The 5 Most Important Things to Consider If You're Tempted to Cheat
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Maybe your significant other lives far away. Maybe you feel like you're stuck in a relationship or marriage that's tedious, dull, broken, toxic, or simply too far gone. Maybe you're not getting enough affection; maybe you're just not in love anymore. There is no shortage of reasons for thinking about breaking the big promise and sexing it up with your hot new neighbor (yikes). Sometimes people cheat because they were wrapped up in the moment and just weren't using their brains; other times, it's a well-thought-out process. If you identify with the latter, read on — here are five things to keep in mind before you go knocking on your neighbor's door.
1. No good can come of it.
You're not sure what's going to happen, and you're excited by that prospect. You think maybe you'll fall in love with the new guy and you'll get married and live happily ever after. But hold the phone, girl. How could you possibly have your fairy-tale ending with a dude who knowingly cheated with you? Your relationship would forever be branded by its bad origins. IRL, the Carrie and Big affair doesn't generally result in the amazing storyline. No good can come of cheating, and that's the overarching truth of the matter.
2. Somebody's going to get hurt. Bad.
Namely, your SO. Maybe you think they deserve it. If they touched you more, snuggled you more, had sex with you more, watched movies with you more, you wouldn't be thinking these things. Or maybe they hurt you somewhere down the line and you want revenge. Seriously, what's the point? We're not defending your partner, but why would you willingly hurt someone with whom you're still in a relationship? It's not logical, and it's not right.
3. The guilt will stress you out indefinitely.
Because you're a person with real emotions and a real moral compass, you will feel ashamed. No amount of blocking it out will alleviate the guilt you feel. And FYI, stress is really bad for you.
4. The fling is probably not worth it.
He could be the perfect Nicholas Sparks-esque dream man. Or he could be a regular dude who gets his rocks off on the idea of sleeping with a woman in a relationship. What's more likely? Yeah . . . that's what we thought.
5. There's a better solution.
Like going to your SO with your issues and learning to resolve them together, as a team. Or breaking it off with them permanently. Whichever you choose, stick with it one way or the other. But don't take the easy, skeezy route. You're above that.