What is the ruling on a wife seeking divorce from a husband whose emotions are characterized by coldness and lack of interest, while she desires to marry another man after engaging in an unlawful relationship with him, and how can this divorce and marriage be completed in a lawful manner while avoiding a return to the unlawful?

You are obligated to repent sincerely to Allah and to conceal what you have done, without informing anyone. At the same time, you should alert your husband to his shortcomings. As for the man mentioned, he is a corruptor and an instigator of discord (mukhabib), and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, disavowed the mukhabib. Do not be deceived by the sweet words of the paramour; he who betrayed your husband concerning you is not far from betraying you, and you might find from him worse than what you experienced from your husband. A husband must not be absent for more than six months without his wife's permission. Working in prohibited mixed environments is a cause of evil and must be avoided, unless it is out of necessity and with assurance against temptation.