There are many things we have considered as cheating from flirting, kissing and having an intimate conversation with someone else other than your partner. The list is endless.
A big thanks to technology, we now even have to worry about digital cheating, ouch! Imagine your partner having intimate chats with random girls on social media. Relationships are something else these days that need work and consistent check-ins.
Some people go further to say, “if I don’t like it, you shouldn’t be doing it.” therefore it’s grounds for cheating.
Unfortunately, many girls or ladies have stories about men who have cheated on them, which raises a question: do we see cheating as the same as infidelity in a relationship?
According to Brides, certified divorce couch Cathy Meyer says “Infidelity, or cheating, is the act of being unfaithful to a spouse or other partner. It typically means engaging in sexual or romantic relations with a person other than one’s significant other, breaking a commitment or promise in the act.”
Absolutely no one likes to be cheated on, unless you and your partner have agreed on having an open relationship. Even in an open relationship you don’t do anything without your partners blessing or communicating it.
What counts as cheating as explained by Mind Body Green although there is no simple answer as to what is flagged as cheating, it all comes from two people who are in a relationship to define what’s off the limit in their relationship.
However, relationship expert Jeanae M Hopgood says cheating is really anything that violates the boundaries of your romantic relationship and results in a breach of trust between both people in a relationship.
“Should you get to a point where you have to ask yourself would my partner be okay with me doing this behind their back, then you should know you’re closer to a cheating zone.” -says Hopgood
There are also examples given by relationship experts on how you can define cheating:
Physical cheating
Making out with someone at the club.
Having sex with someone while out of town.
Dancing sexily with someone.
Emotional cheating
Closing off from your partner emotionally and finding solace in someone else.
Writing long romantic/sexual letters to someone else.
Having deep phone calls with someone else about everything you think and feel—without your partner’s knowledge and permission.
Keeping your relationship with a certain person secret from your partner because you’re worried .what your partner will think.
Acting like a couple with someone else, just minus the sex.
Digital cheating
Maintaining a secret Tinder profile where you pretend to be single.
Sending flirty messages to someone you follow on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Sending and soliciting nudes.
Oversharing emotional information that you’re not telling your partner to someone else via email, without your partner’s knowledge or consent.
Also see: Why scheduling sex is a good idea
