygamy between siblings DOES exist, and has been written about. The book "Love Times Three" details the story of a polygamous family, in which 2 sisters and a 3rd woman are all sister wives. The book presents their situation as working successfully. That said, given the intensely religious/familial way this situation is presented as having come about in the book, this LW's situation does not fall under the same umbrella. He seems to have been watching too much porn.
62
@61: Ostensibly there are not many inbred FLDS readers of Savage Love.
63
@62: Sadly, I am sure you are correct. The world would be a better place if more persons, inbred or otherwise, read Savage Love.
64
Another devil's advocate here ... sort of.

I have loved 2 brothers for 20 years.

Have I ever acted on my love for my husband's brother?
No. No. No and hell no.

I don't think it's super unusual to have feelings for your partner's sibling. They usually look similar and have loads in common and you might spend more time with them than other people due to the family tie.

But normal or not; it's forbidden. It's betrayal. It's incestuous in a way.

How to make peace with it if you can't just "get over it?" Know that sometimes it will suck and you'll be sad and that's okay. That pain will be way less than the pain of losing your partner.
65
Faaaaaaake.
66
@64: The material difference here is that you have and respect boundaries, well beyond his encouragement of getting the siblings interacting with each other...
67
@56 LOL at comparing PUAs to a cargo cult.
68
Yes, it's not a half-fake life not to get everything you want; in fact, not getting everything you want is a reputable indication that this life is entirely real.
69
recently met two brothers who regularly invite a girl for a threesome. slightly off-topic, but just saying, AMILE, it's not entirely impossible...
70
@69: Yeah, if it were two BROTHERS instead of two SISTERS...
71
Nah ah. I just can't buy it. In case it's real, lw please see above. This is the dictionary definition of a bad idea.
72
@67: Yup. It's easy to spot people who haven't read Clarisse Thorn's book...
73
Hahahahahahaha oh god. I'm not surprised that you're defending that garbage.
74
This was just the letter I needed to start my day. That is some funny stuff right there.
75
When I was in college I dated a funny, beautiful woman who I was very much in love with. When her sister visited, I instantly felt the same connection, for the same reasons - the personality and physical traits that were so attractive in my girlfriend were all there and just as attractive in her sister. I felt myself falling for her as well, just like the letter writer. The three of us would laugh endlessly, and as crazy as it seems, one night after some drinking I wound up kissing the sister in the presence of my GF - I don't remember what the justification was, my GF might have been showing me off, or the attraction was so visible, but in the moment, my GF was permissive/encouraging of it. I don't think the letter is fake, I think he is in love. However, tough shit, it ain't gonna happen. That kiss precipitated a shitstorm of confusion and heartbreak, and the only relationship that survived was between the sisters. I would also imagine that the LW's wife is not stupid, and has some idea an attraction is there. My recommendation is to reduce contact with the sister as much as possible, be grateful you found your wife, and deal with the pain of not getting everything you want. The sister, even if she loves you back, is already wisely taking steps to protect herself and your wife from the consequences of that kiss. Is the remote, tiny chance you could have the sister as well worth the extremely high probability you will lose both? I bet not.
76
I can't help but feel that by Dan even mentioning that there is some possibility in a million years that this might work out as LW is hoping, that LW will take that and run with it, to do what he wants to do rather than what he should or is least likely to ruin all of the relationships involved.
77
WestLove @76,

Well, then maybe that’s the best outcome for all concerned.
78
You know what? Dan has an annoying habit of giving good advice (almost) all the time. I think it's high time someone acted as the antidote to that.

LW: You should totally go for it. Get them both super drunk one evening, excuse yourself for a moment, and come back into the room naked, with a raging hard-on, and start passionately kissing and groping them both. Hilarity will ensue! It can't fail!

This advice brought to you by Luciferian Enterprises, LLC.
79
@76: Exactly. The issue isn't that he loves his SIL, the issue is that he wants to screw them both at the same time regularly and attempt some sort of continued romantic-sexual relationship that he's convinced everybody will get on with when that's not the case.
80
RE the politics of sister-wives (generally, not specifically siblings):

Apparently it works best when the women present a unified front and treat the husband as a useful adjunct to their household. This dynamic might suit him, though it’s unlikely to be what he’s fantasizing.
81
I'm still stuck on the fact that suppressing a strong attraction is difficult to do. (I'm still have attractions to some men in my past from 30 years ago. It would be a disaster if I were to act on them.) I wish there was advice on how to do it beyond "you better suppress the attraction or you'll be sorry." Imagine the "just suppress it" advice in situations where a gay man knows that he'll be killed if he acts on his desire. This guy knows (or should know) that he's going to blow up his marriage and make the people he loves best most miserable if he acts on his desire. Isn't there anything any of us can tell him that would make this easier other than "try not see Sister too often"?
82
Yeah, Crinoline @81. Once that attraction gets turned on, it's virtually impossible to make it stop. For me I have NEVER stopped being attached to someone until I get attached to someone else.
As some people said: I'm not surprised he got so attracted to SiL since he's attracted to her sister (his wife). It may also not be surprising that SIL got attracted to him since she is wired similarly to her sister. I'm not at all sure it's just a fantasy on his part.
Personally I'm afraid I'd have to leave town (with my wife) to get out of this one.
And I agree with the idea of finding out if his wife has any poly leanings. That might strengthen the marriage.
83
I guess my only note here is that I am really not clear from the letter-writer's turgid prose whether he thinks 'open threeway relationship' means the sisters fucking each other or not. To be fair, even actually nonmonogamous people can be fuzzy about their language on the exact nature of triads. But I figure he could mean a V where he is with both women, in which case he's only a wishful thinker kidding himself, not a guy asking his wife and her sister to get funky.

Of course the difference is between his merely getting dumped and slapped; and dumped so hard people in the next county hear it and there's a plaque explaining the crater to a curious public. But, you know, there's a difference.
84
@82: " And I agree with the idea of finding out if his wife has any poly leanings. That might strengthen the marriage."

~facepalm~
85
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the possibility that this drunken kiss may not have been consensual in the first place, given this guy's capacity to delude himself. By his own words, the sister "got scared" and is now very distant. She likely had the same assumptions as her sister in Dan's scenario #1, that her BIL was a safe male to get a little intoxicated with. Then BAM he takes advantage of the situation. She maintains appearances because she doesn't want to hurt her sister, but there's no real closeness anymore because CREEPER.
86
@85: Also evident by the guy saying in the letter that the wife would be really not into the idea but he's barging ahead anyway!
87
@44: You beat me to it! That is a great song, and trying to get with your sister's wife is a terrible idea. I am a pretty open wife and not even remotely jealous, but my answer would land somewhere between hell no and get out.
88
Ack! That would be wife's sister. Although sister's wife would probably be a less than brilliant move as well.
89
Dan: "I'm gonna crawl out on this large, sturdy limb, AMILE, and say scenario 1 seems far likelier."

AMILE: "So you're saying I have a chance."

Go for it, AMILE! Paris went after Helen of Troy, Zeus went after Europa, David went after Bathsheba - seize your chance at forbidden love with both hands, just like you drunkenly seized your wife's sister that night! What could go wrong?

Guys, he's totally gonna do it. Remember Nocutename's Law (Dr. Cute's Law?).
90
@81: It's a fair question. Trying to make yourself *stop* feeling something is pretty much setting yourself up for failure (it might even make things worse). A better strategy might be to practice observing that one is feeling the undesirable or inconvenient feeling, and then doing something to distract oneself from acting on it. With time the feeling is likely to fade or at least become easier to manage. This is pretty standard advice in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
91
Kind of surprised no one has brought up the indie film "Your Sister's Sister" (by Lynn Shelton, a Washingtonian). The letterwriter should watch that film, as the emotional reactions in that film are a lot more realistic than what he's imagining.

Spoiler ahead that everyone in the world except that letterwriter will see coming: the one sister completely freaks out when she realizes the man she loves fucked her sister.
92
I was in a somewhat similar dynamic. While it wasn't a brother, when my husband's childhood friend came to stay with us (along with his wife), we fell for each other hard. By the time the visit drew to an end, the tension was so thick amongst all of us. We didn't make out, though; but at the airport, he almost broke down hugging me goodbye and kissing me on the cheek.

Did I suggest that we all become poly and the childhood best friend and I get to act out on our feelings? Fuck, no. I repressed it like a grownup.

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