I Cheated on My Husband: Now What?
There are few words as devastating as hearing your spouse tell you that they cheated on you. Your world may feel like it’s crumbling right before your eyes, and there’s no telling how this revelation will affect you or how you’ll react. Unfortunately, it’s a reality that many couples face, and it is one of the leading causes of couples separating or getting divorced. Confronting Infidelity One of the challenges that couples face in confronting infidelity is to agree on what counts as infidelity. People like to blur lines for their own benefit, to avoid accountability and responsibility for their actions. It’s also true that because people have different values, they do tend to draw lines differently. Not only that, but how strongly they hold to those lines and their values will also differ. Most people will agree that having a physical relationship with someone other than your spouse or partner without their consent is infidelity. Other forms of infidelity include emotional infidelity, which can be just as devastating but is primarily focused on sharing your heart, thoughts, and aspirations with someone other than your spouse. Emotional infidelity usually reveals itself by the fact that it is often carried out in secret. One of the key things that couples need to do is have clear and open communication about what counts as infidelity for them. This is one of the benefits of premarital counseling; it takes the guesswork and assumptions out of it. You might think it’s entirely obvious that your marriage is an exclusive partnership, while your partner may think otherwise. They might be okay with flirty texts or suggestive social media posts, while you aren’t. Unfortunately, what can happen is that the conversation about what constitutes infidelity occurs after lines have already been crossed. This can make [...]
