In an ideal world, our friends approve of the things we do and support us. But there will be times when friends may have an issue with one of our life choices, and this can cause conflict. One of the most common of these events involves infidelity. If a friend cheats, can you still stand behind them?
Infidelity Changes Friendships
All that complexity has made for some terrific pop tunes, and what follows are 15 of the best songs about cheating. Lovers come and go, but these classic tales of infidelity will stick around forever.
When we become friends with someone, we embrace their personality and quirks, so it stands to reason that cheating on a spouse or partner would change the friendship. The personality traits that we once valued in our friend (such as honesty and faithfulness), can become altered in a friend's eyes.
More than that, if your friend asks you to cover for them with regard to their infidelity, they are taking advantage of your friendship. Asking you to lie on their behalf pushes the acceptable boundaries of a healthy friendship.
Avoid Interrogating Your Friend
Despite your personal beliefs, it is not okay to interrogate your friend or press to get details of their affair. You can tell them that you are disappointed in their behavior but at the same time, it's not your job to judge them. A better approach is to explain why you are against infidelity, such as your parent's marriage ended over an affair, you were affected by infidelity personally, you feel that this is unfair to their spouse, or you witnessed a friend's relationship problems over cheating.
Other tips to think about include:
- Don't bring up your friend's romantic history. Saying 'You always pick up losers!' or 'Why can't you find someone more appropriate?' will not help the situation.
- Don't offer predictions, such as 'You know this will only end in heartache' because deep down your friend already knows that.
- Don't get angry. Infidelity is a very personal subject, and you may feel bitter toward your friend, but try to remain calm so your pal knows they have a place to come when they need to talk.
Honoring Your Values While Supporting Your Friend
If your friend openly tells you he or she is cheating on their significant other, you have to be honest in telling them how you feel about it. While your friend might claim that 'it's none of your business,' it will affect your friendship in some way if you're close. We become friends with people who share our values and outlook, so if someone we've included into our social circle is being unfaithful, it will change the way we view them.
If you know your friend's spouse or partner, this complicates the situation even more. Your friend has put you in a difficult position by telling you about their affair. To support your friend and still maintain your personal values, tell your friend that:
- You care about them and are not judging them.
- You feel strongly about infidelity, and while you support your friend you may need to distance yourself from their behavior. (Note: You are distancing yourself from the behavior and not your friend.)
- You want to help your friend and will be there for them if they need to talk about things.
You may need to spend time away from your friend for a while. Make sure that your friend knows that you are making the choice because you do not want to be associated with their behavior, but that you hope you two can be good friends again somewhere down the line. If your friend eventually comes to you after the affair and needs to talk, avoid saying 'I told you so' and instead focus on listening and helping them.
As technology continues to evolve and spawn sexy new ways to interact with human beings that don’t involve being in the same room, the result is more and more options for bonding with someone other than your lawfully wedded partner.
In virtual reality (VR) sex you put on goggles that allow for a sensually immersive and live experience via webcam by getting a 360 view of your virtual partner’s environment. Some people also wear haptic body suits and fleshlights to feel the touch of their partner.
Writing in Vice’s Motherboard channel, Zoltan Istvan postulated that “I see a day coming when people break up over a partner’s desire to use virtual sex as an outlet, whereas in the past, porn would have been tolerated. That is because virtual sex is so much more powerful – and that could scare real-life partners off.”
Indeed, a misogynistic ‘adult entertainment’ company VR Bangers (don’t check it out if you’re on the office computer!) suggests men have sex with their spouse while wearing VR goggles that make their wife look like a porn star.
The answer to is virtual reality sex cheating depends on these factors:
Define the boundaries of what is and isn’t crossing a line
For many couples, talking about sex is extremely uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that they can’t express what they would like and not like in bed and often wind up frustrated. But that’s the subject of another article!
The point here is that there must be a conversation or conversations clarifying what feels acceptable or a betrayal when it comes to behavior outside the relationship. Is flirting ok? Watching porn? For some couples, the latter is no problem; indeed, it’s a healthy way to release sexual energy. For others, porn is behavior that can’t be tolerated.
What about sexting with a stranger? *Tami wasn’t upset that her husband liked to view online porn, but felt distraught to discover that he also regularly had cyber-contact with a woman he’d met online. She explained during a couple’s session: “What was so painful was that this was an ongoing one to one flirtation with a particular person versus watching porn sites featuring lots of nameless models and actors.” The worst part to her was that he’d never told her about this liaison; she saw a steamy text come in on his phone one day and felt “rocked to her core.”
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VR sex would have felt “ten times worse” for her as it involves the senses and isn’t just words on a screen.
The point is that the number one rule to follow is to know before you indulge in forbidden virtual fruit how your partner will feel about it.
After discussing your fears, questions, and desires, it is essential to reach a compromise. This doesn’t mean bullying your partner into agreeing with what you want even though he or she admits to deep apprehensions, but coming to a middle ground that feels ok to each of you.
Whatever you do, don’t promise something, and then break the promise. That is a breach of trust and will affect the relationship.
Trust, once broken, is very difficult to rebuild.
Are you hooked?
If you or your partner is spending more time virtually hooking up or thinking about virtually hooking up than with one another, this is a huge indication that more than goggles are involved. Cheating is occurring at an emotional level. Attention and thought are being devoted to someone or something outside your marriage. *Larry admitted in a session, “I found myself avoiding sex with my wife or if we did have sex, fantasizing about my virtual sex partner while my wife was touching me. That’s when I knew I was in trouble.”
Larry came to realize that the major reason he got so attached to VR sex is that unlike porn, it felt real. In porn you are a voyeur, a mere observer, but in VR sex you are a participant actively creating the encounter. Larry said, “There was nothing passive about my virtual reality sex experiences. I was all in because it was totally vivid. I started daydreaming about what I’d be doing at night and those daydreams were not about having sex with my wife.” To Larry VR sex was ‘perfect’ – real world sex could never top it.
Another danger of VR sex: the lost in space free-floating feeling of this activity can lead participants to push the boundaries in ways they wouldn’t dream of trying with a partner they saw every day.
Larry says he “discovered exhibitionist tendencies I’d feel too weird about trying with my wife. I was so, so hooked.” The price of this addiction was the eventual loss of his marriage.
The moral here is that reasons people seek outside stimulation often stems from a lack of emotional intimacy with their partner.
The more you feel safe to open up and be real with your partner about who you are and what turns you on and off, the less you need to step into the VR sex realm.
Kk Game Husband Cheating Stories
*Names and details are changed