Have you cheated on your partner, and you’re trying to find a way to move forward?
Cheating doesn’t have to be the end of the world, but for most couples, it’s a big deal. It will change your relationship forever, even if you make the choice to stay together.
If you’ve cheated and you and your partner aren’t sure how to move forward, we have some advice. Keep reading to learn a few steps you may want to take after cheating.
1. Acknowledge Your Mistake
It’s easy to be evasive or avoid blame when the news of your infidelity comes out. If your partner already knows what’s happened, it’s important that you take responsibility and come to terms with the full amount of damage that you’ve caused.
There are many things that drive people to cheat. Some are more reasonable than others (such as an abusive relationship), but all of them have better solutions than infidelity.
Try to figure out where you want wrong so you can truly understand what you’ve done and how to move forward. You want your partner to know that you’re accepting responsibility.
2. Have an Open Conversation
This is tricky. After the truth comes out, it’s hard to talk to a cheating girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse. This is going to be a tense conversation.
It’s important that you know that cheating doesn’t have to turn into a divorce or break up. This is a common result, but it is possible to continue a relationship if the conditions are right.
Talk to your partner about what they think the best steps to take would be when moving forward. Are they interested in trying to make things work? Are you?
All relationships are different, so this conversation will give you a good idea of what boundaries you need to establish and how you’re going to proceed.
3. Be Honest
After cheating, you may want to hide any nitty-gritty details from your partner. After all, they already know what happened, so why tell them more?
Not everything is important to divulge to your partner, but if there’s anything upsetting or important that they may find out on their own, tell them. You don’t want to start recovering from the affair just to have a surprising fact come to light and send everything back to where it was.
Honesty is often a key factor in many relationship problems, according to The Marriage Myth.
4. Seek Professional Assistance
Affairs are one of the top reasons that people seek relationship or marriage counseling. Not everyone can get through an affair, but you may have a better chance if you have an unbiased third party.
A marriage counselor won’t save your relationship, but they can make it easier to see a way forward or easier to know when it’s time to break up.
It’s possible that counseling exposes that the affair happened due to a dysfunctional relationship, meaning it may be time to call it off. On the other hand, it may have happened randomly, meaning that there are solutions.
A good counselor will help.
Cheating: Is It The End?
Cheating doesn’t have to be the end of the world, but a cheating boyfriend, girlfriend, or another partner can be a huge problem. You need to be diligent and honest (with yourself and your partner) to move forward in the best way for you.
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