I was wrong about sexless marriages: Last week, unhappy wives told me men only had themselves to blame. Now, the despairing husbands tell THEIR side of the story, and ladies, we need to talk... SEALED SECTION

It's the age-old marital cliché: 'Not tonight, I have a headache.' But what happens when that headache lasts for months… even years?. Two weeks ago, I spoke to several wives who revealed why they had stopped having sex with their husbands. Some of the reasons were obvious: the men had let themselves go. Others were scandalous, like the unfaithful wife who refused to sleep with her husband because she didn't want to 'cheat' on her lover.

But the biggest reason of all? Husbands who won't do chores around the house, don't cook, clean or help with the children, and leave their wives feeling like unpaid servants. After my column was published, my inbox blew up. Now, I'm used to getting messages from angry men, but this was different. I was getting heartbreaking DMs from husbands telling me they help around the house, stay in shape and treat their wives like queens - and they're still not getting any action.

Well, gentlemen, I hear you loud and clear. It turns out, there is another side to this sorry story, and it deserves our attention: the Unexplained Sexless Marriage. The more I read their stories, the more I realised it really is a silent epidemic. A study found up to one in five couples consider their marriage 'sexless', meaning they do it fewer than ten times a year, and 25 per cent of married men feel sexually neglected.

So here I present the stories of these forgotten, neglected men. You may think this is an article about bitterness and frustration - but really it's about confusion: some of these husbands honestly don't know what they did wrong. In fact, they say they did everything 'right' - doing their share of the chores, being romantic, keeping fit and healthy - and yet they are rejected night after night by their wives.

Before we go on, a word of warning to the women reading these confessions, you may get slightly triggered... Two weeks ago, I spoke to wives who revealed why they'd stopped having sex with their husbands. After my column was published, my inbox blew up. There is more to the story - now I'm setting the record straight (stock image posed by models). 'I stay in shape, cook and clean - but I get nothing'. One man, we'll call him John*, tells me he ticks all the boxes when it comes the things women ask of their husbands: he cooks, cleans and keeps himself fit in the gym. Oh, and his fixes the car and is a great dad!.

Still, he tells me, the sex has dried up and he's sick and tired of being rejected. 'I've been married for 17 years. I do all of the above but it's always me who initiates… then I get rejected. So I give her space, I don't pester her, then after taking care of all the chores and treating her to a date night, I try again. Same result. 'It makes you think, "Why bother?" I've started to look outside my marriage because I have all these women flirting with me and I don't get any at home. In the past, I would flash my wedding ring, but now I'm putting it in my pocket when I leave the house.

'I love my wife, but our sex life is down to once every four months. I'd never leave her because my kids are my world. I just want to feel wanted.'. The 15-year dry spell. John's story became a familiar one as more and more men flooded my inbox, admitting they were considering having affairs even though they were still in love with their wives. Their reason? They no longer wanted to feel invisible. The more I read these husbands' stories, the more I realised it really is a silent epidemic of Unexplained Sexless Marriages, writes Mail+ columnist Jana Hocking.

Another man confessed: 'The temptation to cheat is massive… I have a healthy sex drive, and it's tough. I haven't had a BJ off her for 15 years.'. Ouch. Fifteen years is a long time between drinks. The menopause 'excuse'. Now, it's fair to say most blokes will never fully grasp what happens to a woman going through menopause. Yes, 'manopause' is a thing - their testosterone declines, their sex drive takes a hit, some fellas resort to those little blue diamonds to keep it up...

But middle-aged men simply do not go through the same hormonal roller coaster that their wives do. As a result, I firmly believe all men should sit down and be unquestioningly sympathetic to women going through 'the change'. However, I have found some husbands believe menopause is a 'crutch' some women use to explain away their vanishing libidos without doing anything to fix it. I won't pass judgement on that one, but here's a story from David* who, when asked if he'd ever felt rejected in his marriage, confessed: 'Yes, millions of times.

'It feels like menopause is the main excuse as well as others. It made me feel not great at all, I feel like I'm just a good friend, financial companion, father. I drink a bit too much at times to numb the pain. 'I've considered cheating before because there's only so much a man can do for himself. I added it up and nearly got to 200 days without having sex once. Now I'm just staying for the sake of the children.'.