No Matter What Anyone Tells You, Remember: Cheating Isn’t Inevitable And It’s Not Okay
The modern dating world is riddled with technology and easy access to social media, which is full of unfaithful people. Discreetly betraying the one you claim to love is now easier than ever. Regardless of what is trending, please don’t let society brainwash you into believing that cheating, or being cheated on, is an inevitable part of being in a monogamous relationship.
Please don’t let anyone convince you that love can only be measured by how much bullshit and disrespect you are willing to take from your partner. People often romanticize the idea of sacrifice in the name of love, but your sanity, wellbeing, and sense of self-worth should not have to be compromised as gestures of true devotion. That isn’t love. A healthy relationship should nourish, encourage, and revitalize you in all of these areas, not drain you of reasons to get up in the morning.
If you are in a relationship and you are unhappy, it is your job to express how you are feeling and give your partner an opportunity to help you rekindle what was lost. Either try to fix your relationship or leave. Don’t cheat and inflict more damage before committing to cleaning up the mess between you. If you feel that you need to go to those kinds of extremes of blatantly betraying your partner’s mental, physical, and emotional trust just to get their attention, then you don’t need to be their partner.
People grow, and sometimes, they grow apart. Relationships can expire, and it’s better to admit when there is no longer a pulse between you than to carry a dead thing around with you for years. Otherwise, all you will end up with is exhaustion and resentment toward what you know you should have let go of a long time ago.
Cheating is never okay. The only thing worse than not caring about your partner is pretending that you do. It’s easier to be walked away from than to be half-stayed with. It is more dignified to be dumped than to be a victim of manipulation disguised as love while your partner crawls into bed with someone else behind your back. At least respect your partner enough to let go all at once instead of throwing them away a little bit at a time. The longer a wound takes to create, the longer it will take to heal. If you’re going to break someone’s heart, do it in one swift gesture of honesty. Don’t chip away at it, piece by piece, with the jagged edges of infidelity, because I promise you, Karma’s edges are sharper and full of rust. What goes around just might come back with tetanus. Or herpes.