As far as I can tell yes he did. He was v. close to his father before he died and is still somewhat tied to his mother's apron strings!
Without trying to sound like I am blaming someone else for my Hs behaviour my MIL has a big part to play. She has never been able to show her emotions and doesn't like it when others show thiers. When her H died we were all 'instructed' not to cry at the funeral, neither were we allowed to wear black. I know she disapproves of what H has done and also that she has told him ONCE of her disapproval BUT her actions show support. When I was in the depth of depression when he first left whenever I broke down in tears she left (including the day I found out about his A). She always has some other engagement that is more pressing than dealing with someone else's emotions. Even her own sisters say this.
So yes whilst I'm sure H did have that affection my opinion is that not only has he been brought up like most british males (keep a stiff upper lip and all that other BS) but he appears to have had a mother who reinforced that rather than providing the usual maternal side of encouraging openess and sharing. Her own mother was a very formidable character so maybe it stems from that. Who knows.
My H has recently gone from not wanting to spend time with our children to only wanting to spend it with those who appear to be supportive of his actions i.e. my son (and occassionally D18). What he repeatedly fails to recognise (despite several people pointing it out to him) is that they are only doing this to avoid the hurt of knowing that someone else is more important to their dad than they are. They are complying with his wishes for them to get to know his GF(or in S15s case live with) just so they get to spend some time with H.
IMO my Hs current attitude towards our children is that it is up to them to maintain a relationship with him and not the other way around. He is so smitten by his new love that nothing else matters. The 'honeymoon' phase should have worn off for them by now as they have been together almost as long as H and I have been separated but instead from the outside that bond appears to be getting stronger.
Me 43 XH 45 M 2.7.88 Divorce 7.10.09 Kids D20,S17 & D15
