I believe you when you say there's nothing going on between you and your ex. But understand that from your fiance's perspective, it will seem shady. He will wonder why -- if everything is on the up-and-up as you claim -- you felt the need to hide information from him during your relationship. He may also wonder why you didn't trust him with the truth, and whether you can really be trusted.

The level of his anger will depend on whether he believed you when you said that your friend was just that and whether you've denied it before. If he didn't suspect anything and you're coming clean out of the blue, he's likely to be upset but more likely to receive it better. However, if he had suspicions about the nature of the friendship -- which I suspect is the case, since your guilt seems to be weighing on you now as opposed to when you first downplayed the relationship -- things will likely get a little ugly. You didn't just lie once -- you've been lying, and that is a huge breach of trust.

Unfortunately, I can't predict whether your fiance will get over it in time. He's been lied to. His reaction to this information will depend on whether something like this has happened in his previous relationships and if trust issues have come up before in your relationship.

What you have on your side is that he's hearing the truth from you and, since you're engaged, he obviously loves you. There's a lot invested in the relationship thus far. It's not so easy to walk away from this relationship, even if it's been damaged.

In the best-case scenario, be prepared to stop communicating with your friend, even if it's just been a call "from time to time." That's not ideal, of course, but if the friendship is causing a wedge in the relationship with your fiance, then it has to end. And no, that doesn't solve the underlying problem of trust, but it's a make-nice action that will go far in getting your fiance to want to work with you a little more on this relationship.

You may also find that in the spirit of keeping it real, your fiance has some of his own confessions. You can't get upset, though, because you were just as wrong as he was. Just hear him out, and when he's done, you two need to be proactive about being honest with each other. Enlist the help of a therapist if necessary. If you two can get through this one, then your marriage, one based on honesty, will be better for it.

Good luck!

Demetria L. Lucas is a contributing editor to The Root, a life coach and the author of A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life. She answers your dating and relationship questions on The Root each week. Feel free to ask anything at askdemetria@theroot.com.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.