Can You Still Love Someone Who Betrayed You? Navigating Love After an Affair

Infidelity does not erase love — and for many betrayed partners, that is one of the most confusing and painful aspects of the experience. Continuing to love someone who has caused you profound harm can feel irrational, shameful, or even frightening. Yet from a clinical perspective, the coexistence of deep love and devastating betrayal is not only common — it is one of the defining features of what makes infidelity so uniquely difficult to process.

In this episode of Ask Dr. Talal, Dr. Talal H. Alsaleem, PsyD, LMFT explores the complex relationship between love and betrayal, addressing why love persists after an affair, what that means for the recovery process, and how betrayed partners can honor both their pain and their love without feeling trapped by either. He offers a compassionate framework for navigating one of the most emotionally complex dimensions of healing from infidelity.