Your H is very unsafe.
You confront the 2 of them at work. They both deny, but you were correct in your conclusion that something was going between them.
After gaslighting you, he doubles down and hangs out with her privately in his truck "talking" with her. You confront again and are gaslighted by both of them. Your H's affair partner serves you a big helping of sass and entitlement, and your H lets her and doesn't protect you at all or snap out of his wayward thinking.
After all of this gaslighting, he takes her to a hotel.
Now he wants to claim a lack of memory.
a week later took her to hotel room and got so drunk she tells him the next day they had sex he still doesn't know if that really happened
He took her to a hotel. There was clear intention and planning on his part to cheat.
Now he doesn't want to fully own it.
At every turn, you raised a red flag.
At every turn, he denied and yet also continued to ramp up the relationship with her by inviting her into his vehicle and then taking her to a hotel.
he ended it saying he felt so terrible he did anything at all from the moment he texted her till the end and says never wanted sex
You confronted and raised concerns about this relationship and his response was to make sure it happened with his affair partner. He took her to a hotel. He full on planned to have sex. Now he wants to deny (to you and likely to himself too) that this was his plan.
A spouse raises concerns about an inappropriate relationship at work and their partner's response is to take that coworker to a hotel, have sex, and then claim that sex wasn't intentional...because they drank a lot and don't remember clearly. Why did they check into a room where the main feature is a bed???
It is very insulting that the affair partner has been so entitled and awful to you. However, don't let this distract you.
The coworker (while she is a total piece of crap), didn't make vows to you. Your H did.
Both of you seem to be drifting a bit toward blaming her. And while, yes, her willingness to cheat with your H is terrible. HE cheated on you (she didn't).
At every juncture, he made sure that he had more and more privacy with her, but now wants to claim that it wasn't his intention to get physical.
Even before the hotel, it's clear they were crossing lines and cheating emotionally. No coworkers who have a strictly professional relationship just decide to have private conversations in a vehicle or go to a hotel together. He was cheating (emotionally minimally and likely also physically) way before the hotel.
He isn't owning it. And if he isn't owning to you and to himself, then this man is not a safe partner for you.
If he isn't willing to do tons of self-motivated work around changing what thinking allowed him to justify selfish and destructive choices, then this man is not a safe partner for you.
he is being so much more of a husband than he ever was before for 6 years
One of the things you may be struggling with is that he can't just "nice" his way to healing. That's just rugsweeping. Being a better husband is great, but it doesn't demonstrate an important change in the fundamental thinking and actions he took to cheat on you. If he hasn't really addressed the root causes within himself and fully acknowledged how destructive his selfish thinking and actions were to you, what keeps him from falling back into this thinking and these actions again?
Protect yourself emotionally from him.
Lean on others for support.
I'm so sorry this trauma has come to you.
I know you are reeling. It's absolutely gutting.
Be kind to yourself and get a circle of people you can lean on. It's great that you have a counselor. Make yourself eat and drink. Get as much sleep as you can.
Sending you support!!
[This message edited by BreakingBad at 12:24 PM, Friday, April 21st]