Not everyone realizes that they are on the road to an affair until it happens. Nevertheless, there are clear warning signs that your relationship is on the rocks and that you may find yourself cheating on your partner if the opportunity presents itself. Recognizing some of these warning signs can help you to realize that you need to check your own behavior or address problems in the relationship, or perhaps just help you to realize that it is time to end your current relationship.
You Don’t Tell People You’re Taken
When you are getting to know new people, you don’t let them know that you are in a relationship unless they specifically ask. Consciously or unconsciously, you may not want to prevent other people from viewing you as a potential romantic or sexual partner. Or you may just hope to avoid the prospect of talking about your partner and your relationship. Either way, it’s not a great sign for the future of your relationship.
You Have More Fun Without Your Partner
You are starting to find other people’s company, or even your own company, more entertaining and exciting than your partner’s. If there is no excitement left in your relationship with your partner, the odds increase that you are going to look for excitement elsewhere.
You Are Picking Frequent Fights
Finding fault and picking frequent fights with your partner are signs that you are trying to sabotage your relationship. Focusing on the things that are “wrong” with your partner or ensuring that you and your partner are constantly at odds may help you to convince yourself that having an affair is justified or that you are not really to blame if you do end up cheating.
You Have a Specific Cheating Plan or Fantasy
You may not have any real intention of cheating on your partner, but you know just how you’d do it. You know where you’d go and what you would wear and who you would cheat with. Even if you don’t think that you will ever carry out this fantasy, the fact that you have given it so much thought makes it clear that it is on your mind and makes your possible journey toward an affair a little bit easier.
You Are Envious of Your Friends Who Casually Date
You are envious of the good dates and the bad, the funny and awkward stories in addition to the new chemistry and great hook-ups. You miss being on the carousel with all its up and downs and the thrill of meeting and connecting, physically and emotionally, with new people without any commitment or obligations. If that’s the way you feel, it can sometimes be all too easy to recapture a bit of that dating-around fun without actually going to the trouble of removing yourself from your current relationship.
You Suspect That Your Partner Is Cheating
If you suspect that your partner is cheating on you, you become much more likely to cheat on them in turn. You may have strong evidence or well-founded suspicions of your partner’s infidelity, or you may be jumping to that conclusion because you want to justify your own behavior. Whether you are right or wrong about your partner’s infidelity, the suspicion or belief can give you an excuse to cheat on your partner without feeling guilty or feeling like you are the one who is endangering the relationship.
